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Event cancellation. Production liability. Venue coverage. Performer non-appearance. Serving venues, production companies, promoters, and touring acts across Pittsburgh, Western PA, and the Mid-Atlantic.

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Your risk profile isn't standard. Neither is our approach.

Entertainment businesses run on tight timelines, complex contracts, and exposures that standard commercial policies were never designed to address. Simpson | McCrady brings more than 100 years of advisory depth to the coverage structures that keep your production, your venue, and your business protected, from first rehearsal to final curtain call.

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Why This Requires Expertise

Entertainment Risk Shifts With Every Project. Your Coverage Has to Keep Up.

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Entertainment industry risk doesn't follow a standard commercial schedule. Whether you're producing a film under Pennsylvania's film tax credit program, operating a regional venue in Pittsburgh's Strip District, or routing a touring act through the Mid-Atlantic, your exposures change with every contract signed and every weather forecast issued. A single production shutdown, an uninsured performer cancellation, or a liquor liability gap at a sold-out event can generate losses that a generic commercial policy will not cover, and that a transactional broker will not catch until a claim is already denied.

Pittsburgh's entertainment sector (from its growing film and television production footprint to its concentration of festivals, performance venues, and live event operators) operates in an environment where contractual risk transfer requirements, event cancellation triggers, and equipment replacement values shift from one engagement to the next. Protecting these operations requires genuine fluency in production liability, event cancellation structures, and the episodic, project-based nature of entertainment commerce. That is not a standard broker competency. It is a specialty, and it is what Simpson | McCrady brings to every client relationship in this space.

What We Cover

Entertainment Insurance Coverage Built for Your Business

Event Cancellation Insurance

Covers financial loss when a ticketed event is cancelled, postponed, or curtailed due to weather, power failure, civil authority action, or other insured perils. Essential for festival operators, promoters, and venue owners carrying significant advance ticket sales and vendor commitments.

Performer Non-Appearance Insurance

Covers revenue loss and irrecoverable expenses when a headline performer or key talent cannot appear due to illness, injury, or other covered causes. Structured for event promoters, talent agencies, and production companies whose contractual revenue is tied to specific individuals.

Production Equipment Floater

Inland marine coverage for cameras, lighting rigs, sound systems, staging, and specialized production equipment (owned, leased, or rented) across multiple locations and project sites. Covers transit, on-location use, and temporary storage.

Entertainment Liability / General Liability

Premises, products, and operations liability tailored to the entertainment context, covering third-party bodily injury and property damage at venues, on production sets, and during live events. Structured to meet the certificate requirements of venue agreements and promoter contracts.

Liquor Liability

Coverage for venues, caterers, and event operators serving alcohol, protecting against dram shop liability claims and third-party incidents involving intoxicated patrons. Required for any entertainment operation where alcohol service is part of the guest experience.

Production Insurance (Film & Television)

Comprehensive production package policies covering cast insurance, faulty stock, equipment breakdown, third-party property damage, errors and omissions, and production shutdown, structured for film and television productions operating under Pennsylvania's film tax credit program and beyond.

Venue Insurance

Property and liability coverage for performance venues, arenas, theaters, and event spaces, including building coverage, business income protection, and the liability exposures specific to high-occupancy, high-frequency entertainment environments.

Workers' Compensation for Entertainment

Coverage for the workforce structures common in entertainment (seasonal employees, day-rate crew, touring staff, and production contractors) placed with carriers that understand entertainment class codes and can advocate effectively when claims arise.

Contractual Risk Transfer & Certificate Management

Advisory support for the insurance requirements embedded in venue agreements, production deals, and promoter arrangements, ensuring your coverage meets counterparty requirements and that certificates are issued accurately and on deadline.

Commercial Auto & Equipment Transit

Coverage for touring vehicles, production transport, and equipment haulers moving between venues across the Mid-Atlantic, including hired and non-owned auto liability for productions relying on rented or employee-owned vehicles.

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Our Approach

Independent. Carrier-Agnostic. In Your Corner for the Full Policy Lifecycle.

The reason to work with an independent entertainment insurance broker rather than going direct to a carrier comes down to a single question: is your coverage being designed for your operation, or for a product shelf? As an independent broker, Simpson | McCrady carries no allegiance to any single carrier. That means we access the full market (specialty entertainment markets, admitted and non-admitted carriers, and program offerings unavailable through direct channels) and construct a coverage structure that fits the actual risk profile of your business. Not the closest approximation on a standard form.

Our work begins well before a policy is bound. We assess your specific exposures (the venues you operate, the productions you run, the contracts you sign, the talent and equipment you depend on) and translate that picture into a coverage program that addresses the gaps most commercial buyers never discover until a claim is denied. When a production shuts down or an event is cancelled, you need an advisor who already understands the policy, knows the carrier, and can move your claim forward without delay.

At Simpson | McCrady, client management means staying engaged across the full policy lifecycle: renewal strategy, mid-term adjustments as productions evolve, certificate issuance for complex venue and promoter agreements, and active claim advocacy when the unexpected happens. For entertainment businesses operating on compressed deadlines and margins that leave no room for coverage surprises, that relationship is not an amenity. It is a structural advantage over any broker who hands you a policy and disappears until renewal.

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Firm Credentials

The Depth Behind Your Coverage

100+

Years in Business

$20B+

In Insured Assets

5,000+

Clients Served

Independent

Carrier-Agnostic Access Across Specialty Markets

Speak with a Trusted Advisor

Speak With an Advisor

Entertainment

Coverage Specialist

One straightforward conversation is all it takes to understand where your coverage stands, and where it should be. Protecting Tomorrow Today.

Prefer to call? 412-261-2222 · info@simpson-mccrady.com

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