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It’s been one hell of a year for London’s live music and events. One of the biggest barriers has been sorting out sufficient insurance to protect organisers in the case of government imposed lockdowns – something the festival sector has been crying out for help for, for months.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has just announced a new government-backed insurance plan called the Live Events Reinsurance Scheme. Basically, they’ve partnered with Lloyd’s to act as a ‘reinsurer’ and step in with a guarantee to make sure insurers can offer the products that events companies need.
The £750 million scheme aims to support live events across the UK that are open to the general public – such as music festivals and business events – to cover costs incurred in the event of cancellation due to national or sectoral lock-downs being reimposed.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said:
‘The events sector supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country, and I know organisers are raring to go now that restrictions have been lifted. But the lack of the right kind of insurance is proving a problem, so as the economy reopens I want to do everything I can to help events providers and small businesses plan with confidence right through to next year.’
The idea is that hopefully, the new scheme will provide a bit of reassurance for organisers to plan ahead and not have to worry about cancellations. The details at the moment are still early, and it’s not for free – events companies will have the option of purchasing the new government cover alongside standard commercial events insurance. Not much is known yet about how well it will support smaller or new events companies who might not have the cash to splash.
However, it’s hard to argue that it’s a step in the right direction. Denis Desmond, Chairman of Live Nation UK, who organises major festivals across the countries such as Creamfields, described it as a ‘vital intervention’ that will ‘help keep the sector and its employees working’.
Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, also responded to the news of the scheme:
'Over 700,000 people work within this sector, it will give some comfort and certainty to supply chain and freelancers that heavily rely on this industry for their main source of income, and we would hope that with this news many will feel confident in returning to work within the sector. It is devastating that the timings of this scheme could not have been earlier, as we have already lost many amazing festivals and events to the uncertainty that this pandemic represents, but I feel that this scheme will allow a beleaguered sector to start to rebuild and plan with confidence for the future.'
The Live Events Reinsurance Scheme will be available from September 2021 and will run until the end of September 2022.