Do you want to make some money? Yes--is that your final answer?

Rough Notes, May 2000 by France, Larry

Special events, prize indemnification are among the coverages that can be a sure bet for agents

Not only can you make some money from special events, prize indemnification, holein-one, and weather coverage, it can also be exiting and fun to do so. There probably isn't any promotion that a client can conceive of that cannot be insured by one of the markets listed following this feature.

Special events take place every day in every city Coverage can consist of primary liability (including or excluding participant's liability), excess liability inland marine, property, auto, liquor liability, and workers compensation.

But what if it rains the day of the event and the sponsor of the event suffers a financial loss? Are prizes being given away if certain "feats of skill" are accomplished? What if the main attraction doesn't show?

Weather insurance, event cancellation, prize indemnification, and non-appearance can answer all of these questions and more.

The opportunities for placing coverage are increasing. Lauren Roberson, vice president of CGA (Charitable Golf Association) in Mishawaka, Indiana, says: "The special events market has grown by leaps and bounds. Same examples are the number of `Millionaire' shows airing on television and the number of Web sites that exist for lotteries and million-dollar promotions. These are the wave of the future." CGA provides coverage for hole-in-one, fishing contests, sports events, scratch cards, weather, direct mail, over-redemption, and Internet promotions in all states and some international areas.

When a promotion is too successful

SCA Promotions and SCA Insurance Specialist offers two of the more interesting programs-the telecard and over-redemption. Susan Hatfield, marketing director, explains, "The telecard helps retailers generate traffic with refund checks, discount programs and rebate offers that include a phone card."

Some programs have included Tia Rosa Tortillas/Mrs. Baird's Bread where, in order to attract tortilla eaters, one million 5- or 15-minute pre-paid phone cards were inserted into 20-count packages of tortillas. The 15-minute cards offered international access to Mexico. The over-redemption concept will prevent unexpected promotional costs. It covers the cost of excess redemption. should your promotion become too successful. In a 1993 promotion, a British vacuum cleaner company offered free round trips from the U K. to the United States for customers who plunked down between $80 and $150 for its product. Good news-record sales. Bad news-the cost of the airfares resulted in a $36 million loss.

SCA has offered packages for prize promotions in the United States since 1986; but as you can see, this has international market potential. SCA formed a new joint venture with Europe's largest agency specializing in sports marketing, promotion, and sponsorships. ISPR, mbH (Internationale Sportrechte Verwertungsgesellschaft) based in Munich, Germany, with PanEuropean clients, and SCA combined to form Sales Promotions & Solutions (SYS, GmbH & Co. KG.) SCA also has a majority shareholder stake in Euro Promotions, based in Stockholm, and recently acquired the United Kingdom's largest sales brokerage firm, PIMS, Ltd. They also have formed alliances in South America, Mexico, Canada, Greece, and Spain.

"Weather" or not

If it indeed does rain mainly on the "plains in Spain" or not in "Indianapolis in the summertime," your client can protect against too much or not enough weather. Lack of snow can put a ski lodge out of business, and too much rain can cancel your parade.

Retailers also have utilized weather in sales promotions. For example, your jewelry store purchase will be free if you buy within a certain window of time, and an accumulation of snow of so many inches occurs on a predetermined date. When weather promotions are being set in place, the location of measurement is critical. Most promoters use the Weather Bureau-usually located at the airport, which sometimes is 25 miles or more from the retailer's place of business.

All rules should be clear so that you, the agent, won't receive the publicity for not paying off on the prize. In the case of events of one day or more, you may not need to have coverage on a 24-hour basis. The peak time may be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and it may need to rain more than one-fourth of an inch to cause financial loss. Lauralee Tillman, president of Good Weather Insurance Agency, states: "Because of the time specifics of the event, being able to have a financial guarantee of the weather is extremely important. It gives the event coordinator a degree of control over the most uncontrollable element. Both indoor and outdoor events have a financial susceptibility to the weather." Good Weather offers coverage in the United States and Canada.

"Driving" for dollars

Probably the type of prize indemnity coverage that an agent would be more familiar with is hole-inone-which may be one of the oldest forms of prize indemnity You may have a commercial client who sponsors a hole-in-one for a charity event that offers an automobile as the prize.