The Paris 2024 Games, the largest and most ambitious sporting event ever held in France, had an estimated total spend of €8.9 billion. This eye-watering amount covered the costs of constructing and updating venues, security, and operational expenses. Without proper insurance, staging an event of this scale would likely have been impossible.
With the Paralympic Games wrapping up earlier this week, Eike Bürgel (pictured above), global head of Olympic and Paralympic program at Allianz (the Games’ official insurance partner), spoke with Insurance Business to reflect on what it took to insure the high-profile sporting event.
Insuring colossal sporting spectacles like Paris 2024 involves providing coverage for a broad spectrum of risks, including physical damage to venues, third-party liability, cyber threats, terrorism and business interruption. However, Bürgel emphasized that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to insuring the Games, as solutions must be suited to the geopolitical factors of each host country.
Bürgel explained: “In France, we have governmental-backed insurance pools for terrorism. In the US, where the next summer Games will take place in Los Angeles in 2028, there’s a very different liability and tort system.”
“It’s a very collaborative consulting process and a close working relationship between Allianz, the International Olympic Committee, and the Paris Organizing Committee to thoroughly understand risk and exposures and develop tailored wordings,” Bürgel continued.
For a major event like the Olympics, Allianz provided coverage across more than 10 different product categories. However, the firm did not shoulder this responsibility alone. When substantial financial exposures are at stake, risks are typically shared among various re/insurers through co-insurance programs. This collaborative approach ensures that the financial burden is spread, making it feasible to cover the extensive range of potential risks.
The growing risk of cyber threats affects every facet of modern life, and the Olympic Games are no exception. Previous Olympics, including Pyeongchang 2018, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020, have all encountered various forms of cyber threats.
As the first Olympics to implement a fully electronic ticketing system, cybersecurity protocols were of particular importance at Paris 2024. Should threat actors successfully breach a Games’ systems, potential risks can include disrupted broadcasts, compromised personal data of athletes and attendees, and manipulated scoreboards and results systems.
Reflecting on common strategies used to mitigate such cyber risks, Bürgel noted: “Training to spot threats such as phishing scams is important. Many organizers of sporting events will also conduct ‘war game’ exercises to identify likely cyber scenarios and potential vulnerabilities.
“While insurance can provide an additional layer of protection, preparation and advanced business continuity and crisis management are key.”
