Example of freelance work I completed for Unique Venues, a marketing agency for event planners and venues, in 2020
The current pandemic has pushed the conversation of event cancellation policies and insurance coverage to the forefront of the event planning industry. For the past two months, both event planners and venues have been scrutinizing their insurance policies and contracts to understand what they are on the hook for, and if insurance can close the gaps in stagnant revenues.
Unique Venues is here to help both event planners and venues understand the current atmosphere of insurance in the event planning industry, and what to look for in the future.
Currently, insurance carriers that provide event cancellation coverage are revamping their policies, and the future may look different for special event insurance. Pandemics likely will not be covered by insurance policies as force majeure as it is difficult to determine the length of time venues must be closed, the measurement of lost revenue, and the liability of venues opening too soon. Unlike with Acts of God like tornadoes and hurricanes or force majeure that have a foreseeable end like a strike, building damage or scheduling needs can be assessed quickly, and a timeline established for when the venue can be opened again. With pandemics, relying on humans to be accountable for lowering risks of infection is an unknown, not to mention knowing whether travel across domestic and international borders will be allowed.
Things To Know:
* Act of God describes a natural occurrence beyond human control, such as a hurricane, tornado or floods.
* Force majeure is an unforeseeable circumstance that frees both parties from obligations or liabilities within a contract. This could include wars, riots, strikes, crime and epidemics. Derived from French for “strong force”.
* Epidemic is a disease that affects a large number of people within a community, population, or region.
* Pandemic is an epidemic that’s spread over multiple countries or continents.
Tips:
* Read event insurance and event cancellation clauses carefully. Check with your insurance carrier to see if there are any updates or addendums that your venue can consider for the future.
* Upon renewal of insurance policies, read thoroughly through the cancellation clauses to ascertain whether pandemics are now excluded from policies.
* Educate your clients on what your event insurance covers, and encourage them to read the fine print thoroughly.
* Get waivers signed by the client, and require the client to have waivers signed by guests.
* Are we liable if an attendee gets sick at an event that is being hosted at our venue?
* Should we require all attendees to sign waivers?
* What kinds of addendums need to be added to contracts?
* What do we need to include in a force majeure?
* Will a force majeure cover events moving forward?
Sravanthi Meka 