'Funflation' and the need for innovative ticketing-protection solutions
Higher costs for live events coupled with risk-averse consumers mean ticketing platforms are eager for insurance partners.
From the Olympics to the Eras Tour, 2024 will include several high-value events.
When it comes to such once-in-a-lifetime experiences, consumers are willing to pay more than ever before to secure a ticket. However, following the pandemic, consumer considerations when purchasing a ticket have changed. They’re warier of risks like missing an event due to illness or a severe weather event. There’s also the matter of canceling flights, hotels or short-term rentals if they’re unexpectedly unable to attend.
The increased investment in live events coupled with more risk-averse consumers has led to ticketing platforms looking to insurance providers to help offer their customers protection solutions when they purchase a ticket. However, with limited insurance offerings for the ticketing space, there’s a need for insurers to look at other avenues to truly meet the needs of the $85 billion event industry.
Insurance vs. non-insurance offerings
When it comes to ticket protection, both insurance and non-insurance solutions come into play. Insurance offerings, like event cancellation insurance, stem from travel and allow eventgoers to recoup losses if they have to miss an event for a covered reason such as illness, canceled transport, etc. While this might serve some customers, ticketing companies often want to offer additional protection options as a value-add to customers, so they turn to non-insurance solutions.
Non-insurance solutions offer more flexibility and provide additional coverage options for ticketing partners to cater to their global customers. In ticketing, these solutions include Cancel For Any Reason, Event Ticket Refund Protection, and more.
Insurtechs can help bridge the gap between insurers and ticketing platforms to identify the needs of customers and build insurance and non-insurance solutions tailored to event audiences.
Innovative ticketing protection solutions
Every event is different. For example, a baseball fan with season tickets for their favorite team has different needs than a concertgoer traveling to attend a three-day music festival.
In ticketing, it’s important to first understand the unique needs of ticketholders and then develop protection offerings.
With access to rich data sets and distribution channels, insurtechs have partnered with insurers and ticketing providers to develop innovative protection offerings that go beyond standard cancellation coverage. Some examples include:
- Cancel for any reason: ‘Cancel for any reason’ (aka CFAR) offers eventgoers extra flexibility with the option to cancel for any circumstance. It’s often offered at a higher price but can provide an added layer of protection for a consumer who is booking far out in advance and is unsure if they want to attend.
- Festival coverage: With the rising popularity of multi-day festivals, it’s important to safeguard festivalgoers from potential issues beyond event cancellation. Festivals can offer holistic coverage that extends to attendees’ electronic devices and personal belongings so they’re protected throughout the event.
- Full-experience coverage: For events like the 2024 Olympics Games in Paris coming up, consumers are investing in an entire experience, from flights and accommodation to the event itself. Full-experience coverage offers protection against travel cancellations, medical expenses, and liability for both guests and hosts involved in short-term rental arrangements. This ensures a comprehensive level of protection.
- Season ticket holders: For sporting fans, purchasing season tickets can be a major investment, and they may not be able to attend every single game. Tailored coverage for season ticket holders can provide refunds for a certain number of games for protected circumstances.
Event ticket protection is an exciting segment, where multiple players are working together to meet the unique needs of eventgoers. As events become a larger investment, there’s an opportunity to truly innovate and create solutions that provide customers with peace of mind when investing in an event experience.
Darcy Rittinger is chief risk officer at Cover Genius. This article is published with permission from the author and may not be reproduced.
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