The Hong Kong Observatory calls them black storms: rainfall and winds so intense that they cause widespread flooding, can bring down multi-storey scaffolding and even force the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong to close.

So, when the storm clouds rolled in over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour in 2007, Jeff McNally, chief executive of Entertainment Insurance Brokers (EIB), braced himself.

A big ice rink covered by a massive tent had been erected in Victoria Park at Causeway Bay to stage the Disney on Ice show. Hundreds of thousands of dollars had been spent on flying in the performers, preparing the venue, promoting the show and ensuring all the services were in place.

McNally also recalls that the local promoter had been wavering on insuring the production, figuring the chances of anything happening were remote. 

At your own risk

For McNally, a lack of awareness of potential risks among those in the entertainment industry is nothing new. When he first began spruiking for business in Singapore in 1993, ‘it was like banging your head against a brick wall,’ he says. ‘People were like, “nothing happens in Singapore”.’

Simon Calabrese, national segment leader – sport, leisure and entertainment for Marsh Australia, says many entertainers worldwide are unaware of the risks and potential losses they are exposed to. 

‘We deal with individual sole traders right through to some of the biggest names within the entertainment landscape and not a day goes by when a client is unaware of some element of their exposure,’ he says. 

‘For example, a very common misconception made by musicians and performers is the notion that they are covered for public liability insurance when playing at a live venue. This is almost never the case.’

The A–Z of covers

EIB offers no less than 40 different types of entertainment-related cover. A small sample includes animal mortality, kidnap and ransom, political risk, interruptions to signal transmission, terrorism, prize indemnity and moral turpitude.

Calabrese says the kind of risks those in the entertainment industry need cover for can go well beyond the standard fare of public liability, professional indemnity and accident insurance. 

‘There are niche, entertainment-specific insurances,’ he says, pointing to negative film insurance (which protects against costs incurred by accidental loss or damage to film negatives or content media) or prize indemnity and hole-in-one insurance (cover for the cost of a chance big prize like a hole-in-one in a golf tournament or half-court shot in a basketball match).

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