EVENT INSURANCE
By the time a conference opens, the venue deposit, catering minimums, speaker fees and marketing are already spent. Cancellation cover can protect that money if the event cannot go ahead for an insured reason. Public liability keeps the venue happy. Here is how the two fit together, and where exhibitors and speakers come in.
Premiums and outcomes described are specific to this client and indicative only. Your own terms will depend on your circumstances and the insurer.
THE SHORT ANSWER
What insurance does a conference, exhibition or trade show need?
Conference and exhibition insurance is usually event cancellation packaged with public liability, with speaker non-appearance added as a separate section. Cancellation pays the costs you cannot recover, or lost revenue if you insure on that basis, when the event is cancelled, postponed or relocated for reasons outside your control. It does not cover low registrations or weak sponsorship. Public liability, usually $20 million, covers injury to delegates and damage to the venue, and exhibitors are commonly required to hold their own $10 million or $20 million cover or be included in cover the organiser arranges.
Cancellation is priced against the sum insured, and rates vary between events, so we price each conference on its own budget and program. Minimum premiums apply.
Our events specialist
Shaneel Gounden
Account Executive
Conference cover is commonly packaged as event cancellation with public liability included. Non-appearance of speakers is handled separately, as its own section.
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.
| Section | What it pays for | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Cancellation and abandonment | Costs you cannot recover (or lost revenue, if insured on that basis) when the event is cancelled, postponed, relocated or cut short for reasons outside your control | Low registrations and weak sponsorship are not covered |
| Speaker non-appearance | Losses when a named speaker cannot attend through illness, accident or travel disruption | Usually a separate section; some packages include a limited version |
| Public liability | Injury to delegates and visitors, and damage to the venue caused by your negligence | $20M is the usual venue requirement |
| Terrorism, civil commotion, national mourning | Cancellation caused by those events | Varies by insurer: some include, some sell as extensions, some exclude |
| Communicable disease | Cancellation because of an outbreak | Generally excluded since COVID |
| Adverse weather | Cancellation caused by severe weather | Some wordings limit it to open-air and marquee events |
Published cancellation wordings generally exclude losses from the level of public interest, poor ticket or registration sales and lack of sponsor support. If delegates simply do not register, that is a financial risk the organiser carries. Cancellation cover is for events that cannot go ahead: the venue is damaged or unavailable, authorities close it, severe weather cuts access, or another insured cause stops the event.
Many wordings reduce a claim if the amount insured is below the full budget, so organisers generally insure the full amount they stand to lose. At least one published wording pays on a net loss basis and reduces the claim proportionately when the sum insured is less than the true budget. More detail is on the event cancellation insurance page.
Non-appearance cover names the people the event depends on, with their dates of birth and role. Insurers ask for health declarations from each person, their travel plans and arrival times, and whether a substitute could step in. For international keynotes, allow a buffer between arrival and the session; underwriters ask about it.
A loss adjuster usually investigates a claim, and the key question is whether the event can be rescheduled. If it can, cover typically pays the costs of moving it, subject to the wording. Some conference packages include a limited version of speaker cover; key-speaker cover for a named headliner is usually bought on top. See non-appearance insurance.
Organisers and venues commonly require every exhibitor to hold public liability of $10 million or $20 million for the exhibition, including move-in and move-out. Set the limit in your exhibitor manual to match what the venue requires of you.
Some organisers arrange cover that automatically includes every exhibitor. Schemes differ: published examples run at $10 million or $20 million, and some exclude damage caused by the exhibitors' own products. Check the limit against the venue's requirement before relying on it.
Some cancellation wordings include an inability-to-proceed trigger for when essential equipment, exhibits or stock arrive late or damaged. It is worth asking about if a stand is expensive to build and ship.
Public liability responds to damage you negligently cause to the venue, but property in your care, custody or control can be sub-limited. In our events specialist's experience, damage to hired halls and venues (floors and fittings) is among the most common event liability claims. Whether one is paid depends on the facts, the hire agreement and the wording.
Venue contracts often ask the organiser to indemnify the venue. Some event liability wordings exclude hold harmless agreements unless the insurer has reviewed them. Send us the venue contract before you sign it.
We can review the insurance clauses in your exhibitor manual, so the requirement you set is one exhibitors can actually meet.
Insurers usually require cancellation cover to be bound and paid well before the event, often weeks ahead, and anything already known when you buy it is excluded. In our events specialist's experience, many single-event quotes are not released more than about 90 days out. For an association that runs an annual conference, an annual policy is another way to secure cover early, it can price competitively against single-event cover depending on the calendar, and it can include the association's office risks for the rest of the year. Associations running regular events often also consider management liability for the committee.
Before joining Tank, Shaneel worked in the Entertainment and Sports team at Marsh, placing event liability and event cancellation for associations, event managers and promoters.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
QUOTE REQUEST
Tell us the event dates and venue, expected delegates and exhibitors, the budget you want to protect, any speakers the program depends on, and the limit the venue requires.
Venue deposits and speaker fees go out months before the doors open. Send us the budget and venue contract and we will set out what cancellation, liability and speaker cover would look like.
Last updated: 01/10/2026
