More events cancelled by bad weather

Although only a couple of weeks into February, we have already seen a lot of events cancelled due to extreme weather conditions. The latest due to Storm Ciara, which brought Amber and Yellow warnings across the British Isles with excessively strong winds and rain.

Events disrupted include the London Winter Run 10km, which had 25,000 participants; the Scotland v England Women’s Six Nations match; four Women’s Super League matches including Liverpool v Everton, which was expecting 20,000 spectators; horse racing at Exeter, Southwell and Punchestown; and numerous small local sporting fixtures and events.

Cancelling, postponing or amending events can be extremely costly for the event organiser. This is especially so if the cancellation is short notice as most expenses will have been incurred. What adds to the organiser’s woes is they may have to refund all ticket sales or entry costs. To cap this they won‘t be able to make any money from on the day sales. All of this could leave the organiser making a significant loss.

This is why many of our clients purchase event cancellation insurance. It is designed to cover losses associated with an event being disrupted by things like extreme weather. Other circumstances that could lead to claims might include: industrial action, terrorist threats, power failure, contagious diseases, transport disruption or non-appearance of a key individual.

The only thing to bear in mind is that insurance companies are, by their nature, risk averse so do plan ahead. For example, if you have an event happening in the next few days and storm warnings have been issued, you are unlikely to get cover. However, if there are a few weeks until your event, then that is the time (if not more in advance) to speak to an insurance broker and get cover in place.

If you would like to discuss insuring your events then give our team a call on 01905 612336 or contact us.