JULY 10, 2002

The question of insurance...

THE legal implications of the findings of the Melbourne coroner last year may be only the tip of the iceberg for the authorities organizing the Australian Grand Prix. Our sources in Australia suggest that there is an industry-wide problem with the insurance of events attended by members of the public. Not long ago the insurance company HIH went bust with hundreds of millions of dollars owing. It was Australia's largest ever bankruptcy. The problem appears to be that in recent years Australians have become increasingly litigious and the sums of money being awarded in damages have been rising to American levels. This has put pressure on the insurance trade and the increases in premiums which have resulted has hit the events industry hard as public liability has been one of the hardest hit. Many events such as pony club meetings and so on have been axed because of insurance costs which can be as much as 100 times what they used to be.

The question of insurance of the event may therefore be the big issue...