The Western Australian Showman’s Association believes the cancellation of a festival in the City of Gosnells may be indicative of a wider issue across the sector.
Last week, the City of Gosnells announced it was cancelling its annual Tropic Like It’s Hot event, set to be held on Saturday, March 19 and 20.
According to City of Gosnells acting chief executive Martyn Glover, the water-based inflatables event was cancelled due to issues relating to insurance for inflatables.
Perth Bouncy Hire owner Ken Goh confirmed this, saying that while he is insured and had taken part in the event in 2021, his policy now excluded public water slide events.
WA Showmen’s Association (WASA) vice president Daniel Williams said insurance had been a huge issue for operators.
“It seems to be getting worse and worse,” he said.
“It started when Lloyds of London pulled out of the Australian market as underwriters, the flow on effect from that is that at the moment, there’s one company in Australia that will cover amusement and leisure activities such as ours.
“With there only being one insurer in the market, premiums have skyrocketed, and also they’re being picky on who they insure and who they don’t.
“We’re insured for less cover and much higher premiums.”
While all WASA members are fully insured, that does not mean an impact will not be felt at future events.
“It certainly going to limit the amount of attractions that are going to be available to event organisers, with some of the smaller operators having already left the market.
“The costs have gone up so those are being passed on to event organisers and ultimately, customers.”
