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Riots and civil commotion – cancellation insurance for your community, sporting or corporate event 

Strikes, protests and civil commotion across the world have increased in recent years and in Australia, we’ve seen on our screens the disruption and damage these can cause. What happens if a strike march, riot or civil commotion affects your event, and it can’t go ahead?

 It’s a good idea to have insurance in place to cover this situation, or it could cost you a fortune, and with no event, there’s no way to recover what are probably significant costs you may have incurred.

Recently, we’ve had questions around this topic - so what’s the situation with event insurance coverage when your large-scale event cannot take place because of civil commotion? Here’s a brief guide on what ‘s covered and what options are available to you, in the event of a strike, riot, protest or civil commotion (SRCC). 

The types of events we can cover

SRCC cover is available for various event. That might be a sporting event, local council or local government community event, large corporate event, or a business gathering such as a conference or incentive event.

Civil commotion event cancellation coverage

A strike march, protest or riot in the proximity of your event could make it impossible or dangerous for it to continue. In addition to the obvious danger to eventgoers, and potential liability for you if they are injured, Police may have to close surrounding streets preventing access to the venue.

If this happens, you may be forced to cancel your event at the last minute. Event Cancellation insurance that includes cover for strikes, riots, protest and civil commotion can protect you against potential substantial losses you might incur in these circumstances. This might include reimbursing you the costs of refunded tickets, venue hire costs, marketing associated with the event, staffing, contracted services, even travel and accommodation costs.

Protection if ‘public sentiment’ puts your event at risk

Beyond the direct impact any civil commotion may have on your event or the area surrounding it, you’re also able to add additional coverage to insure your event should an incident occur that makes it insensitive or against public sentiment to go ahead, even if there’s no physical impediment to your event proceeding.

For instance, if multiple deaths occur due to a catastrophe, it might be insensitive to continue with your event in these circumstances.

Whilst this optional cover has been utilised in Europe, it has yet to be in Australia. However, it’s possible incidents such as the Bondi Junction Shopping centre stabbing in Sydney - where 6 people tragically lost their lives and many others were injured – would fall into this category. Under circumstances such as these in future, it’s entirely reasonable for an event organiser to cancel a festival or celebratory community event, as its insensitive to proceed. In situations such as this, an extension of Event Cancellation cover to include Public Sentiment would help to mitigate the costs of cancellation. 

Bumping in (or out) – and cancellation prevention costs

A strike, riot or protest may not affect your from going ahead but it could affect it going ahead within the allocated timeframe. Let’s say you have an outdoor event with seating and stage set up and can’t bump in because the streets are closed. Your costs to bump in may increase or you may need to curtail your event to buy back some time. 

Event Cancellation with SRCC cover can extend to cover costs incurred to prevent cancellation of your event meaning you can still proceed and not be out of pocket.

Extensive experience

When you’re considering civil commotion insurance for your event, it pays to think carefully about who your provider should be. Broad experience and expertise is critical and can help event organisers to identify potential risks and threats to the event and devise contingency strategies to mitigate any loss. It’s also vital your broker has an excellent working relationship with insurers and a specialist event loss adjuster.

Our Marsh team in Australia has over 60 years’ experience insuring events, as well as direct access to our London colleagues, who are an extension of our team and provide insurance for the world’s largest events. To find out more about civil commotion cancellation insurance, check our event cancellation page, and call us if we can be of any assistance for your next event.

Need help?

If you have any questions about the content covered in this article or the risks and insurance coverage requirements for your business, reach out to your Marsh risk advisor today or contact us.

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Frequently asked questions

If it’s impossible for your event to proceed because of strikes, protest marches, riots, or civil disruption that closes streets, or makes it dangerous for your event to proceed, you’ll likely be covered.

You can also opt to have cover if it’s insensitive for your event to proceed after an event resulting in multiple loss of life, even if there is no physical impact or impediment to it progressing, on the basis it’s against public sentiment.

Under your SRCC policy extension, You may be able to recover:

  • Non-refundable expenses such as deposits for venues, entertainment, catering, and other services that are typically required in advance.
  • Lost revenue: This might include ticket sales, sponsorship revenues, and any expected profits from merchandise, concessions, or other sales related to the event. It aims to compensate for the income that would have been generated had the event taken place.
  • Marketing and promotion costs:  Expenses related to advertising and promoting the event, which may include print, digital, and social media marketing, as well as public relations costs that cannot be recouped if the event is cancelled.
  • Travel and accommodation expenses: Costs incurred by you for flights or hotel bookings due to the cancellation of the event.
  • Additional expenses: extra expenses incurred in response to the prevention of cancellation, such as costs associated with rescheduling the event, like rearranging venues or services.

Discuss the terms and conditions with an experienced Marsh broker to make sure you’ve got the cover you need.

 

Event cancellation policies can respond to cancellation, abandonment or curtailment of an insured event. 

Your loss adjuster will assess your ascertained net loss. This means that if your event is cancelled due to an insurable event, your insurer will take into consideration any savings you may have made or costs already incurred and reduce your claim accordingly. 

For example, if your event is cancelled on its second day, you won’t be able to recoup costs for security services and catering used on the first day.

If your event is in jeopardy because of civil commotion, or it’s clear it can’t proceed, or will be delayed, get in touch with your nominated loss adjuster or broker as soon as possible and together work out a plan and/or determine what your losses are and what you are covered for, as quickly as possible.  Your broker and loss adjuster have the expertise to help you mitigate losses and explore potential solutions for your event.

LCPA  25/019

This publication is not intended to be taken as advice regarding any individual situation and should not be relied upon as such. The information contained herein is based on sources we believe reliable, but we make no representation or warranty as to its accuracy. Marsh shall have no obligation to update this publication and shall have no liability to you or any other party arising out of this publication or any matter contained herein. Marsh makes no representation or warranty concerning the application of policy wordings or the financial condition or solvency of insurers or re-insurers. Marsh makes no assurances regarding the availability, cost, or terms of insurance coverage.

“Marsh Pty Ltd (ABN 86 004 651 512, AFSL 238983) (“Marsh”) arrange this insurance and is not the insurer. The Discretionary Trust Arrangement is issued by the Trustee, JLT Group Services Pty Ltd (ABN 26 004 485 214, AFSL 417964) (“JGS”). JGS is part of the Marsh group of companies. Any advice in relation to the Discretionary Trust Arrangement is provided by JLT Risk Solutions Pty Ltd (ABN 69 009 098 864, AFSL 226827) which is a related entity of Marsh. The cover provided by the Discretionary Trust Arrangement is subject to the Trustee’s discretion and/or the relevant policy terms, conditions and exclusions. This website contains general information, does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs and may not suit your personal circumstances. For full details of the terms, conditions and limitations of the covers and before making any decision about whether to acquire a product, refer to the specific policy wordings and/or Product Disclosure Statements available from JLT Risk Solutions on request. Full information can be found in the JLT Risk Solutions Financial Services Guide.”