Whilst the majority of event cancellation and contingency insurance policies will contain some kind of Communicable Disease exclusion, the option has always been available to write this cover back into the policy for an additional premium - *subject to underwriter acceptance.

Under the EventCover wordings, the exclusion reads as follows:

"This policy does not cover any loss directly or indirectly arising out of, contributed to by, or resulting from: any communicable disease or the fear or threat thereof, unless the venue is closed by or under the order of any government or public or local authority as a sole and direct result of a communicable disease which originates and manifests itself within the confines of the venue".

Communicable Disease is also often defined as "any disease capable of being transmitted from an infected person or species to a susceptible host, either directly or indirectly".

Following the recent Covid-19 outbreak, Lloyd's of London has taken the decision to apply the following to ALL classes of business:

Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, this policy excludes losses:

  I.  directly or indirectly arising from any fear or threat (whether actual or perceived) of Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) or any mutant variation thereof

II.  directly or indirectly caused by, resulting from in connection with any action taken in controlling, preventing, suppressing or in any way relating to any outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) or any mutant variation thereof

III.  directly or indirectly caused by the imposition of quarantine or restriction in movement of people or animals by any national or international body or agency pertaining to any outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) or any mutant variation thereof

  IV.  directly or indirectly caused by any travel advisory or warning being issued by a national or international body or agency pertaining to the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) or any mutant variation thereof and

V.  infection or quarantine of any Insured Person(s) due to actual or suspected Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) or any mutant variation thereof and

in respect of II. to V. any fear or threat thereof (whether actual or perceived)

If we allege that by reason of this exclusion, any loss not covered by this insurance the burden of proving contrary shall be upon you.

All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.

If there are any specific questions or queries regarding the above, do not hesitate to contact Stu at EventCover.

Following an act of Terrorism in Christchurch on 15 March 2019, the decision was made to cancel a number of high profile events across the country.

In this post, I will look to provide an overview of the terrorism cover provided within the EventCover policy wording and explain how the policy would react to an act of terrorism compared to a threat or fear.

Under the EventCover Event Cancellation policy, Terrorism is defined as 'an unlawful act, including but not limited to the use of force or violence, of any person or group(s) of persons, whether acting alone or on behalf of or in connection with any organisation(s) or government(s), committed for political, religious, ideological or similar purposes including the intention to influence any government and/or to put the public, or any section of the public, in fear."

Threat of terrorism is defined as "information received by local or national governmental authorities relating to terrorism that poses or appears to pose a real risk of physical loss or damage or actual bodily injury or death if the event were to proceed, whether or not such risk subsequently proves to have been real or hoax."

Under the standard policy and within the "Time and Distance" terrorism endorsement, the Net Loss, as defined, is covered should the insured event be necessarily cancelled, abandoned, postponed, interrupted, curtailed or relocated as a sole and direct result of Terrorism or Threat of Terrorism.  

What this means is that for a successful notification under the Terrorism cover afforded under the policy, the event must be necessarily cancelled, as a sole and direct result of either Terrorism at the venue, or within New Zealand, that occurs within 50 days of the scheduled start date of the event, or during the open period of the event.  The emphasis here (as highlighted) is the necessary cancellation, as a sole and direct result of Terrorism.  This is also the same for a successful notification under the Threat of Terrorism cover whereby the event must have been necessarily cancelled as a direct and sole result following information received by local or national government authorities relating to a threat which posed or appears to pose a real danger, whether or not the threat subsequently proves to have been real or a hoax.

Almost all of the events that were cancelled following the Christchurch attack, were cancelled due to a "fear" of terrorism or due to a moral decision.  Whilst the decisions taken were understandable, the terrorism cover under the policy would not react in these instances.  Fear of Terrorism is an automatic exclusion under an event cancellation policy.

Disclaimer: The information contained herein is based on sources believed reliable but no representations or warranties, expressed or implied, are made concerning the accuracy of information contained herein or the financial condition, solvency, or application of policy wordings of insurers or reinsurers. The information is not intended to be taken as advice with respect to any individual situation and cannot be relied upon as such. The descriptions contained in this article are for preliminary purposes only. Sage Partners Ltd operating as EventCover New Zealand (ECNZ) is the agent of Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London and all coverages are underwritten via Certain Underwriters at Lloyds of London. The exact coverage provided by these products is subject to and governed by the terms and conditions of each policy issued.

As the world's longest reigning female monarch and the only one that most Kiwis would have known in their lifetime, what will happen when the Queen passes away?

Preparations are already underway as many New Zealanders will want to pay their respects to the Queen.

New Zealand's official commemorations will only be triggered once the news is confirmed by Buckingham Palace.

Upon her death, the first in line to the throne will immediately succeed the Queen, and at this point, that means Prince Charles will become King Charles.

When it comes to public tributes for the monarch, it's important New Zealanders get an opportunity to pay their respects and although not set in stone, they could include the following:

• lowering flags to half-mast from the day of death until after the State Memorial Service
• a ceremony to proclaim the accession of the new King
• acknowledging the death of the Queen in Parliament
• a State Memorial Service
• a 21-gun salute
• the opening of a condolence book

But commemorations won't be limited to what the Government decides to do, with local bodies and other organisations choosing to mark the Queen's death "in their own way".

However what does this mean for New Zealand events that are scheduled to take place during this period and may be impacted by her death?

Standard event cancellation cover would provide indemnity should the event be cancelled, abandoned, postponed, interrupted, curtailed or relocated as a sole and direct result of "national mourning" following the death of a member of the Royal Family or Head of State however this is usually for those below the age of 65 years.  With the Queen recently celebrating her 92nd birthday, her death would therefore be excluded from the policy.

Cover will therefore need to be extended and the policy endorsed to include this eventuality; and for a small premium increase, event managers can be confident that all bases are covered and their insurance is robust enough to cover this event.

The way the Queen is going, I don't think we have any worries for a number of years!

The Security Intelligence Service (SIS) stated in it's 2006 report that "the risk of a terrorist attack on New Zealand or New Zealand interests is low", but also warned against complacency.  Since then, a leaked executive memo from the New Zealand Defence Force warned a terror attack on home soil is "not a matter of if, but when".

With New Zealand forging its way on the world events stage, what terrorism risk (if any) is there to our own domestic events and is there a need for terrorism insurance?

The definition of terrorism is "an unlawful act, including but not limited to the use of force or violence, of any person or group(s) of persons, whether acting alone or on behalf of or in connection with any organisation(s) or government(s), committed for political, religious, ideological or similar purposes including the intention to influence any government and/or to put the public, or any section of the public, in fear"

Terrorism insurance is an optional addition to a standard event cancellation policy and not only covers an attack at the venue itself, but can also cover a global terrorist attack that specifically affects your event.  Cover can also include the "threat" of terrorism, whereby, information received by local or national governmental authorities relating to terrorism that poses or appears to pose a real risk of physical loss or damage or actual bodily injury or death if the event were to proceed, whether or not such risk subsequently proves to have been real or hoax.  Insurance can be provided to protect income or expenses and cover will depend on where you are based and where the event is taking place.

Fear of terrorism, or disinclination to attend an event due to a terrorist act cannot be covered as this is impossible to define with fear meaning different things to different people.