UK government announces £750 mn Live Events Reinsurance Scheme to combat COVID-19 effects

In an effort to support the live event and music industry, the government of the United Kingdom has introduced an insurance scheme of £750 million ($1.04 billion). The scheme has been launched to support the industry burdened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Variety. The UK government has partnered with the Lloyds banking group to support the music and live event industry. Starting from September 2021, the initiative will support the industry till September 2022. Titled the Live Events Reinsurance Scheme, it is being supported by insurers including Hiscox, Dale, Munich Re and Beazley. According to the publication, these insurers are going to give the options to purchase cover and standard commercial events insurance to the companies in the live event and music industry. The report further mentions that there are two pre-existing schemes by the UK government to support artists. They are the Culture Recovery Fund worth £2 billion and the £500 million Film and TV Production Restart scheme. The Live Events Reinsurance Scheme worth £750 million joins these two schemes. Currently, there are 700,000 jobs in the live events sector. The numbers also include those who are self-employed or have small businesses. The share of this industry in the economy of the UK is over £70 billion. Speaking about the scheme, Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary of the UK said that they have provided billions of pounds of rescue funding through the Covid-19 pandemic. Referring to the scheme, Dowden called it an important next step and said it is required to give confidence to the live events industry. Several people from the industry have welcomed the development including Paul Reed, the chief executive of the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF). However, some professionals from the industry believe that the insurance scheme has come after a long wait. Speaking to The Guardian,  Chris Smith, the Womad festival director said that this support has come too late for many organisations including his own.