Canadian festivals and large events are under increasing scrutiny from insurers as tragic incidents in both Canada and the US continue to reshape security expectations. From severe weather to vehicle attacks and shootings, the risks facing organizers have grown more complex, and insurers now look closely at the safeguards in place before providing coverage.
Carrie Clermont (pictured), senior underwriter and team lead for hospitality at K&K Insurance Canada, pointed to the deadly attack at the Lapu-Lapu Festival in British Columbia as one example of why security has become such a priority.
With the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) behind us in Toronto and the FIFA World Cup coming next year, she noted that proper measures such as vehicle barriers, evacuation plans, and detailed crowd management procedures are more critical than ever.
“The industry focus … is to ensure that liability exposures have been addressed, and sufficient procedures are in place to mitigate losses from occurring,” Clermont said.
Clermont stressed that liability remains a central issue for underwriters and brokers alike. Organizers seeking coverage for large-scale events need to demonstrate not only that they have purchased insurance, but that they have thought through worst-case scenarios and prepared accordingly.
“We want to make sure … there’s comprehensive risk management in place for the events,” she said.
“That means supporting documents that include emergency response plans, which would include communications, event details, incident command, emergency scenarios (ie, weather, fire procedure, bomb threat, lost person, equipment failure/collapse), emergency contacts, security plan, public transportation and parking, and what their procedures are for emergency situations,” she said.
Insurers expect these documents to be submitted well in advance – not the week before an event. The scale of large gatherings means underwriters must be able to fully assess exposure, Clermont said. “These are large-scale events. They need to be thoroughly underwritten.”
Alongside liability, event cancellation coverage is drawing greater attention in Canada. Clermont pointed to the role of extreme weather, which has grown more volatile in recent years.
“Event cancellation is also another one that’s … heightened because of the extreme climate that we have seen and the financial loss,” she said. Outdoor events in particular are now far more likely to request this protection, she added, reflecting both organizer awareness and insurer insistence.
This shift aligns with a broader trend in the property and casualty sector, where catastrophic losses from severe storms, flooding, and wildfires have redefined assumptions around weather risk. For hospitality and entertainment, it means planning for interruptions is now part of the underwriting baseline.
Beyond weather-related perils, broader security threats are also shaping event insurance. Terrorism may not have been a frequent issue in Canada, but incidents both domestically and internationally have elevated it as a concern for underwriters.
Clermont explained that terrorism coverage is typically offered through event cancellation policies and assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Demand for it has grown in recent years as organizers and insurers alike grapple with a shifting risk landscape. Each new incident, Clermont said, pushes underwriters to adjust how they assess the vulnerabilities of large gatherings.
In the wake of recent incidents, municipalities have also begun to take a more active role in event safety. Toronto, for example, recently announced a multi-million-dollar boost to its Special Events Stabilization Initiative, aimed at helping organizers cover the costs of barriers, paramedics, and other risk management requirements.
For insurers, those measures could be significant. Festivals struggling with volunteer shortages, reduced revenues, and rising expenses often found themselves unable to meet the strict safety protocols demanded by specialty carriers. With additional municipal support, more events should now be able to afford essentials like concrete barricades and expanded security – the very measures underwriters look for when assessing liability exposures.
Heather Moyer, another industry veteran, previously said that the added funding is a welcome change.
“Without barricades or roadblocks, it’s very hard to argue that an organizer did everything they could to protect attendees,” she said. Insurers are increasingly requiring those protections as a baseline condition for coverage, and municipal funding may help keep more events insurable.
She noted that specialty carriers are aligning more closely around tighter safety standards, making compliance less optional than in previous years. That shift, while raising the bar for organizers, also reduces the chance of catastrophic claims. “If festivals can demonstrate comprehensive security planning, it not only makes them safer – it also makes them more insurable,” Moyer added.
