Hidden Insurance Costs and Rising Premiums for Music Festivals.

Obtaining the right level of insurance cover for a music festival is a complex process that can involve considerable costs. With rising levels of uncertainty, insurers are mitigating their exposed risk by increasing premiums and introducing more hidden costs. How can organisers navigate the insurance environment to keep costs down and still maintain suitable coverage.

External risk factors like pandemics and extreme weather have impacted insurance providers in recent years with underwriters constantly assessing risk and applying higher premiums. It has not been unusual for some festivals to see their renewal premiums increase by a factor of 5 or more even if they have an exemplary safety record with no previous claims. To make their premiums more palatable some insurers are introducing clauses which are covering additional hidden costs. What factors should festival organisers consider when assessing insurance providers for 2026.

Essential Event Insurance Products.
Organisers are required by law in most regions to have some core insurance products including Public Liability Insurance and Employers Liability Insurance. In addition to this mandatory coverage, organisers can select a wide range of additional insurance products with the most common being Event Cancellation Insurance, Weather Insurance, Non-Appearance Insurance and Equipment & Property Insurance. For complete coverage, additional trending products include Terrorism & Malicious Attack Insurance, Cyber Attack Insurance, and Environmental Pollution Liability Insurance. Whilst most insurers will provide products that cover some or all these areas most organisers choose to purchase their insurance from event insurance specialists who can build a custom solution that covers most aspects involved in putting on a music festival. Buying a product from a single insurance entity that covers all requirements will simplify claims handling and reduce duplication of coverage.

Hidden Costs.
Since the global coronavirus pandemic many insurers introduced clauses that specifically exclude communicable diseases from coverage. If an organiser wishes for this to be covered an additional premium will often be charged, which can increase costs significantly. The increase in incidents involving terrorism or ‘active assailants’ has led to them being excluded from many policies. Most festivals now rely heavily on online systems for ticketing and onsite RFID technology for payment systems, and these are increasingly being targeted with cyber-attacks. This is an evolving threat, and insurers are now making this a core part of the products they sell with increased premiums as a result.

Rising Premiums.
Many insurers now view certain music festivals as potentially uninsurable due to increased risks. For those still providing event insurance products, the premiums have increased significantly in recent years. Much of the increased risk is coming from climate volatility and extreme weather incidents which are occurring more frequently (wildfires, flooding, and heatwaves for example). Insures are seeing the costs associated with property damage and personal injuries caused by extreme weather increasing, and this directly reflects premiums charged. In addition, medical care and treatment costs have risen in recent years, which can impact a large festival which is considered a high-risk environment. Typical injuries can include those resulting from a crowd crush, dehydration, or drug-related incidents.

Strategies to Reduce Insurance Costs.
There are simple actions that music festival organisers can take to reduce their insurance costs, which mostly involve a reduction in their risk profile. It is essential to ensure that all contractors, vendors, and sponsors have their own insurance coverage for their involvement with the event. Documented evidence can be stored in an event management software system for easy access to demonstrate that everything possible is covered. Organisers should produce a comprehensive risk assessment during the planning phase of their event, and this needs to be constantly updated as new risks are identified and mitigated. If supplier documentation and risk assessments are transparent and available for insurers to inspect, it may be possible to get a discounted premium. A simple way to reduce any insurance premium is to increase the size of any excess (deductible) where the insured agrees to pay the first $x of any insurance claim. Some insurers may also offer discounts for multi-year deals where the organiser commits to a particular insurer for the next 3 or 5 years, for example. Insurers also like to see initiatives that reduce risk which typically include elements like improved crowd density monitoring, better medical response times, and higher security to festival-goer ratios.

For festival organisers planning their next event using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Image by Vlad Deep via Pexels

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