Insurers face million-dollar loss after Swift concerts cancelled

LONDON: Insurers face millions of dollars in claims after a foiled attack forced three Taylor Swift concerts in Austria to be cancelled, though several providers will share out the hit, two people involved in insurance for her tour told Reuters.

The concerts in Vienna were cancelled this week after a planned attack at the Ernst Happel Stadium. Some 195,000 ‘Swifties’ had been expected to attend, with many travelling from abroad for a chance to see the pop superstar.

Barracuda Music, the concert organiser, said all tickets would be refunded within 10 days. It could not immediately be reached for comment about insurance arrangements.

Swift is popular among insurers as she rarely cancels concerts, a third insurance source said. Her celebrity and success mean that most specialist event cancellation insurers in London would be involved in covering her tour, one of the sources said. The sources declined to be named, citing client confidentiality.

Organisers of large sporting and entertainment events typically buy event cancellation insurance, much of which tends to be insured through the Lloyd’s of London market by a consortium of insurers.

A Lloyd’s of London spokesperson confirmed that event cancellation insurance is offered at Lloyd’s, but said it could not comment on specific policies.Militant attacks are often excluded from event cancellation policies, but policyholders typically buy extra cover against them, or the threat of them.

“The standalone terrorism cancellation insurance policy would have been triggered by the terrorism act or threat clause within the policy, as there has been a known potential terrorism event,” said Tim Thornhill, managing director at broker Tysers.

Reuters could not establish the extent of cover on the concerts. Marcos Alvarez, managing director for global financial institution ratings at Morningstar DBRS, said losses from the cancellations could be in the tens of millions of dollars.