Event cancellation insurance: what is it and why do you need it?

The list of covered risks varies per insurer, but the core is the same everywhere: unforeseen circumstances beyond your control. Let's run through the main ones.

Extreme weather. Storms, flooding, heavy snowfall or heat that makes an outdoor event impossible. Cases where an indoor venue becomes unreachable due to the weather often fall under this too.

Pandemic or epidemic. Covid taught us that a whole season of events can vanish in one go. New policies often contain specific pandemic clauses — always check whether they're included in your cover.

Unavailability of the venue. Fire, water damage, bankruptcy of the venue owner. All situations that make your event impossible through no fault of your own.

Loss of a headline speaker or artist. At events built around one big name, a no-show due to illness or an accident can be grounds for cancellation. Not every policy covers this as standard, so ask about it explicitly.

Strikes. From transport to catering to security — if a strike effectively makes your event unworkable, cancellation insurance provides cover.

Government measures. A sudden ban on gatherings, an emergency ordinance or a terror threat that leads to cancellation.

What isn't covered? A change of heart ('we'd rather not after all'), disappointing ticket sales, poor planning and risks known in advance. If you know your venue is in a flood zone and you take out the insurance after a warning has been issued, the insurer won't pay out.

Want to know more about event insurance in general? Then read our in-depth article on event insurance for a complete overview of all the types.

Let's make the premiums concrete with three common scenarios from our practice.

Company party with a budget of €50,000. Premium: between €1,500 and €4,000. This is the most common segment at Live Impact. A party for 150 to 300 employees, with catering, entertainment and technical production. The premium depends on whether it's an indoor or outdoor event and how many suppliers you've booked.

Conference with a budget of €100,000. Premium: between €3,000 and €8,000. Conferences often have international speakers, complex technical production and multiple suppliers. That raises the risk profile, which pushes the premium up a little.

Festival with a budget of €200,000. Premium: between €6,000 and €16,000. Festivals are by definition weather-sensitive, often run for several days and have hundreds of suppliers. The risk profile is highest in this category.

Which factors determine your premium? Five things weigh heaviest:

1. The size of your budget. The higher the insured sum, the higher the premium in absolute terms — but the percentage can actually fall for larger budgets.

2. Type of event. A private dinner is less risky than an open-air festival.

3. Duration. Multi-day events pay more than single-day ones.

4. Indoor or outdoor. Outdoor venues raise the premium by an average of 1 to 2 percentage points.

5. Claims history. Have you claimed before? Then your premium may come out higher.

Our tip: always request a quote based on your specific event. Generic online calculators give an indication, but the actual premium depends on your unique combination of factors.

In some cases you have no choice: cancellation insurance is simply required. In other cases it's a matter of common sense. And sometimes you can do perfectly well without it.

Required for:

Events with a budget above €25,000. Not legally required, but many venues and clients demand it contractually. If you, as the organiser, are liable for the costs in the event of a cancellation, the insurance protects you.

Events with government funding. Municipalities and provinces that provide funding almost always require cancellation insurance as a condition. Understandably: they don't want their grant money to evaporate if the event is called off.

Events commissioned by third parties. Are you organising an event on behalf of a client? Then that client often requires you to be insured. It's in nine out of ten commissioning agreements.

Sensible for:

Outdoor events. Wind, rain, heat — Dutch weather is unpredictable. An outdoor event without cancellation insurance is gambling with your budget.

Multi-day events. The longer the event runs, the greater the chance that something goes wrong. Two days means twice the risk of cancellation.

Events with expensive speakers or artists. If you pay €30,000 for a keynote speaker and they fall ill, you'll want that covered.

Season-sensitive events. Winter-sports events, summer festivals, outdoor activities — all extra vulnerable to weather-related cancellation.

Not needed for:

Small internal drinks. A Friday-afternoon drinks of €2,000? The risk is manageable.

Events with full refund arrangements. If all your suppliers offer a fully refundable contract, a separate cancellation insurance is unnecessary. But that's rare.

Not every cancellation insurance is the same. With these five tips you choose the policy that truly fits your event.

1. Check cover versus exclusions carefully. The finest policy on paper can be worthless if your biggest risk is on the exclusions list. Organising an outdoor event? Check whether storm damage is covered. Got an international speaker? See whether travel restrictions fall under the cover. Read not only what is covered, but above all what isn't.

2. Compare at least three quotes. Premiums sometimes differ by 40 percent between insurers for exactly the same event. That's no exaggeration — we see it regularly with our clients. Three quotes give you a fair picture of the market.

3. Watch the waiting period. Many policies have a waiting period of 7 to 14 days after you take them out. Take out the insurance too late and you're not covered for the first two weeks. So start in good time — preferably when you sign the venue agreement.

4. Choose a realistic insured sum. Don't insure for too little (under-insurance means a partial payout) but not for too much either (you pay premium on an amount you'll never claim). The insured sum should match your actual, non-recoverable costs.

5. Read the small print on force majeure definitions. 'Force majeure' sounds clear, but every insurer defines it differently. One excludes pandemics, another doesn't. One covers strikes only in transport, another in catering too. Ask for a plain-language explanation if the policy terms are unclear.

Want to know how cancellation insurance fits into your total event budget? Then take a look at our article on event budgeting.

At Live Impact, cancellation insurance isn't a side issue you tack on at the last minute. It's part of our standard process, just like choosing the venue and planning the catering. And there's a reason for that.

In 20 years of organising events we've built a network of specialist insurance brokers who know the events industry. Not generic policies from a comparison site, but tailored cover from brokers who know what a cancellation in our industry really costs.

What does that get you?

The right cover, no unnecessary extras. From experience, we know which risks are real for your type of event and which are theoretical. You only pay for cover you actually need.

Time saving. Comparing policies, wading through terms, liaising with brokers — it quickly takes 8 to 12 hours. Hours you'd better spend on the content of your event. We arrange it in a fraction of that time because we do it every week.

Cost saving. Thanks to our volume and our relationships with insurance brokers, we often get keener premiums than you would as a one-off customer knocking on the door yourself.

One point of contact. No separate insurer you have to deal with yourself. If something goes wrong, you call us. We handle the claim, the communication and the settlement. That's not a luxury — that's how it should be when you bring in an events agency.

Insuring your event properly doesn't have to be complicated. It just has to be sorted properly. And that's exactly what we do.

You now have a clear picture of what cancellation insurance involves, what it costs and when you need one. The next step? Making sure your specific event gets the right cover.

At Live Impact we factor the insurance into the bigger picture. No loose ends, no surprises afterwards. We look at your budget, your risk profile and your programme, and make sure you're covered exactly where it matters.

Want to know which cancellation insurance suits your event? Or do you already have an event in the pipeline and want to talk through the cover? Get in touch with us.

Call 073-851 81 01 for a no-obligation chat. Or email info@live-impact.nl — we always respond within one working day.

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