The live events sector will benefit from a government-backed insurance scheme worth more than £750 million, chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced.
The live events sector is worth over £70 billion per year to the UK economy and supports more than 700,000 jobs.
The chancellor has said that the new scheme, available from September, will help industry operators plan events with confidence through to next year, come what may with the trajectory of the pandemic.
It comes after some events organisers have struggled in getting the right type of insurance to cover Covid-related interruptions, impeding the planning of events.
Known as the Live Events Reinsurance Scheme, the initiative - which the government has launched with support from Lloyd’s - will form part of the government’s Plan for Jobs and see Whitehall act as a ‘reinsurer’, allowing insurers to offer the products that events organisers require. It will also cover costs incurred from events that need to be cancelled due to Covid restrictions in future.
The insurance scheme is the latest in a long chain of support measures for the culture sector, which also includes the £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund, and the £500 million Film and TV Production Restart scheme.
The sport and leisure sectors have also benefited from over £1 billion in government support, the most generous support from any government for its domestic sports sector in the world.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “The events sector supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country, and I know organisers are raring to go now that restrictions have been lifted. But the lack of the right kind of insurance is proving a problem, so as the economy reopens, I want to do everything I can to help events providers and small businesses plan with confidence right through to next year.
“We have some of the best events in the world here in the UK – from world-famous festivals to your local fair. With this new insurance scheme, everything from live music in Margate to business events in Birmingham can go ahead with confidence, providing a boost to the economy and protecting livelihoods through our Plan for Jobs.”
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden added: “We’ve been here for live events throughout the pandemic with billions of pounds of rescue funding. Today is an important next step as we develop live events insurance to give them the confidence they need to plan for a brighter future.
“Our events industries are not just vital for the economy and jobs; they put Britain on the map and, thanks to this extra support, will get people back to the experiences that make life worth living. All this is part of our plan to rescue, reopen and recover.”
The insurance scheme is one of the only ones of its kind in the world, covering a wide array of live events and not including a cap on costs claimed per event.
Available from September 2021, the scheme will run until the end of September 2022.
