Furthermore, the event cancellation policy may also have a provision that provides coverage for “enforced reduced attendance, which can be defined as an “abnormal and substantial reduction in the projected attendance for the insured event, of either attendees or exhibitors, based upon historical data for such insured event.”. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that large events and gatherings of 50 or more people, scheduled within the next eight weeks, be canceled or postponed. A more difficult situation arises where a state or municipality has not limited gatherings or has only limited gatherings until a date prior to the commencement of the event. Despite these precautions, two NBA players have tested positive for the virus and the league has suspended the remainder of the season, effective March 11, 2020, until further notice. COVID-19 prompts cancellation of Charlottetown polar bear dip The annual polar bear plunge in Charlottetown will not be going ahead this year due to COVID-19. Since 1984, Cohen has hosted a Kwanzaa celebration in Savannah, most recently at the Tompkins Center, but this year she decided it would be safer to cancel the event due to COVID-19. The global outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) means we’ve had to stop socialising and gathering to help prevent further spread. Furthermore, event organizers looking to purchase event cancellation insurance should make sure that the coverage they are purchasing does not have a disease-related exclusion. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many events around the world to be cancelled or postponed due to a country's government imposed restrictions of large gatherings. Share. Around the world, festivals, sporting events, conferences and community celebrations are being cancelled or postponed due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. “In light of the current global spread of COVID-19 and the cancellation of other recent large events, the prudent decision would be to cancel or postpone the Olympic Games,” he added. Certainly, an exclusion for a communicable disease could prove devastating to an event organizer that was looking to its event cancellation insurance to help make it whole following a COVID-19 related cancellation. Seventeen years ago, during the height of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, insurers began universally applying a SARS exclusion to all event cancellation policies. Stayed tuned for an update on City events. After International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach agreed to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Ab… The term “communicable disease” can be defined as an illness caused by a pathogen and transmitted from an infected person or animal to another person or animal. The National College Players Association has also suggested to the NCAA that it should seriously consider holding March Madness games in empty arenas. These and any accompanying materials are not legal advice, are not a complete summary of the subject matter, and are subject to the terms of use found at: https://www.pillsburylaw.com/en/terms-of-use.html. The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo have been postponed until 2021following weeks of speculation over whether the games would go ahead as scheduled amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, before deciding to cancel or postpone an event, it is important that the insured understand the provisions of its event cancellation policy and how any decision to cancel or postpone may impact the coverage under that policy. It has been reported that such coverage is no longer being offered and, in fact, many insurance companies are including specific coronavirus exclusions in newly issued event cancellation policies. COVID-19 Event Cancellation Template Dear Participant, The (Name of the Organization) has been closely following the news surrounding COVID-19 and its related public health concerns. As a result, entertainment companies, music promoters and professional sports teams facing losses because an event has been cancelled due to the coronavirus, or those worried about potential cancellations, should consult with an experienced sports or entertainment insurance recovery attorney to review the policy language and to help coordinate with insurance brokers and carriers and to assist with properly crafting of a claim submission in order to optimize coverage under the specific policy at issue. International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Blog, Court Enjoins Federal Government from Enforcing Key Provisions of Executive Order 13950, Malcolm Gladwell and the New Normal After Covid-19, Congress Passes Expanded Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Including Second Draw. Guiding Principles. Share. The first category is the sum of expenses incurred from the event, less gross revenue retained after refunds, and less any savings the insured was able to obtain by mitigating its loss. Posternak Blankstein & Lund LLP is now Arent Fox. It was projected that, with travel bans from Asian, a sizable chunk of the event audience — and probably one of the most important chunks — could not attend. Last Friday’s announced cancellation of the annual South by Southwest film, tech, media and music conference held in Austin in March was just the beginning, as book festivals, holiday parades and even the popular Coachella music festival have added to the cascade of cancellations and postponements. An “all-cause” event cancellation policy could, depending on the policy wording, provide coverage for event cancellations due to an outbreak of infectious or communicable diseases such as the coronavirus. ... “This ballroom has successfully postponed and moved over 45 events due to Covid-19. Now that the NBA has suspended the remainder of the 2019-20 season, the NHL has followed suit, and the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be played in empty arenas because of the COVID-19 virus and related local and state emergency declarations, it may be a matter of time before Major League Baseball also announces postponements, suspensions of games, or games played in empty stadiums. Event cancellation policies are often complex, sometimes confusing, and may contain traps for the unwary. An important consideration for an insured is to make sure that it complies with any mitigation obligations that it may have under the policy. All Rights Reserved. An express condition in many event cancellation policies is that the insured “shall at all times do all things necessary to avoid or diminish a loss under this policy ...” Furthermore, if the policy provides coverage for enforced reduced attendance, an insured will have to weigh whether to cancel or postpone the event completely, or proceed with the event and recover the loss attributable to the reduced attendance. Given this, event cancellation policyholders should examine their coverage closely to determine whether there is a disease-related exclusion and whether such exclusion has been deleted or modified by endorsement. (Photo: Reuters/Ann Wang) IMEX is a landmark trade show in the events industry. Similar suggestions have already been implemented by the English Premier League, which has banned all handshakes before its soccer matches. The tournament, the oldest tennis Grand Slam event, had previously been canceled only during World War I and World War II. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, places event and conference organizers in a particularly tough predicament: whether to proceed with their event, cancel or postpone it. The difficulty of that decision can potentially be reduced by an event cancellation policy. The event … In this note, we focus event cancellation insurance. The parade normally is … Now, let’s be clear: If you are planning an event, and you have not already purchased an … Email. KANAGAWA (TR) – The Inagawa-kai criminal syndicate is cancelling various events typically held around the New Year’s holiday due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, police have revealed, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Dec. 23).. On December 22, the gang said that it is cancelling Final Meetings (nokai) on December 27 and 28 and New Year’s Greetings (nento aisatsu) on January 7, 2021. Read the press release. It's also a family business … Event cancellation policies will generally calculate loss based on one of these two categories, or calculate loss as the greater the two categories. Pillsbury’s experienced crisis management professionals are closely monitoring the global threat of COVID-19, drawing on the firm's capabilities in supply chain management, insurance law, cybersecurity, employment law, corporate law and other areas to provide critical guidance to clients in an urgent and quickly evolving situation. Next edition of construction machinery and infrastructure expo to be held in April 2024. However, there is reasonable concern that timeframe may be extended. Unlike such a cruise, it is safe to say that it was a basic assumption of those entering contracts in 2019, before the novel coronavirus spread, that their 2020 events wouldn’t be cancelled. Although the Center for Disease Control has recommended that gatherings be limited to 10 or less, the individual states and local municipalities have been the ones that have issued, or not issued, orders limiting gatherings. In such instances, it is less clear whether an event organizer may be unable to commence or complete an event or face a situation where partial closure or postponement of the event is unavoidable. The amount of the loss covered by an event cancellation policy will generally fall into one of two categories. How to Handle an Event Cancellation during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Tweet. Many event cancellation policies exclude coverage for loss arising from a communicable disease, or the threat or fear of communicable disease, whether actual or perceived, and whether or not the spread of the disease in question has officially been labeled a pandemic. A variation of the definitions of “cancellation” and “abandonment” can include the “physical or legal inability” to commence or complete an event. For more thought leadership on this rapidly developing topic, please visit our COVID-19 resources page. Event cancellation insurance is essentially a type of business interruption insurance and should be considered for any group meeting or event that makes revenues for the group. These types of policies are meant to insure event-related revenue or expenses against a cancellation due to circumstances beyond the policyholder’s control (usually delineated as “all-cause” coverage), such as weather events like hurricanes, tornadoes, major storms, earthquakes and wildfires, as well as terrorism events, labor strikes, non-appearance of key people, and unavailability of the venue due to fires, floods or power outages. Coronavirus event cancellations: Communication is key to retaining public trust March 16, 2020 11.07am EDT Around the world, festivals, sporting … ... closed or postponed so far due to the continuing coronavirus … To cancel a show entry you must go to the superintendent or event secretary handling the entries for the show. delhi Updated: Dec 27, 2020, 23:06 IST Event cancellation insurance generally provides coverage for the cancellation, abandonment, disruption, or rescheduling of the event. Capital City Film Festival, Lansing — April 9 - … Event … Event cancellation insurance policies purchased before 2020 might cover the economic losses resulting from cancelling an event due to the coronavirus. © 2001–2021 Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. These exclusions often expressly refer to certain previous global disease events, such as SARS, MERS, and Avian Flu, and may contain a catch-all provision relating to “any other” flu variant or communicable disease leading to the restriction on movement of people and/or goods. The Parks & Recreation Department is also working with the St. Clair Shores Activities Committee to bring you a COVID-safe Christmas Tree Lighting. WASHINGTON – MARCH 11, 2020 – After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry – our fans, our employees, our exhibitors and our longtime E3 partners – we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles. Contrary to common belief, the Consumer Guarantees Act ( CGA) will not apply in the case of cancelled events. It is safe to assume this is the way the Mobile World Congress debacle started to unfold. Share. The second category of loss under an event cancellation policy is typically the net profit the insured would have earned had the event occurred. As noted in our previous Legal Alerts concerning insurance coverage for coronavirus related issues, as businesses are forced to close, travel is restricted, and supply chains are disrupted, COVID-19 insurance claims will proliferate, likely affecting all lines of coverage, particularly property and general liability coverages. First and foremost, the parties should identify whether the agreements have force majeure or excuse of perfor… As with most insurance coverage issues, whether a particular loss is covered by a particular insurance policy depends almost entirely on the policy language along with the specific circumstances of the loss. 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