Insurance Crisis, Live Music Venues
Dear Minister Philips,
Continued thanks for your hard work and tireless effort over the past many months. It is so very much appreciated.
Today I am reaching out on behalf of both the CLMA and the Love You Live – Live Music Venue Group. Love You Live is an industry group of Live Music Venue owners / operators, representing over 30 venues in Toronto.
As you will be aware, live music venues in Ontario are facing unprecedented hardships due to the Covid19 pandemic. In addition to 100% loss of revenue for over five months, permanent loss of valued employees and lack of resources to cover basic operational costs, we, as an industry, are now facing an unparalleled crisis in regard to commercial insurance.
Commercial insurance rates for live music venues have risen between 200-400% over the last 10 years and now the unregulated insurance industry has presented the following practices, making it nearly impossible for many in our industry to continue operating their businesses:
Refusal to renew commercial policies outright
Refusal of business interruption claims (due to Provincial State of Emergency non-essential closure) with responses citing unintelligible technical “justification” for refusing claims
Swift policy cancellations due to non-payment during first 30-60 days of Covid-19 Pandemic. (While all venues were at 100% revenue loss.)
Refusal to reduce or renegotiate policies cost of coverage with the knowledge that venues would be closed for a minimum of 6 months.
Most commercial leases have a clause that requires full insurance coverage, including liability. Lack of any component of the insurance coverage by the lease holder technically makes the lease void giving commercial landlords the full legal ability to commence eviction at any time.
We understand there are many pressing issues that your office is facing right now, but we need to stress that this is an emergency situation, one that requires accelerated government intervention, and an immediate resolution. Inaction will result in irreversible and infinite damage, and will reverberate throughout the entire music industry across Ontario and Canada – devastating for small business and of course artists, tourists and our local and provincial economies. We could lose so much of what makes this province one of the greatest places to live, work and visit in the world.
We are urgently requesting a meeting with you to discuss this crisis, and identify solutions together that will help to avert the outright extinction of Ontario’s live music venues.
On behalf of the CLMA and the Love You Live – Live Music Venue Group, we anxiously await your response and thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Erin Benjamin
President & CEO Canadian Live Music Association
ebenjamin@canadianlivemusic.ca / 613.769.5559
Lisa Zbitnew
The Phoenix Concert Theatre & Bronson Centre Music Theatre (Ottawa, ON)
Love You Live – Live Music Venue Group
Jeff Cohen
Lee’s Palace & The Horseshoe / Toronto Music Advisory Committee board member
Love You Live – Live Music Venue Group
Shaun Bowring
The Garrison & The Baby G / Toronto Music Advisory Committee board member
Love You Live – Live Music Venue Group