# Event cancellation insurance in Germany: protecting the budget behind your event > By the time the doors open, an organiser has usually spent most of the money: venue hire, staging, sound and light, artist fees, marketing. If the event is cancelled, cut short or postponed, those costs remain. Event cancellation insurance, known in Germany as Veranstaltungsausfallversicherung, reimburses them when the cause was beyond your control. Weather and the non-appearance of named performers are usually separate sections you have to add. Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-event-cancellation.php Updated: 2026-11-07 ## How is event cancellation insurance different from event liability insurance? Liability insurance pays when your event causes harm to someone else, for example a visitor tripping over a cable. Cancellation insurance protects your own money when the event cannot go ahead as planned. It is a financial loss cover for the organiser. For any sizeable event in Germany you normally need both, because neither one steps in for the other. ## At a glance - **Mandatory?:** No, it is voluntary cover for your event budget - **Insured events:** cancellation, abandonment, curtailment, postponement or relocation - **Sum insured:** the costs in your submitted budget, with some insurers also revenue - **Weather:** often excluded for open-air and marquee events, then only as a separate section - **Performer no-show:** only for people named in the policy - **Disease:** cancellations due to communicable diseases are commonly excluded ## Three building blocks: core cover, key persons, weather German wordings are typically split into cover forms. The core cover responds to events that neither you nor your contractors can influence, such as the venue being closed after a fire or a power cut across the district. What it often leaves out are the two risks organisers think of first: bad weather and the headline act failing to appear. Both are available as add-ons. For key person cover, the artists, speakers or athletes the event depends on are named in the policy. Weather cover defines the insured weather event in the contract and is mainly intended for open-air and marquee events, which core cover often leaves out. ## Your budget is your sum insured German insurers cover the costs you declared before the policy was issued. You submit a budget plan that becomes part of the contract, and anything missing from it is not reimbursed even if you really spent it. If the budget changes, tell the insurer straight away. If the sum insured is substantially too low, underinsurance applies and every claim is reduced in proportion. Savings and income you keep are deducted, for instance a partial refund of the venue fee or a cancellation credit from the caterer. ## Cancellation by the authorities and the usual exclusions If the local authority cancels your event for a reason outside your control, a core cover that insures all events beyond your control normally includes that. It does not pay if the reason is that you failed to obtain permits or meet conditions imposed on you. Many wordings expressly exclude cancellations due to communicable diseases, even when ordered by an authority. Since the pandemic, communicable disease clauses, where they are offered at all, generally exclude coronavirus. War, terrorism, strikes and poor ticket sales are commonly excluded too. If you need cover for any of these, ask for it specifically. ## What it is not It does not replace event liability insurance or equipment cover for staging and technology. Ticket protection that buyers add at checkout protects the visitor, not the organiser. Private celebrations such as weddings have products of their own. Event cancellation insurance is the cover for commercial organisers, agencies, clubs and associations. ## What is covered - Costs of preparing and staging the event if it is cancelled for an insured reason - Abandonment or curtailment once the event has started - Additional costs of postponing to a new date or moving to another venue - Venue unavailable, for example after fire, water damage or a power failure - Cancellation ordered by the authorities for reasons beyond your control, depending on the wording - Non-appearance of named performers through illness, accident or death, as an add-on - Weather for open-air and marquee events, as an add-on with an agreed definition - Costs of preventing or reducing the loss ## What is not covered - Cancellation due to communicable diseases, epidemics and pandemics - Poor ticket sales or sponsors pulling out - Financial difficulties or insolvency of the organiser - Missing permits or conditions not met - War, terrorism and strikes unless expressly included - Costs that were not in the submitted budget - Weather at open-air or marquee events unless the weather section was added ## Who needs it - Concert and festival promoters with high upfront costs for fees, staging and production - Event agencies running corporate events for clients and carrying the cost risk - Conference and trade fair organisers with venue hire and speaker fees - Clubs and associations staging large annual events, street festivals or sports events - Open-air organisers who could not absorb a storm out of their own funds ## Who does not need it - Small events whose bookings can be cancelled free of charge until shortly before - If you only want to cover injury or damage to visitors, event liability insurance is the right product ## What it costs The premium is calculated per event or for an annual policy covering several events, based on the sum insured and the sections you choose. Weather cover is usually the most expensive part for open-air events. There are no independent, reliable price surveys for commercial events in Germany, so we do not quote example premiums. **What drives the premium:** - Sum insured according to the budget - Type, location and size of the event - Open air, marquee or permanent venue - Sections chosen: core cover, key persons, weather - Number of named persons - Time between taking out the policy and the event date - Agreed deductible _The premium is only fixed once the insurer has reviewed budget, venue, date and the sections requested. Asking early gives you more options._ ## The policy levels on the market - **Core cover:** Cancellation, abandonment and postponement for reasons beyond your control, without weather or key persons. Suits indoor events without a single star. - **Core cover plus key persons:** Adds the non-appearance of named artists, speakers or athletes through illness, accident or death. - **Full cover including weather:** All three sections, for open-air shows, festivals and marquee events, with the weather event defined in the policy. ## How to recognise a good policy | Criterion | Minimum standard | Strong policy | Why it matters | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Scope of core cover | named perils only | all events beyond your control unless excluded | A list leaves out every cause nobody thought of. | | Weather section | not covered | covered, with a clear and measurable definition | For open-air events weather is the biggest cancellation risk. | | Key person cover | not covered | covers everyone the event depends on | If the headline act drops out, the audience stays away. | | Postponement and relocation | only on final cancellation | extra costs of postponing or relocating included | A new date is often cheaper than cancelling. | | Revenue | costs only | lost net revenue or sponsorship can be insured | If you budget for a surplus, cancellation costs you more than your outlay. | | Terrorism and strikes | excluded | can be added for an extra premium | For large public events a threat alone can force a cancellation. | | Deductible | high or percentage based | low or none | It is deducted from every claim. | ## Insurers on the German market The German market is small. Many policies are placed through brokers with specialist insurers and underwriting agencies, including Hiscox (through the agency EventAssec), GGW in Hamburg, Tokio Marine HCC and AXA XL. The risk carriers behind these specialists are mostly based in other EU states and are therefore not on BaFin's list of insurers under German federal supervision. The list below shows insurers under federal supervision. It is a market overview, not a promise of cover. - **ARAG**: event cancellation policy with core cover and a weather section, also sold online to clubs and associations; ARAG lists the non-appearance of persons such as artists as not covered - **AXA**: event insurance with a section for cancellation, abandonment and changes to the event - **R+V**: event cancellation insurance for financial loss from cancelling, abandoning or relocating an event - **Allianz Commercial**: Allianz's commercial and specialty arm, cancellation cover for large events - **HDI Global**: industrial insurer of the Talanx group, event cancellation on its own wording, enquiries through brokers - **HanseMerkur**: event and wedding insurance for private celebrations and ticket insurance for buyers, not a product for commercial organisers 95 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance. (Finanzielle Verluste, Gewinnausfall). Source: BaFin company database, 2026-09-18; EU insurers without a German office excluded. ## Typical claims and who pays - **Storm warning, open-air show off** (staging, technology, fees): Only with the weather section. Without it, wordings often expressly exclude weather for open-air events. - **Headliner in hospital** (fee, production and ticket refunds): Paid only if the artist is named under key person cover and the illness was not known when cover was taken out. - **Venue closed after a fire** (all costs incurred so far): An event beyond your control and so a case for the core cover. Extra costs of relocating count too. - **Authorities cancel over disease** (the entire budget): Many wordings expressly exclude communicable diseases, even where an authority orders the cancellation. - **Too few tickets sold** (the gap between costs and income): Lack of public interest is a business risk and is not covered by any cancellation policy. - **Venue refurbishment overruns** (relocation or cancellation): Whether this is covered depends on the wording. If the delay was foreseeable when you bought cover, there is no protection. ## Myth or truth - „Bad weather is included in every event cancellation policy." ✘ False. Wordings often exclude weather for open-air and marquee events. You then need a separate weather section that has to be agreed expressly. - „Without a specific agreement, cancellation cover pays costs only, not planned profit." ✔ True. The basic form reimburses costs. Planned profit or sponsorship income can be added with some insurers, but it has to be agreed expressly and built into the sum insured. - „Cancellation because of a pandemic is normally covered today." ✘ No. Many wordings expressly exclude communicable diseases, even where an authority orders the cancellation. Where disease clauses are still offered, they generally exclude coronavirus. - „If the sum insured is far too low, even a small claim is only partly paid." ✔ True. Under underinsurance every claim is reduced in proportion to the sum insured against the actual value, so the budget should be complete. - „Event liability insurance pays if the concert is cancelled." ✘ No. Liability insurance covers harm you cause to others. Your own costs from a cancellation are only covered by cancellation insurance. ## Common mistakes - Buying cover only once a risk is already foreseeable - Insuring an open-air date without the weather section - Increasing costs later without updating the budget with the insurer - Not having the headline act named in the policy - Cancelling before the insurer has been informed - Leaving permits and official conditions until the last minute ## FAQ ### When should I take out event cancellation insurance? As early as possible, ideally once the first contracts with venue, artists and suppliers are signed. A cause that was known or foreseeable when you took out the policy is not covered, for example a performer's existing illness. ### Is bad weather covered? Only if you add the weather section. It is mainly intended for open-air and marquee events, and the insured weather event is defined in the contract. Without it, German wordings often expressly exclude weather for such events. ### What if the headline act falls ill? The insurer pays if that person is named under key person cover and the illness began after cover started. An illness already known when the policy was taken out is not covered. The details, such as the evidence required, depend on the wording. ### Does it pay if the authorities cancel the event? Under a core cover that insures all events beyond your control, generally yes. Cancellations due to communicable diseases and cases where you failed to meet official conditions are excluded. The exact wording decides. ### Is lost profit covered? The basic form reimburses costs, less savings and income you keep. Some insurers also cover lost net revenue or sponsorship income. This has to be agreed before the policy is issued and reflected in the sum insured. ### What if my budget changes? Tell the insurer immediately. As a rule only costs listed in the submitted budget are reimbursed, and if the sum insured is substantially too low each claim is reduced proportionally. ### Can I insure several events in one policy? Yes, with an annual policy. Each event must be declared to the insurer, otherwise it is not covered. This suits agencies, touring promoters and clubs with a fixed calendar. ### Do I need a German address to buy cover? German insurers look at where the event takes place and who organises it. For events in Germany organised by a company or association abroad, we clarify with the insurer whether and how cover can be written. ### Why use a broker? Because the market is small and many offers are only available through brokers and underwriting agencies. Wordings differ widely on the weather definition, key person cover and exclusions. We collect quotes, go through your budget with you and compare the terms. The insurer pays our commission. ## Legal basis and sources - [Insurance Contract Act (VVG, German)](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/vvg_2008/) - [BaFin company database (licensed insurers)](https://portal.mvp.bafin.de/database/InstInfo/) ## Request quotes We obtain quotes and come back with a comparison, free of charge. You can write in English. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-event-cancellation.php#anfrage --- Your broker: Norman Nammert, trading as NAMMERT. Insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act. Broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH is a separate company. It does not arrange your contract. NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, Karl-Marx-Straße 4, 15711 Königs Wusterhausen, +49 3375 29 12 77, info@nammert.com. Wikidata: Q141141479.