Event Insurance
At Expat Insurance, we take the time to understand what your event involves — the venue, the guest numbers, the paid suppliers, and the people whose absence would stop it happening. We then advise on cover that protects the event and the liability you carry on the day.
Why Event Insurance Matters
An event is a financial commitment made in advance and delivered in a day, week or longer. Deposits are paid early and are rarely refundable. Hong Kong adds a particular risk on top of that: a typhoon signal No.8 or a black rainstorm warning can make a venue unreachable with almost no notice, and the money is already spent.
The second exposure is liability. If a guest is injured, or a venue is damaged, the organiser is the one who carries it. A policy carries public liability cover for that reason.
This cover is not only for weddings. It applies to a golf day, a sporting fixture, a concert or any staged performance, an art exhibition or pop-up food market, a corporate gathering, a charity fundraiser, and to programmes that run across several days or weeks.
Weddings are the event our clients ask about most — see what wedding insurance actually covers, and what it does not for how this applies on the day.
What Event Insurance Actually Covers
Event policies are built from three pillars. They are priced separately and you do not have to buy all three, but a gap in any one of them is where the losses land.
Cancellation and postponement
The money already committed — venue, catering, transport, photography, décor, printing, entertainment — when the event cannot go ahead for a reason outside your control.
Liability
Injury to a guest, participant or member of the public, damage to the venue, and damage to property entrusted to you. MSIG’s Big Day policy carries public liability of up to HK$1,000,000.
Property and equipment
Owned and rented equipment, staging, sets, stands, tents, furniture, attire and gifts — the physical things the event runs on.
The part most organisers do not know is insurable
Cancellation cover is usually understood as getting deposits back. On a commercial event the wider heads of loss matter more, and Chubb’s Hong Kong event policy sets them out explicitly:
- Gross revenue — ticket sales, participation fees, sponsorship and advertising income
- Irrecoverable costs and expenses already incurred
- Additional expenses spent specifically to prevent a cancellation that looks likely
- Extra expenses where tickets must be refunded, or the venue is not vacated on time
- Public relations expenses — a PR firm engaged to protect the event brand after an abandonment
- Loss of money at the event location or in transit to and from the bank
One point worth knowing: cover can be arranged by anyone with a financial interest in the event, not only the organiser. A sponsor, a venue or a principal backer can insure their own exposure rather than relying on somebody else’s policy.
The Hong Kong trigger most organisers miss
MSIG’s policy defines extreme weather precisely: the condition while typhoon signal No.8 or above, or a black rainstorm warning, is hoisted. That wording decides whether a washed-out day is a claim or simply a loss. An event held overseas is measured against the local equivalent. Chubb treats typhoon and flood under national catastrophes, covering the case where guests or performers cannot reach the venue at all.
What can go wrong, and what responds
| The risk | What it looks like in practice |
|---|---|
| Non-appearance | A key performer or speaker cannot appear through illness, accident, death or travel delay |
| Adverse weather | Wind, lightning or rain makes the venue inaccessible or unsafe |
| National catastrophe | Typhoon, flood, earthquake or volcanic ash disrupts travel or closes the venue |
| Communicable disease | An outbreak leads the authorities to close the venue |
| Liability | A spectator injured by a collapsing stage or prop, food poisoning, or fire |
| Other perils | Strikes, political violence, a government travel advisory, terrorism, or a period of national mourning |
This is not only for weddings
Wedding cover is the best-known version because it is the one that gets marketed. The same policies are written for a far wider range of events:
- Sporting events and tournaments, professional or amateur
- Golf days, including hole-in-one prize cover
- Concerts, music festivals and theatre productions
- Conferences, conventions and MICE events
- Exhibitions, trade stands and pop-up markets
- Product launches, awards shows and corporate parties
- Carnivals, community events and charity fundraisers
- Programmes running across several days or weeks
- Weddings, receptions and the registration itself
Where the market sits
| Insurer | Shape of the cover |
|---|---|
| Chubb | A multi-coverage policy combining cancellation, event liability, personal accident and property, tailored per occasion. Personal accident can extend to volunteers, crew and audience. Separate proposal forms exist for event packages, event liability, MICE events and weddings. |
| MSIG | Big Day Insurance — cancellation and rearrangement, valuables and attire, and public liability to HK$1,000,000. An excess of the first HK$500 or 10% of the adjusted loss applies. |
| Another panel insurer | All Risks Event — cancellation, non-appearance, equipment, sets and stands, with public liability, third-party property and entrusted property carrying three separate limits. Options include tents, costumes, musical instruments, forced loss of audience and inclement weather. |
What we need to get you a quote
Event cover is priced on specifics rather than a rate card. For most events an insurer will want:
- The date, the venue, and whether it is indoors, outdoors or under temporary structures
- Expected attendance
- Your total committed budget, and whether it includes your profit margin
- Anyone the event genuinely depends on, and their fee, if you want non-appearance cover
- How many performances or presentations are planned
Send us those and we will come back with the options side by side.
Common questions
How far ahead should cover be arranged?
As soon as you start paying deposits. Cancellation cover protects committed spend, so it has least value once the money is already at risk and a known problem is on the horizon.
Does the venue’s insurance cover me?
A venue insures its own building and its own liability. It does not insure your deposits, your suppliers, or your liability as the organiser. We would also look at what the venue requires of you in writing.
Is bad weather always covered?
Not automatically — it depends on the wording. MSIG ties it to a typhoon signal No.8 or a black rainstorm warning. Chubb covers adverse weather and treats typhoon and flood as national catastrophes. Another panel insurer lists inclement weather among its options. This is one of the clearest reasons to compare rather than assume.
Can I insure the income, not just the costs?
Yes. Ticket sales, participation fees, sponsorship and advertising revenue can all be insured, alongside the irrecoverable costs. For a commercial event that is usually the larger number.
Do I have to be the organiser to buy it?
No. Cover can be arranged by anyone with a financial interest in the event, so a sponsor or backer can insure their own exposure directly.
Can a multi-day event be covered?
Yes. Cover is written around the period of the event, whether that is a single afternoon or a programme running over weeks.
Cover That Matches the Event
We start with the event.
We look at the venue, the date, guest numbers, your committed spend and which suppliers or performers the event depends on.
We compare the policies clearly.
We compare the options available in Hong Kong side by side, including MSIG, Chubb and other panel insurers, so the differences in limits and exclusions are visible.
We handle the paperwork.
From the proposal form through to a claim, we deal with the insurer on your behalf.
We stay with it until the event is over.
If the date moves, the guest list grows or the format changes, we adjust the cover before the day rather than after it.
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Our Simple Process
Talk to us about your needs
We learn your budget, lifestyle, and health priorities.
Compare your best options
We present suitable plans side-by-side in clear language.
Get you insured quickly
We handle the applications, forms, and negotiations.
Stay with you long-term
Each year, we review your policy and help with claims.
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Why Our Clients Are Satisfied
Our service consistently exceeds expectations. But don’t just take our word for it—here’s what our customers say!
Illustrative Examples — How Event Cover Changes the Outcome
The examples above are invented. The situations are real — they are the kinds of thing we see every day — but the people are not, and we would never tell a client’s story in a way that could identify them. What decides the outcome is almost always whether the policy was matched to the person before it was needed. That is the part we help with.
Protect What Matters With Confidence
Don’t wait until an emergency strikes to realise your coverage isn’t sufficient. With expert and professional guidance from Expat Insurance, you can be certain that your business, health, home, and future are fully protected.
Guides on this
- What wedding cover does and does not include: a closer look at one of the most common events we insure.
- The wider policy set behind a corporate event: what a business organising the event may also need to hold.
