When asked what they are most looking forward to from a post-COVID world, there is a common thread that runs through people’s replies – it is the little things that everyone has missed the most. It is not extravagant foreign holidays holding down the top slots on wish lists, rather the small, once-familiar pleasures of visiting the friends or family you haven’t seen in the best part of a year, having a drink in your local pub, or watching the latest blockbuster in a cinema.
As many have already taken to heart, there is a clear lesson here, one of appreciation for the place that entertainment and leisure pursuits, in all their many forms, holds in our daily lives.
Recent analysis by the Bank of England has revealed that the smaller companies are more likely than their larger counterparts to operate in the most COVID impacted sectors, including accommodation and food, and arts and recreation. Meanwhile, UK Music, an organisation representing the commercial music industry, revealed in its latest annual report that the UK music industry is set to halve in size due to COVID, while the British Beer and Pub Association has calculated £331 million in sales lost due to wastage during lockdowns.
The above figures make for a sobering read, particularly as, despite the continued vaccine rollout, there is no firmly established roadmap for when all forms of lockdown will be lifted. For brokers working in these sectors, the last year has been difficult as they have strived to support clients while maintaining their own business continuity.
Despite these difficulties, however, 2021 has already brought some good news to the entertainment and leisure sectors. In the UK, the Supreme Court’s final decree on the FCA’s BI test case was declared a “moral victory” for the thousands of businesses whose policies now look set to pay out. Last week, Ireland’s High Court continued this inclination by ruling in favour of four publicans insured by FBD, a verdict which now faces a host of other insurance companies with the threat of further action.
These rulings represent opportunities for brokers to demonstrate value to their clients and, for brokers operating within those sectors which are facing severe economic hardship, every renewal counts. When it comes to the entertainment and hospitality sectors, brokers must look beyond the court system to find further means of providing support and information to clients. Eyes should be turning to those associations and initiatives which are continuing to lobby the government for financial support during the pandemic and for greater clarity on the timeline of the lockdown easing.
The Night-Time Industry Association (NTIA) and its #SaveNightlife movement, which looks to draw attention to the cultural significance of nightlife and associated contemporary arts, is petitioning the UK government to recognise the immediate support the sector requires to survive COVID. The Let LIVE Thrive campaign, with its open letter to MP Oliver Dowden calling on the UK government to work with the insurance industry to provide contingency cover for live events, is another example.
Insurance intermediaries must familiarise themselves with the movements which have sprung up in response to the pandemic and find effective ways of keeping their clients in the loop with any resulting news. Some brokerages have outdone themselves in this respect over the last year, and it has been gratifying to see the work done by these organisations reflected in their net promoter scores and their prominent social media followings. For those brokers which have not yet made such inroads, the best time to start is now - and the best place to start is with easily digestible and accessible content letting your clients know of any support available to them.
Of course, for some brokers, 2021 will be about seeking new opportunities and finding lucrative new product lines which may see them pulling back or completely withdrawing from the hospitality and entertainment space. In this case, brokers should follow the example of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association’s ‘signposting agreements’, wherein brokers direct a customer towards alternative assistance when they cannot provide cover.
Beyond the opportunity to provide exceptional customer service and to emphasise the advisory role of brokers, this signposting gives brokers the chance to help such organisations get back on their feet when the crisis is over. And, as the last year has taught us, while sports, cinema and theatre might not directly feature in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, we certainly miss them when they’re gone.
