Victorian Government reveals event insurance scheme in move to revive live music

The Victorian Government has today announced moves to restart the state’s live music and festival scene, with an events insurance scheme for the next 12 months along with other industry support measures.

Victorian Minister for Creative Industries, Danny Pearson announced the $20 million Live Music Restart package this morning, advising we’re making sure the industry can return stronger than ever and people can enjoy a summer of gigs and festivals.”

“This package will help our music industry get up and running quickly, giving venues the confidence to throw open their doors and get people back to work on stage and behind the scenes.”

The package offers $8 million for music festivals to help them recover from the uncertainty and impact of rescheduled and cancelled events due to the pandemic and $4 million to back live music performances in Melbourne, complementing a previously announced $5 million for regional and outer-suburban events.

A further $8 million has been allocated to music to recruit and train new staff, invest in COVIDSafe infrastructure and get more musicians and industry professionals back to work.

Music events in laneways, public spaces and venues will enliven Melbourne, attracting visitors to the CBD and other inner-city areas and boosting local businesses, while towns across Victoria will see live music throughout summer.

The Australian-first event interruption insurance product will give organisers of creative festivals, business conferences and sporting and community events the confidence to plan and stage future events.

The 12-month scheme, subsidised by the Victorian Government and delivered by the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA), will insure up to $230 million of events against cancellation due to public health measures, or where events have reduced capacity due to restrictions.

The insurance scheme responds to calls from the sector to address a gap in the market and provide peace of mind.

The industry support and insurance measures mean Victorians can expect a huge season of live music, with an extensive program in the city and around regional Victoria over summer.

The Live Music Restart package has been developed following consultation with the music industry and adds to a range of business support provided to the sector during the pandemic, through initiatives like the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund, the Sustaining Creative Workers fund and the Live Performance Support Program.

Welcoming the Events Insurance Scheme, Save Victorian Events spokesperson, Simon Thewlis stated “we began campaigning on this issue back in August 2020.

“Back then we were a pretty lonely voice on this critical issue … most told us it would never happen.

“As part of the campaign, many, many hundreds of members of Victoria’s Event Industry have contacted their local state and federal members of parliament as well as the relevant ministers about Covid cancel event insurance.

“We worked hard to make sure that insurance was a strong focus of the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Tourism and Events Sectors. The Inquiry's final report recommended that the Victorian government set up a government backed Covid cancel event insurance scheme.

“Gradually many other groups also got on board with this issue.

“An unrelenting campaign for this insurance has continued behind the scenes and in the mainstream media. So it is good that today the Victorian Government has finally announced a COVID-19 event cancellation insurance scheme through the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority.

“Not being able to insure against the risks of cancellation due to COVID has been a key thing holding many people back from organising events - as a last minute cancellation of an event can be financially devastating as we all know.

“We know we will be living with the risks of Covid for years to come and that commercial insurers are very unlikely to cover Covid risks for the foreseeable future. So (the Victorian) Government backed Covid cancel insurance will be the only insurance available for the foreseeable future.

“As with all things, the key thing will be the detail of the policies and the costs of the premiums, so we will be able to comment more once the costs and finer details are finally released - which they say will be in December.

“Obviously, we are a national industry and most of us work right across Australia, so hopefully this will cause other states to also put in place similar schemes for events in their states. Or, better still, for the Federal government to coordinate a national scheme for the long term - as it has done with reinsuring terrorism risks through the $12 billion Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation.”

Also welcoming the Victorian Government initiative, Live Performance Australia (LPA) Chief Executive, Evelyn Richardson said the live entertainment industry had been calling for Federal and state governments to establish a national insurance scheme since last year.

Richardson advised “we congratulate the Victorian Government on being first mover to establish an insurance scheme. Without the ability to insure against cancellation or business interruption, appetite for risk is low given the financial losses incurred since March last year.

“While we are again reactivating our theatres in NSW and Victoria, in our live music sector, major events have been pushed into late 2022 and early 2023. We have been shut down for 22 months and continued lockdowns and border restrictions have severely dented consumer and industry confidence.

“There are significant commercial risks involved in confidently restarting or rescheduling new events across the country, given the ongoing possibility of targeted public health restrictions being reimposed.

“The industry lost $1.4 billion in revenue in 2020 and the losses in 2021 are significant given our two major markets, NSW and Victoria, which comprise 60 % of national business activity, are only now coming out of long lock downs.”

Richardson went on to state “while we acknowledge and are grateful for all the support that has been provided by governments during the Covid-19 crisis, the lack of any insurance scheme has been a major gap. There is a critical role for government to play in addressing this market failure.

“The live entertainment industry is central to the Australian way of life and, as ever, we are committed to playing our part in the nation’s economic, social and cultural recovery.”

Images: Victorian Government has announced moves to restart the state’s live music scene (top, credit: Creative Victoria), performances have restarted at Victorian venues including the Sidney Myer Music Bowl (middle, credit: Frontier Touring/RC Stills/Ian Laidlow [Baker Boy snaps]) and Live Performance Australia Chief Executive Evelyn Richardson (below, credit: LPA).