By Kristina Burke
Six years after insurance market failure threatened the viability of adventure tourism operators around the State; public liability insurance is again at the centre of an issue that could jeopardise the future of events in Victoria.
In light of the new fire danger ratings and recommendations for relocation ahead of a forecast Code Red day, event organisers are struggling to obtain the insurance required to run events such as New Year’s Eve festivities.
The issue is not necessarily that the premiums are too high – it’s that insurance companies are not issuing policies for such events at all.
This carries on from the cancellation policy issue that the tourism industry is grappling with – one where there are few clear-cut answers for either operators or consumers.
Do you think this spells the end for public events in summer? What solutions are available?
[...] losses for ‘catastrophic’ days. Further early indications are that public event organisers cannot get insurance coverage to run their events in the public space. The implications of this for private and government [...]