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Empty outdoor event stage and crowd barriers at dusk before gates open, event insurance in Australia

Event Insurance Australia

Public liability, cancellation, adverse weather and non-appearance cover for festivals, concerts, sporting events, conferences, galas and community events. Arranged with specialist event underwriters, working to the date your venue or council needs the certificate.

$20M

Limit many venues ask for

90 days

Typical single-event quote window (our specialist's experience)

Weeks

Bind cancellation before the event

Recognition

Industry Awards

THE SHORT ANSWER

What is event insurance in Australia, and who needs it?

Event insurance is a package of covers for a one-off or recurring event: public liability for injury or property damage to others, event cancellation and abandonment for the money you lose if the event cannot go ahead, adverse weather, non-appearance of a key performer or speaker, and voluntary workers personal accident for your volunteers. Anyone running an event on hired or public land usually needs at least the public liability, because councils and many venues ask for a $20 million certificate of currency before they confirm the booking. Promoters, councils, associations, sporting bodies, conference organisers and corporates all buy it, from single-day functions to multi-day festivals. Cancellation is optional but is where the real money sits once your budget is committed.

Get an Event Insurance Quote Call 02 9000 1155

Public liability does not cover the organiser's own injuries or your volunteers' injuries, and poor ticket sales are not an insured reason to cancel.

Standard PL limit
$20M for many councils and venues
Core covers
PL, cancellation, weather, non-appearance
Single-event quotes
About 90 days out (our specialist's experience)
Cancellation
Bound and paid before the event
Shaneel Gounden

Our events specialist

Shaneel Gounden

Account Executive

Many event buyers come in late and need cover sorted fast. Harder events can often get terms once the organiser has addressed what underwriters will question in the risk management plan, before the submission goes to market.

Previously in the Entertainment and Sports team at Marsh, placing event liability, cancellation and prize cover, then in events at Aon.

General information only. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider the relevant PDS and TMD before deciding, and cover is subject to the policy terms.

EVENT INSURANCE GUIDES

Find the cover for your event

Every event is different, so the guides are split by cover type, event format and the kind of organiser running it. Each one explains what underwriters ask and where the gaps usually sit.

01

Core cover and planning

The covers most events are built from, what they cost, and what underwriters need to see.

Event cancellation insurance Cover for the money you lose if the event is cancelled, abandoned or postponed for reasons outside your control. Adverse weather cover How weather cancellation works, what the triggers look like, and why it is not the same as rain cover. Non-appearance insurance When the headline act or keynote speaker cannot make it, and the question insurers ask first. Event public liability (one-off events) Public liability for a single event, the $20M certificate venues ask for, and what it does not cover. Event insurance cost How event liability and cancellation are priced, and what moves the number. What you need for a quote The information underwriters ask for, the risk management plan, and how far ahead to start.
02

By event type

Each format carries its own questions: crowds, participants, speakers or a run of shows.

Music festivals and concerts Crowds, security, alcohol, stages and the cancellation budget for ticketed music events. Sporting events, marathons and fun runs Participant waivers, road closures, sanctioning bodies and the spectator versus participant question. Conferences and exhibitions Cancellation, speaker non-appearance, venue damage and cover for exhibitors. Touring productions One policy across a multi-city tour instead of a policy per show.
03

By organiser

Councils, associations and event businesses buy differently. Start with the one that sounds like you.

Council venue insurance requirements What councils and venues ask for before they approve a booking, and how to get the certificate in time. Community and association events Theatre groups, clubs, charity events and galas, stallholders and volunteers. Event organiser insurance (annual) Annual cover for event management businesses, and securing cover before single-event terms are released.
04

Prize cover

Offer a large prize for a promotion or golf day without carrying the cost if someone wins.

Prize indemnity insurance Offer a big prize for a promotion, raffle or challenge without carrying the cost if someone wins. Hole-in-one insurance Put a car or cash prize on a par 3 for a golf day, and the conditions insurers set.

WHY TANK INSURANCE

How we approach event insurance

Event buyers usually want one thing: get it sorted so the venue, council or promoter can sign off. We keep the questions short, go to specialist event markets, and fix the weak points in the submission before an underwriter sees them.

Event site map, radios and run sheet on a production table, representing an event risk management plan

01

Speed Without the Long Conversation

Many event enquiries arrive with a deadline attached: a venue booking, a council permit or a grant application. We ask the four questions underwriters need first (attendance, turnover, alcohol, venue) and get terms moving from there.

02

The Right Specialist Markets

A standard business liability policy may not cover everything an event organiser does, so check the activities it describes. We approach specialist event underwriters and Lloyd's markets that write festivals, sporting events, conferences and cancellation.

03

Risk Management Plan First

Underwriters generally look closely at the risk management plan on larger or public events, along with the security arrangements and who is supplying stages and structures. Where an underwriter is likely to question the plan, we tell you before the submission goes out, so you can address it with your own safety advisers. That is how harder events can often get terms.

04

One Policy for Tours, or an Annual Policy

A multi-city tour or a calendar of events can be simpler, and often more cost-effective, on one policy than on a policy per show. For event businesses, an annual policy is another way to secure cover early and also protects the business between events.

COVERAGE DETAILS

What Event Insurance Covers

A typical event program combines public liability with cancellation, and adds weather, non-appearance and volunteer cover where the event needs them. Cover always depends on the policy wording.

Event marquee guy ropes and ballast weights, temporary structures covered under event public liability
Event marquee guy ropes and ballast weights, temporary structures covered under event public liability

Usually Covered

✓ Injury to guests, spectators or the public at the event, and damage to their property (public liability)
✓ Legal defence costs for covered liability claims brought against the organiser
✓ Money lost if the event is cancelled, abandoned, postponed or relocated for a reason outside your control (event cancellation)
✓ Severe weather that makes the site unsafe or stops the event, where adverse weather cover is added
✓ Non-appearance of a named headline act or speaker, where that section is bought
✓ Injury to your volunteers under a voluntary workers personal accident policy, arranged separately

Not Typically Covered

✕ The organiser's own injuries, or staff and volunteer injuries, under public liability
✕ Communicable disease, which is generally excluded from event cancellation since COVID
✕ Poor ticket sales, lack of public interest or financial failure
✕ Activities not disclosed to the insurer, such as pyrotechnics, rides or contact sport
✕ Circumstances already known or foreseeable when the cover was bought
✕ War, terrorism and civil commotion, unless added (this varies by insurer)

Public liability does not cover your own injuries or your volunteers' injuries. It is a common wrong assumption, in our events specialist's experience, and the fix is separate cover such as voluntary workers personal accident.

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This is a general guide only. What is and isn't covered depends on the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions of your specific policy.

REAL PLACEMENTS

Event-Sector Risks We Have Placed

Historical Tank placements, anonymised with premiums rounded up. Current appetite, premium and terms depend on the full risk at the time of application. Not a quote.

Premiums and outcomes described are specific to each client and indicative only. Your own terms will depend on your circumstances and the insurer.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Event Insurance FAQs

Event insurance is a package rather than one policy. Public liability covers injury to guests or damage to someone else's property at the event. Event cancellation covers the money you lose if the event is cancelled, abandoned or postponed for a reason outside your control, and adverse weather and non-appearance of a headline act or speaker can be added. Voluntary workers personal accident covers your own volunteers, which public liability does not.
$20 million is the standard limit many councils, council venues and private venues ask for, and our events specialist has not seen a higher limit required in his career, even for large festivals. Some venues accept $10 million, so check the hire agreement or event permit before you buy. The venue or council usually wants to be noted as an interested party on the certificate of currency.
It depends on whether you bought adverse weather cover, because many cancellation wordings exclude weather unless the adverse weather extension is added. With it in place, a claim usually needs severe weather that made the site unsafe or stopped people getting there, often confirmed by police or the council calling the event off, and backed by readings from the nearest official weather station. Rain that simply keeps the crowd away is a different product, usually called rain or pluvius cover.
You can insure the revenue you would lose if the event is cancelled for an insured reason, by choosing the gross revenue basis instead of the more common costs and expenses basis. What you cannot insure is poor ticket sales or a lack of public interest. Those are generally excluded, because they are a commercial risk rather than an insured event.
No. Public liability responds to injury to other people and damage to their property. It does not cover the organiser's own injuries, or injuries to your staff or volunteers. Staff are a workers compensation matter, and volunteers need voluntary workers personal accident cover, which is a separate policy.
Start public liability around 90 days out where you can, because venues and councils often want a certificate of currency before they approve the booking. In our events specialist's experience, many insurers will not release single-event terms much more than about 90 days ahead, and an annual policy is another way to secure cover early. Cancellation cover has to be bound and paid before the event, often weeks ahead, and large festivals should start the conversation six to twelve months out.
Possibly. War, terrorism and civil commotion are treated differently by different insurers: some exclude them, some sell an extension, and some include terrorism cover in conference packages. Anything already known or foreseeable when you buy the policy is generally excluded, so if an overseas conflict is already affecting travel for your performers or delegates, the time to raise it is before you bind.
Often, yes, when we are placing the organiser's event and the organiser wants some or all stallholders covered. Many underwriters ask whether stallholders and exhibitors will hold their own liability insurance, so tell us at quote stage which ones will not. We do not arrange standalone market stall policies.

RELATED COVER

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Management Liability Insurance →
Empty event hall after pack-down with house lights low, event insurance arranged with Tank

Get the Certificate Your Venue Needs

Tell us the event, the date, the venue, expected attendance and what the venue or council has asked for. We will take it to specialist event markets and come back to you with the options available.

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Last updated: 01/10/2026

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