Illness or injury
The performer or speaker is too unwell or injured to appear. Medical issues are a key area insurers look at, and proposal forms ask detailed health questions.
EVENT INSURANCE
Non-Appearance Insurance
When the whole event is built around one performer or speaker, their absence can sink it. Non-appearance cover can protect the money you have committed if a named person cannot appear for a covered reason outside their control, subject to the wording.
NamedCover applies to listed people only
MedicalA key cause insurers assess
Reschedule?The key question insurers ask
SeparateUsually its own section
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 is non-appearance insurance?
Non-appearance insurance covers the money you lose if a named headline act, international performer or keynote speaker cannot appear because of illness, injury, death or travel disruption outside their control. Only the people listed on the policy are covered, and insurers assess each one, with medical history the main focus and a medical declaration sometimes required. The key question insurers ask is whether the event can be rescheduled: if it can, cover typically goes to the costs of moving it rather than the whole budget. It is usually bought as a separate section, because many event cancellation wordings exclude non-appearance.
Exclusions differ between insurers, particularly for known medical conditions, so check the wording before you rely on it.
- Covers
- Named performers and speakers
- Main causes
- Illness, injury, travel, death
- Key question
- Can the event be rescheduled?
- Sold as
- A separate section or policy
Our events specialist
Shaneel Gounden
Account Executive
Non-appearance cover is used when a promoter books a headline act, particularly one coming from overseas. The key question insurers ask is whether the event can be rescheduled, and a loss adjuster usually investigates a claim.
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.
Travel disruption
Flights are cancelled or delayed, or the person cannot get to the venue in time for reasons outside their control. International acts are the main exposure.
Death or serious incident
The death of the insured person, and in some wordings a serious incident involving a close family member, which can be offered as an option.
Reasons within the performer's control are not covered: a fee dispute, a decision not to perform, or a clash with another booking. The cause has to be something that happened to them, not something they chose.
If the event can be moved to a new date with the same act, insurers typically cover the costs and expenses of rescheduling: such as extra venue hire, re-advertising and production costs that have to be paid twice. How ticket refunds are treated varies by insurer. Because the event still goes ahead, the claim is for the cost of moving it, not the whole budget.
If the event cannot be rescheduled, for example because it is tied to a festival date, a touring window or a venue that is booked out, the claim moves toward the net loss on the event. Tell the underwriter up front how fixed your date is, because it changes how they look at the risk.
| Area | What underwriters want to know |
|---|---|
| Who is insured | Name, date of birth and role of each person the event depends on. Only the people listed are covered |
| Health | Current medical conditions, treatment, any prescribed regime, and any history of missing performances. You may need to ask each person before you answer |
| Medical examination | Underwriters may require a medical examination or declaration |
| Travel | How the person and essential equipment are travelling, and how much time is allowed between arrival and the event |
| Contracts | Signed appearance contracts, and whether fees are paid only if the person performs |
| Substitutes | Whether an understudy, session musician or alternative speaker could step in, and how many named people could be absent before the event is cancelled |
For an international act, the travel plan matters. A performer landing the morning of the show is a different risk to one arriving two days early with a buffer for delays. Building in time before the event is one of the simplest ways to make the risk more attractive to underwriters.
Conference packages usually combine cancellation and public liability, with speaker non-appearance handled separately or on limited terms. If the conference is sold on one or two keynote speakers, the absence of either could make the event unviable, so organisers typically name and insure those speakers specifically. See conference and exhibition insurance.
Check the wording. Exclusions vary between insurers. Known medical conditions may be excluded unless the insurer has agreed to cover them after reviewing the health declaration, and causes within the person's control or already known when the policy was bought are not covered. Other exclusions differ from policy to policy, so read the specific wording rather than assuming.
Claims. A loss adjuster usually investigates non-appearance claims. Keep medical certificates, airline notices, correspondence with the act's management, the appearance contract, and your record of costs, refunds and savings. The quicker the insurer is told, the better.
Non-appearance sits alongside event cancellation insurance, which covers the venue, authorities and, where added, weather.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Non-Appearance Insurance FAQs
Yes, if you buy non-appearance cover naming that act and the reason they cannot perform is covered, such as illness, injury or unavoidable travel disruption. The claim is generally based on your net loss, which can include lost revenue if you insured on a gross revenue basis. If the event can be rescheduled, the insurer will usually cover the cost of moving it rather than the whole budget.
Usually not. Many standard cancellation wordings exclude the non-appearance of any person, so it is bought as a separate section or policy. Check your schedule for a non-appearance section and the names listed on it.
The core causes are illness or injury, death, and travel disruption outside the person's control. Some insurers offer cover for a serious illness or injury to a close family member as well. Reasons within the person's control, such as a contract dispute or choosing not to perform, are not covered.
Sometimes. Proposal forms ask about each insured person's current health, treatment and history of missing shows, and underwriters may ask for a medical examination. Answer the health questions accurately, because a condition that was not disclosed can put the claim at risk.
It depends on the wording and on what was disclosed. Known conditions may be excluded unless the insurer has agreed to cover them after reviewing the health declaration. Check the wording, and raise any known condition at quote stage rather than after the event.
Conference packages often include cancellation and public liability together, with speaker non-appearance handled separately or on limited terms. If a conference depends on one or two keynote speakers, organisers typically name them and ask for non-appearance cover specifically.
QUOTE REQUEST
Get a non-appearance quote
Tell us the event, the date, who the event depends on, where they are travelling from and what you would lose if they could not appear.
Specialist broker review Australian business insurance
Booked a Headline Act? Insure the Booking
Artist fees and production costs are committed long before the performer boards a plane. Non-appearance cover can protect that commitment if they cannot appear for a covered reason.