RIMS, a U.S. risk management association, has received a $7.6 million event cancellation insurance payout after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the company to abandon its 2020 conference.
The payout covered both the cancellation of RIMS' annual conference and exhibition, scheduled for May 3-6 in Denver as well as its NextGen conference. The annual conference was canceled with less than 2 months to go and was the first time that event had ever been canceled.
RIMS events reportedly dropped in revenue by more than $10 million in 2020. The RIMS events and exhibitions spent days successfully unraveling contracts with countless hotels, venues, and partners, according to a report from RIMS. Despite this, the pandemic had a "material financial and operational effect" on the company in 2020.
RIMS took steps to mitigate the damage the pandemic had on its finances in 2020. The company obtained a working capital line of credit to fund operating costs and liquidated some of its investment portfolio while it waited for an insurance payout.
Editor's Note: Many pandemic insurance claims have been unsuccessful. This claim was likely successful because it was based on an event cancellation policy, and RIMS lost significant amounts of revenue due to canceled events during the pandemic.