A survey on risk, released this week by the International Special Events Society and specialist insurance provider HCC Specialty, has found that failures by vendors and subcontractors top the list of concerns by event professionals when choosing insurance.
The largest number (47.4 percent) of individuals surveyed said that they think the failure of vendors and subcontractors to handle their responsibilities is their biggest concern when holding an event, when given a choice of four key options.
AND IF IT RAINS? In addition, while more than a third of those surveyed (37.1 percent) said that weather was their second greatest concern at their events, only 15 percent actually admitted to taking out coverage specifically for that risk.
“We were interested to learn what the ISES constituency thought about the needs and application of insurance in their business and overriding concerns," said Sean Curtin, senior vice president of contingency and commercial package at HCC Specialty. "What we learned is that protecting the members and their clients with customized coverages is of the highest priority, with an emphasis on liability insurance. In addition, we learned that there is a need for lesser known coverages such as weather and promotional insurance. leading us to believe there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of these niche insurance products." He added, "We hope to offer value to the group applying this information through educational opportunities whenever possible.”
The survey was conducted within the ISES membership of more than 5,000 event professionals internationally. HCC Specialty, an international insurance provider to the event, entertainment, travel and hospitality sector, is working with ISES as part of its Global Partner Program to find out key trends in the event insurance market.
“This survey, jointly conducted by our Global Partner HCC Specialty and ISES, was designed to look at our members' preferences when it comes to event insurance, along with the growing trends in the marketplace," said Kevin White, CSEP, ISES president. "The results have been very interesting and will help us both to provide better support and guidance for our members, as well as shape how event insurance develops in the future.”
Other key trends found in the survey were the importance of specialized industry cover with 70 percent choosing it, followed by price, the speed and convenience of claims with the least important being automation to streamline the quote/bid process.
