Recent media articles have cited the impact of insurance premiums on the overall cost in the leisure sector and even some events having been cancelled due to costs.

Eventinsure are a leading supplier of Event Insurance in Ireland and we can say that actually festival rates have remained relatively stable, particularly when compared with other areas in the Leisure Industry. Community Events & Festivals certainly have seen increased overheads in areas such as Event Running costs, First Aid costs, Security and in other areas of running their events.

Diarmuid Nolan CEO of Brokers Ireland said about the recent news articles, “Festivals are an important part of the Irish tourism industry and as Insurance Brokers, our members are there to support these community events. Insurance rates for festivals are affected by a number of underwriting considerations, for instance the number of attendees, the types of activities, the quality of risk management and of course, previous claims history, and all of these are contributing factors when a risk is underwritten. Anecdotally, we have been advised by members that there are a number of competing insurance markets available, who continue to write festival business in Ireland, and where there is competition it is good for the consumer”.

Jane Brady, our MD remarked about recent articles “We continue to look after the Events & Festival industry with very competitive rates. We are retaining our existing business with the assistance of our brokers, and have seen only a 5% differential on the underlying rate in 5 years. Many of us in the industry are concerned that recent publicity has stoked up needless fears for communities organizing festivals and what has been cited may not accurately reflect the reality on the ground, as is certainly not our experience. We expect a relatively stable rating environment for the foreseeable future”.

It is certainly true that the good work of the Cost of Insurance Working Group (see here) is very necessary to regularise the legal framework and reduce the levels of awards. It is also a positive development that the government have processed the “Judicial Council Bill” on 9th July to implement the recommendations of the Personal Injuries Commission which will mean a review of the levels of awards. This will further mean a more predictable and stable rating environment for casualty underwriters trading in Ireland.

From our point of view as an underwriter of Event insurance, we wish to reassure customers that rates should stay the same and that we are prepared for Brexit. It is important for the public to be aware that certain risks may be charged more because of material changes to the risk proposed; such as increased attendance, changes to activities or, as is the case sometimes, a frequency or severity of recent claims. We are a market leader but we don’t insure every event that takes place in Ireland. It may be that some highly published events that have been cancelled due to the cost of insurance, may have suffered claims and had risk management in poor shape or have just had a much bigger event and saw costs increase.

We continue to provide quotes for events from a panel of stable underwriters on this website or via our nationwide panel of brokers.