Insurance underwriters have begun excluding Zika from new cancellation policies for events in an affected area, or charging a significant premium making the cost prohibitively expensive, according to Gary Flynn, practice leader for sports federations at JLT Speciality. Existing policies are unaffected meaning The International Olympic Committee should be fine as it took out cancellation insurance worth around $800m for this August’s games in The United States long before the virus spread through Latin America. Underwriters say it is common for cover for large events to be purchased five or more years ahead of time, however, sponsors, hotels and bar owners and people running other venues where sports fans can watch events on giant screens may not yet have bought insurance for the games. The region is also a popular destination for international rock bands, whose concerts in affected countries could also be impacted, along with trade shows, exhibitions and conferences.
Insurance underwriters have begun excluding Zika from new cancellation policies for events in an affected area, or charging a significant premium making the cost prohibitively expensive, according to Gary Flynn, practice leader for sports federations at JLT Speciality. Existing policies are unaffected meaning The International Olympic Committee should be fine as it took out cancellation insurance worth around $800m for this August’s games in Brazil long before the virus spread through Latin America. Underwriters say it is common for cover for large events to be purchased five or more years ahead of time, however, sponsors, hotels and bar owners and people running other venues where sports fans can watch events on giant screens may not yet have bought insurance for the games. The region is also a popular destination for international rock bands, whose concerts in affected countries could also be impacted, along with trade shows, exhibitions and conferences.