The words “cancellation” and “abandonment” are each generally defined as the inability to commence or complete an event. An additional wrinkle could be whether the event arguably could be completed or commenced in a virtual format. Families fight for refunds after event halls cancel celebrations due to COVID-19 . It's also a family business … By Anirban Bagchi. International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Blog, Court Enjoins Federal Government from Enforcing Key Provisions of Executive Order 13950, Malcolm Gladwell and the New Normal After Covid-19, Congress Passes Expanded Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Including Second Draw. Read the press release. COVID-19 Event Cancellation Template Dear Participant, The (Name of the Organization) has been closely following the news surrounding COVID-19 and its related public health concerns. delhi Updated: Dec 27, 2020, 23:06 IST Guiding Principles. WASHINGTON – MARCH 11, 2020 – After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry – our fans, our employees, our exhibitors and our longtime E3 partners – we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles. Michigan coronavirus cases:Tracking the pandemic The $1,500 wedding dress remains in the garment bag, waiting for alterations one day and maybe a big anniversary party a year from now. COVID-19 prompts cancellation of Charlottetown polar bear dip The annual polar bear plunge in Charlottetown will not be going ahead this year due to COVID-19. Thus, the first consideration in determining whether an event cancellation policy may apply to provide coverage is whether the event organizer was truly unable to complete or commence an event, or left with no other choice than to postpone the event. Event cancellation insurance policies, like many other types of insurance coverage, are often complex, sometimes confusing, and could well contain traps for the unwary. Many event cancellation policies exclude coverage for loss arising from a communicable disease, or the threat or fear of communicable disease, whether actual or perceived, and whether or not the spread of the disease in question has officially been labeled a pandemic. We recommend that you obtain separate legal advice. The City encourages all residents to continue practicing social distancing, wear masks, and follow the health and safety protocols recommended by the MDHHS. An express condition in many event cancellation policies is that the insured “shall at all times do all things necessary to avoid or diminish a loss under this policy ...” Furthermore, if the policy provides coverage for enforced reduced attendance, an insured will have to weigh whether to cancel or postpone the event completely, or proceed with the event and recover the loss attributable to the reduced attendance. Email. That memo also encouraged everyone affiliated with teams to be vigilant about washing and sanitizing their hands, and those employees and players have also been encouraged to not shake hands or utilize high-fives. In this note, we focus event cancellation insurance. For those policyholders who procured event cancellation insurance before January 2020, they may have purchased optional coverage, for an additional cost, for cancellations due to infectious or communicable diseases. Mar 30, 2020. The difficulty of that decision can potentially be reduced by an event cancellation policy. The next thing to consider under an event cancellation policy is the potential exclusions to coverage. Unlike such a cruise, it is safe to say that it was a basic assumption of those entering contracts in 2019, before the novel coronavirus spread, that their 2020 events wouldn’t be cancelled. IMEX is a landmark trade show in the events industry. The event … Last Friday’s announced cancellation of the annual South by Southwest film, tech, media and music conference held in Austin in March was just the beginning, as book festivals, holiday parades and even the popular Coachella music festival have added to the cascade of cancellations and postponements. As COVID-19 has forced the country indoors, businesses, as well as conference and event organizers, are being forced to determine if, or even when, to cancel or reschedule their events. Coronavirus event cancellations: Communication is key to retaining public trust March 16, 2020 11.07am EDT Around the world, festivals, sporting … Share. An important consideration for an insured is to make sure that it complies with any mitigation obligations that it may have under the policy. © Copyright 2020 Arent Fox LLP. The first category is the sum of expenses incurred from the event, less gross revenue retained after refunds, and less any savings the insured was able to obtain by mitigating its loss. First and foremost, the parties should identify whether the agreements have force majeure or excuse of perfor… Pillsbury’s experienced crisis management professionals are closely monitoring the global threat of COVID-19, drawing on the firm's capabilities in supply chain management, insurance law, cybersecurity, employment law, corporate law and other areas to provide critical guidance to clients in an urgent and quickly evolving situation. Tweet. IMEX Frankfurt. The Coronavirus and Event Cancellation Insurance Coverage, cascade of cancellations and postponements. The safety of attendees, pets, and crew must always come first. However, there is reasonable concern that timeframe may be extended. Event … Certainly, an exclusion for a communicable disease could prove devastating to an event organizer that was looking to its event cancellation insurance to help make it whole following a COVID-19 related cancellation. In such instances, it is less clear whether an event organizer may be unable to commence or complete an event or face a situation where partial closure or postponement of the event is unavoidable. Such agreements may include lease agreements, sponsorship agreements, ticket agreements, ticketbacks or other related commercial contracts. Following increased and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus, we felt this was … The National College Players Association has also suggested to the NCAA that it should seriously consider holding March Madness games in empty arenas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that large events and gatherings of 50 or more people, scheduled within the next eight weeks, be canceled or postponed. However, before deciding to cancel or postpone an event, it is important that the insured understand the provisions of its event cancellation policy and how any decision to cancel or postpone may impact the coverage under that policy. In addition to cancelling sports, movie premieres, and the Olympics, the COVID-19 outbreak has caused a number of notable events in Michigan to cancel. Despite these precautions, two NBA players have tested positive for the virus and the league has suspended the remainder of the season, effective March 11, 2020, until further notice. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, places event and conference organizers in a particularly tough predicament: whether to proceed with their event, cancel or postpone it. Event cancellation policies will generally calculate loss based on one of these two categories, or calculate loss as the greater the two categories. As with most insurance coverage issues, whether a particular loss is covered by a particular insurance policy depends almost entirely on the policy language along with the specific circumstances of the loss. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many events around the world to be cancelled or postponed due to a country's government imposed restrictions of large gatherings. Next edition of construction machinery and infrastructure expo to be held in April 2024. Posternak Blankstein & Lund LLP is now Arent Fox. Capital City Film Festival, Lansing — April 9 - … Letting donors know your event is a no-go isn’t … After International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach agreed to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Ab… There are currently 18 players on major league rosters who were born in countries hit hard by the coronavirus like Japan (9 players), Taiwan (5 players), and South Korea (4 players). © 2001–2021 Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Tampa Bay Rays pitcher, Ji-Man Choi, whose mother and brother currently live in South Korea, has, out of an abundance of caution, asked all Korean media members to conduct their interviews with him outside the Spring Training clubhouse to help shield his teammates from any possible exposure. Since 1984, Cohen has hosted a Kwanzaa celebration in Savannah, most recently at the Tompkins Center, but this year she decided it would be safer to cancel the event due to COVID-19. How to Handle an Event Cancellation during the COVID-19 Pandemic. “Disruption” is generally defined as the “unavoidable partial closure” of the event, and “rescheduling” is generally defined as the “unavoidable postponement” of the event to another time or the “unavoidable removal” of the event to another location. Here is a list of major festivals and events that have been forced to cancel or postpone due to the outbreak. Although the Center for Disease Control has recommended that gatherings be limited to 10 or less, the individual states and local municipalities have been the ones that have issued, or not issued, orders limiting gatherings. Given this, event cancellation policyholders should examine their coverage closely to determine whether there is a disease-related exclusion and whether such exclusion has been deleted or modified by endorsement. These types of policies are meant to insure event-related revenue or expenses against a cancellation due to circumstances beyond the policyholder’s control (usually delineated as “all-cause” coverage), such as weather events like hurricanes, tornadoes, major storms, earthquakes and wildfires, as well as terrorism events, labor strikes, non-appearance of key people, and unavailability of the venue due to fires, floods or power outages. This announcement came on the heels of the National Basketball Association’s recommendations to its players that they should utilize fist-bumps over high-fives with fans and cautioning players not to take items to autograph from fans such as balls, jerseys and pens. As COVID-19 has forced the country indoors, businesses, as well as conference and event organizers, are being forced to determine if, or even when, to cancel or reschedule their events. This definition would clearly encompass COVID-19. Enter special events insurance — and specifically cancellation insurance. Now, let’s be clear: If you are planning an event, and you have not already purchased an … “In light of the current global spread of COVID-19 and the cancellation of other recent large events, the prudent decision would be to cancel or postpone the Olympic Games,” he added. Major League Baseball recently sent a memo to its 30 teams warning them to be diligent about coronavirus and to carefully check players with flu-like symptoms. These and any accompanying materials are not legal advice, are not a complete summary of the subject matter, and are subject to the terms of use found at: https://www.pillsburylaw.com/en/terms-of-use.html. Similar suggestions have already been implemented by the English Premier League, which has banned all handshakes before its soccer matches. 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