Opinion: The Risk Management Behind Major Events

James Davies from the Entertainment & Sport Practice at Integro Insurance Brokers talks to sportindustry.biz ahead of this year’s Cancer Research UK Boat Races and the risk management and safety precautions associated with such a large-scale, major event…  

Staging a major event and balancing the spectators’ experience with their safety is a priority for promoters and venues.

Risk Management always sits at the top of the priority list and engaging with specialists, with the necessary experience and understanding, is vital.

Ultimately, Health and Safety will not wish to compromise the event’s history, structure nor hinder the experience, but they do have the power to shut the event down and this risk can be reduced and mitigated through robust event Risk Management advice and insurance.

This week it emerged that the Boat Race could be affected by fears over the safety of the flotilla of wooden river vessels that follow the crews up the Thames. According to the Port of London Authority, the body responsible for safety on the river, many of the wooden supply craft may be in danger of being set on fire by their petrol engines.

This is not only a problem for the boats but has a major impact on their ability to ferry sponsors and supporters who pay handsomely for the privilege of having a river view of this iconic event. It has been reported that all petrol launches must be refitted with diesel engines by the end of the year.

So financially, what could be the impact of taking the flotilla off the river for the Boat Race? Could it put the whole event in jeopardy?

Event insurance, in particular event cancellation insurance, to cover risks such as event “shut down” due to non compliance with health and safety, is a constant risk that is continually managed and negotiated, normally right up until the start date of the event.

In light of the recent article about the Boat Race, it seems that sponsor vessels will have to fall in line with the newly proposed health and safety advice recently given for the 2018 Boat Race.

It is with great reluctance that we have taken the decision to cancel #HORR2017 on safety grounds https://t.co/Nuz1WrY3Ca

— HORR (@EightsHead) March 24, 2017

Last weekend’s Head of the River Race was cancelled the day before the event due to the direction of the wind. 

Non-compliance with event health and safety regulations at events can force the event to be delayed, rescheduled and at worse cancelled altogether. The measurement of such H&S demands therefore becomes a financial risk to the event organisers, promoters and sponsors. The decision has to be two fold – first and foremost the event has to be safe for all attending, without being restrictive and not affect the financial viability of the event as a whole. If either of the aforementioned are compromised, then the event is unlikely to continue in the guise that the organisers wish and therefore the sponsors and TV rights holders, pay for.

The Cambridge boat takes on water in the rough conditions during last year’s Cancer Research UK Women’s Boat Race

It is a fine line that continually has to be managed and one way of managing this potential catastrophic exposure, is through insurance.

With regard to this particular situation with Boat Race, there are obviously various options for the organisers: 

• Comply with the regulations and accept that there will be an additional cost to change the vessels from petrol to diesel – this could affect their income.
•  Purchase an insurance liability policy for all event race vessels, to give H&S the comfort that there is no financial exposure in the event of an incident – this could also be costly and who should pay for this?
• Source an alternative event viewing method for sponsors, which comply with H&S.
• Reduce the number of vessels in the flotilla, to make H&S more comfortable with the risk.

The list goes on….

Michelle Dite, race director for The Boat Races, joined CEOs of governing bodies, sponsorship heads of major brands and agency chiefs at the Sport Industry Private Dining Club, hosted by Integro Entertainment & Sport, last summer. Dite talked about transferring her 17 years of agency experience to The Boat Races through her consultancy business ThinkCanDo, the challenges facing London 2017 and the development of the Invictus Games movement. Find out more here.