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Entertainment

Amid changing media consumption habits and emerging challenges, Marsh offers critical insights, risk management strategies, and insurance solutions to support entertainment organisations and promoters — to help you see that the show goes on.
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Today’s entertainment landscape is defined by a dynamic mix of concerts, movies, theatre and festivals, alongside the continued growth of streaming services.

Media and entertainment companies are innovating to engage audiences wherever they are, driving significant growth and revenue.

For risk managers, this growth comes with a more complex risk profile. From on-set accidents and artist no-shows to sudden catastrophic events — whether from natural causes or civil commotion — the list of possibilities that can derail a production or event is long. In entertainment, financial consequences of any disruption are immediate and significant.

From world touring and emerging artists, record breaking international festivals, and major film and television productions to specialist production houses and sports entertainment events enjoyed by hundreds of millions, our clients touch every corner of the entertainment ecosystem.

Marsh’s experienced entertainment specialists work with you to design risk mitigation and risk transfer solutions aligned to your entertainment needs, helping you secure the financial protection and resilience you need to navigate today’s complexity.

Support across the entire entertainment ecosystem

Cancellation, non-appearance, civil commotion, and weather disruptions can all significantly impact an event, leaving organisers, venue owners, artists, and promoters to pick up the pieces. Our entertainment team provides decades of collective experience to help you design a risk management strategy and insurance program that offers the protection that suits your needs.

As the entertainment insurance and risk advisor with one of the largest global footprints, our experience spans multiple geographies and a hugely diverse range of clients: 

Music and live entertainment

Artists and promoters, bands and performance groups, tour operators, tour accountants, labels, agents and business managers

Venues and events

Venues, event organisers, exhibitors, and sponsors

Performing arts

Theatres and performing arts, dance schools and operators, music teachers, and schools

Media and rights

Broadcasters, rightsholders, photographers, and videographers

What we cover

Learn how the following insurance solutions can support your unique event needs.
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When an event can’t move forward, or a headline act can’t perform, the financial fallout can be devastating. Our personal accident, contingency, and events (PACE) placement team specializes in placing complex cancellation protection. If your event, tour, or production carries material cancellation risk, this is where to start.

From sold-out stadium tours to international events, we help you to protect the events that can’t afford to go wrong. This type of insurance policy commonly spans cancellation, public liability, employers’ liability, as well as touring crew, equipment, and instrument coverage.

Productions often face risks that standard insurance policies don’t cover. We work with studios, streamers, and independent producers on everything from cast insurance and key person protection to production shutdowns, equipment and props in transit, errors and omissions, and media liability.

Every performance carries risks. We build tailored insurance programs for venues, touring productions, and performing arts organisations that cover public liability, property, business interruption, and specialist performer risks.

Broadcasters, publishers, and digital platforms face an evolving wave of risks. Privacy breaches and misinformation claims can escalate fast. We help media organisations get ahead of their exposure before it becomes a headline. 

We arrange stunt and special effects liability, kidnap and ransom for high-profile talent, prize indemnity, and cyber risk for entertainment businesses. Even if it's unusual, we've likely placed it before.

Featured insights

Telecommunication towers with wireless antennas on sunset sky.

Article

FIFA World Cup 2026: What event organisers need to know about cancellation insurance

12/05/2026

The FIFA World Cup 2026 will span three host nations — the US, Canada, and Mexico — with 48 teams, 104 matches, and millions of attendees, representing a complex and significant insurance challenges for the industry.

FAQs

The entertainment sector is highly diversified, and its risks are correspondingly wide-ranging. Key exposures include:

  • Event cancellation from non-appearance: Artist incapacity, no-show, or force majeure events can trigger immediate and substantial revenue loss for promoters, venues, and broadcasters.
  • Production delays and business interruption: Scheduling overruns, reshoots, equipment failure, or supplier issues can materially increase costs and decrease returns.
  • Public liability and event casualty: Live events can expose organisers to third party injury, property damage, and crowd management failures — risks that can result in substantial financial and regulatory consequences.
  • Property, equipment and transport loss: Damage, theft, or breakdown of sets, instruments, cameras, and vehicles can disrupt production and give rise to replacement or repair costs.
  • Weather, force majeure, and political risk: Adverse weather, strikes, civil unrest, or government action can necessitate postponement, relocation, or cancellation of events and shoots.
  • Specialised exposures: Liability arising from animal use (including equine risks), stunts and special effects, prize indemnity, and security threats such as kidnap, ransom, or terrorism all benefit from tailored controls and coverage.

Mitigating these risks requires a combination of proactive risk management and targeted insurance solutions calibrated to the production, event, or creative activity in question.

The specifics of entertainment insurance depend on the organisation and the terms and conditions offered by insurers. Many package policy offerings include property, casualty, workers' compensation, liability insurance, and other specialist lines that cover the individuals, property, and locales involved in the entertainment.

Travel insurance is a common element of entertainment coverage due to the frequent international travel undertaken by talent, crew, and production staff. Specialised exposures unique to productions or events — such as kidnap and ransom, equipment transit, stunt liability, or cast replacement — are often addressed through endorsements or schedule-specific add-ons.

Event cancellation insurance generally provides financial protection when an event cannot proceed as planned due to circumstances beyond your control. Whether you’re organising a music festival, film production, sporting event, or conference, unexpected disruptions can result in significant financial losses — from non-refundable venue deposits and production costs to lost ticket revenue and contractual penalties.

A specialist event cancellation policy can cover both indoor and outdoor events for risks including but not limited to:

  • Cancellation, postponement, or abandonment due to adverse weather, natural disaster, or other force majeure;
  • Non-appearance of key talent or performers through injury, illness, death or unavoidable travel delay;
  • Government action, civil commotion or political unrest that prevents an event from taking place (including train strikes and protests);
  • Terrorism or political violence impacting the event location or surrounding area;
  • Communicable disease; 
  • Cyber act and computer system failures; and
  • National mourning. 

Insurance coverage can be tailored to the specific event, production, or venue — meaning limits, triggers, and exclusions can be structured around your actual exposure. Working with a specialist broker will help you to have greater confidence that your policy will respond when it matters most. 

For smaller productions and events, event cancellation insurance is often overlooked, but the financial exposure can be significant relative to budget size. A cancelled community theatre run, independent film shoot, or regional conference can still result in thousands of dollars in unrecoverable costs.

The real question isn’t size — it’s exposure. Consider:

  • Sunk costs: Venue hire, equipment rental, talent fees, and crew costs that are non-refundable if production stops.
  • Revenue at risk: Ticket sales, sponsorship income, or broadcast rights that could be lost.
  • Contractual obligations: Penalties or liability to third parties if you’re unable to deliver.

Premium for smaller events are often more accessible than producers expect, and specialist brokers can structure coverage that meets clients’ specific needs and objectives. Independent productions, touring shows, and niche events all have insurable exposures — and the cost of going uninsured is rarely worth the risk.

We also understand that new events may have a smaller balance sheet to protect in the first instance, but avoiding a major loss in year one could be vital to survival for years to come.

If your production has a budget, a schedule, and stakeholders depending on it — it has something worth protecting.

We provide scale, specialization, and support when it matters most. Our team has deep experience placing some of the most complex entertainment and events insurance programs. As we operate globally, we can support you wherever your production or event takes you. If you need to make a claim, our dedicated claims team has deep capabilities across the entertainment spectrum and can provide ongoing guidance to support you.

Talk to us

Contact us to get in touch with an industry or risk subject matter expert, learn more about a specific solution or submit a sales/RFP inquiry.

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Our global entertainment specialists

Warren Harper

Managing Director, Global Sports and Events Practice Leader, Marsh

Harry Plastow

Head of Entertainment incl. Personal Accident, Contingency and Events (PACE)

Richard Tolley

Marsh UK Industries - Sports, Entertainment & Media Industries Leader