The suspension of Munich’s Oktoberfest after a bomb threat this week has thrown event insurance back into focus, and underlined why the UK’s forthcoming Martyn’s Law is set to reshape both cancellation and liability cover.
Authorities evacuated the Theresienwiese festival grounds after explosives were discovered in a house fire elsewhere in the city. The incident was linked to a domestic dispute, but a letter from the suspect contained a verified threat against Oktoberfest. For insurers, it highlighted, once again, how lone-actor incidents blur the lines between terrorism, cancellation and liability risk.
Freddie Sparrow, director at Vento Insurance, said the organisers were likely to be protected by terrorism extensions. “It’s not standard cover in your event cancellation policy, but it’s an optional add-on, and it’s quite cheap,” he said.
In urban settings, uptake is generally high. “So I think there’s a very good chance that they will have cancellation insurance in place, which kicks in if there’s a terrorist attack or a threat of a terrorist attack,” Sparrow said. “The local authorities essentially have to shut you down for the cover to usually kick in - and I think, in this case, there was all of those things.”
He added that even though Oktoberfest was not cancelled outright, disruption would still fall under cover. “They would have lost revenue, but an event cancellation policy does also cover disruption, so the loss of revenue in the period when the event was shut down should be covered.”
The financial harm, Sparrow warned, was more likely to fall on suppliers. “The people who I think are more likely to be adversely affected are the supply chain,” he said. “Whether it be the fencing company, or the staging company, or the speaker company, or the food vendors - they may well not have business interruption cover which includes terrorism.”
While organisers are “often pretty well protected”, he said, “the people who are supplying the events are very, very underprotected in my opinion. Those are the people I think will be more financially harmed by this than the organiser.”
Vendors dependent on on-the-day takings are particularly exposed. “If you’re a food trader or a bar, those guys are severely underinsured or not insured at all for the sort of impact as a result of weather or terrorism,” he said.
He also pointed to uninsured knock-on effects. “Sadly, people might not turn up in the days following the event even though the event is open, which wouldn’t be covered,” he noted. “It would be very rare for the fear of terrorism to be covered by your insurance policy.”
Alongside cancellation, Sparrow said liability exposures are a growing concern. “Let’s say there was an attack like there was in Manchester. If the organiser, or even possibly the security company, was found to be negligent and could have done something to stop it, they want to make sure that there’s terrorism cover in their public liability policy.”
That protection, he stressed, is essential. “A terrorist attack could be multiple loss of life or bad injuries, which can really rack up in terms of the costs,” he said. “We’ve been quite surprised about how there can be quite a lot of event public liability policies in the market, which don’t cover terrorism.”
Some underwriters are already moving in anticipation of Martyn’s Law. “We’re finding in the UK that some underwriters are saying they won’t give you the terrorism cover unless you abide by what the Martyn’s Law guidance is, even though it’s not come into law yet,” Sparrow said. “They’re trying to pre-empt it, using insurance as a bit of a force for good to push better risk management.”
Whether it’s a terrorist attack or a lone-actor incident from a family dispute, the disruption and the financial impact look very similar. That’s why organisers and insurers both need to be ready. For Sparrow, the Oktoberfest scare demonstrates why Martyn’s Law is necessary. “It’s about preparedness, not motive,” he said.
Martyn’s Law - formally the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 - received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025.
