With the 2026 Men’s World Cup and Winter Olympics approaching, businesses that sponsor, organize, host, or otherwise profit from live events should bear in mind that all major sporting and entertainment performances face risks beyond the control of their stakeholders. Within the last year alone, the 2024 Summer Olympics suffered coordinated arson attacks on railways on opening day, Taylor Swift canceled concerts in Austria due to terrorist threats, and in January 2025, the NBA postponed several Lakers and Clippers games due to Los Angeles wildfires. This Insight outlines key insurance considerations to ensure stakeholders in the sports and entertainment industry can take the necessary steps to provide financial protection against unforeseen events, minimize potential losses, and maximize insurance recoveries.
KEY TYPES OF INSURANCE FOR MAJOR EVENTS
Businesses that benefit from live events have a variety of concerns and risks requiring insurance needs. For any sporting and entertainment event—including the 2026 Men’s World Cup—there are certain steps that businesses should take immediately to protect their assets and mitigate any potential financial losses. The following insurance coverages should almost always be considered:
- Event Cancellation: In addition to protecting revenue and expenses incurred in connection with the cancellation or rescheduling of an event, many event cancellation policies also provide coverage for extra expenses, including those incurred to continue the normal operations of an event despite some peril. Such insurance is generally applicable if an event is cancelled, postponed, or otherwise affected by a “covered event.” While some policies offer broad “all-risk” coverage (triggered by any unexpected cause not expressly excluded), others cover only specific “named” perils or causes (such as for only pandemic-related events).
- Third-Party Liability: This traditional form of coverage indemnifies insureds when third parties assert legal claims against them—for example, for bodily injury, property damage, privacy violations, or advertising injury. From falls to disorderly crowds, the risk of attendee harm is ever present at live events. Importantly, these policies also provide insureds with coverage for legal fees to defend against third-party claims.
- First-Party Property: While the specific terms may vary, a standard property policy is likely to cover (1) “direct physical loss of or damage to” covered property (e.g., real estate or equipment), and (2) lost business income or profits and extra expenses incurred from a covered loss event. Various exclusions may apply, however, such as for pandemic, cyber, war, or terrorism-related events, and coverage endorsements “writing back” coverage for such exclusions may be available.
- Cyber: This type of coverage, though highly variable across policies, generally entails a “package” of different coverages, including for (1) first-party losses, such as costs incurred in responding to cyber-related disruptions such as data loss or DDoS attacks (including losses resulting from social engineering schemes or ransomware) and (2) third-party losses, such as for third-party claims resulting from data breaches and other forms of liability.
- Geopolitical and Terrorism: Major sporting events are, potentially, targets for malicious actors and subject to other geopolitical risks. Specialized underwriting and policies may be required to insure those risks.
COVID 19: CASE STUDY IN PROACTIVE RISK MANAGEMENT
The COVID-19 pandemic was highly disruptive to the sports and entertainment industry. With the widespread cancellation of events—even entire seasons—there was a substantial loss of revenue. However, not all suffered equally.
The All England Lawn Tennis Association, which organizes the Wimbledon tennis tournament, recouped significant losses from cancelling the event because of insurance it took out every year for almost two decades. After the 2003 SARS outbreak, the tournament began purchasing event-cancellation coverage, including for pandemics, for around £1.5 million annually. The decision to continue that program paid out when reportedly $141 million was recovered in 2020 for the tournament’s cancellation.
Critical to this insurance “success story”—namely, prompt payment for large losses—was proactive risk management to identify and properly address catastrophic risks, including through thoughtful insurance procurement.
EARLY BEST PRACTICES TO FACILITATE CLAIMS
In the event of loss, certain steps are recommended to help preserve and maximize insurance recoveries, including identifying all available insurance policies, understanding relevant state law, adhering to notice and proof of loss requirements, thoroughly documenting losses and damage, and reasonably cooperating with insurers:
- Check Policies: Ensure you have copies of policies before a loss occurs—ideally, soon after the policies are effective. Check that terms match what was quoted and line up with any contractual indemnity and insurance requirements because errors can occur during policy issuance, leading to difficulties later during claims. At renewal, assess terms to (1) ensure alignment with current risk strategy and (22) obtain improvements, if possible.
- Provide Prompt Notice: Identifying and complying with time-sensitive policy requirements is crucial to preserving insurance rights. Policies often require adequate notice of a claim. Although requirements for how and when to give notice or file a claim vary by policy and state law, many policies provide for notice of a loss as soon as practicable.
- Engage Help: Outside counsel may be necessary to properly analyze a business’s coverages and to maximize their insurance assets, including guidance in the initial policy placement or renewal, and in the claims submission process, including ensuring (1) that information is timely communicated, (2) proper engagement of insurance carriers, brokers, and outside consultants, and (iii) that privilege is properly preserved in communications.
CONCLUSION
From severe weather events, to geopolitics, to public health crises, the wide-ranging risks faced by major sporting events and entertainment performances and their stakeholders are highly complex. Those complexities are only heightened for the 16 North American cities co-hosting the 2026 Men’s World Cup. A careful review of insurance policies and the protections they afford can never begin too early.
HOW WE CAN HELP
Morgan Lewis can assist sports, entertainment, and related businesses in proactively managing risks before major events and in responding effectively to unforeseen disruptions. Our team advises on insurance coverage selection, placement, and negotiation to ensure that policies address the full range of potential threats, from severe weather and cyberattacks to geopolitical instability and terrorism. Post-incident, we can guide clients through claim notification and presentment, loss assessment, documentation, proof-of-loss submissions, and, when necessary, coverage litigation to enforce policyholder rights and maximize recoveries.
This article was originally published by Sports Business Journal on August 6, 2025.