Whether it’s a Little League baseball game or the Democratic National Convention, special events have one thing in common: they all need insurance.

No matter which end of the spectrum your clients or prospects inhabit, here’s what you need to know about the state of the special events insurance market in 2015.

Smaller-Scale Events: Status Quo

For medium-size special events like car shows and wrestling exhibitions, insurance pricing “certainly has some consistency,” says Ron Norton, senior vice president of leisure at K&K Insurance Group, Inc. “We see pricing taking a more stable approach in 2015 than what we’ve seen the last couple years, primarily because we haven’t had significant swings in weather-related incidents. People have a tendency to separate property from casualty, but many reinsurers participate in both, so any time you get hit, you get it from both sides.”

Smaller events like weddings and retirement parties see even fewer pricing variations from year to year, says Mark Beck, senior vice president of mass merchandising at K&K Insurance Group, Inc. “It’s less of a movement on the smallest end because you just don’t typically see a high frequency or severity of losses coming from a lot of the smaller or private events,” he explains. “We’re probably not going to see any rate movement in our segment. They’ll be flat this year.”

“Pricing’s really stable,” agrees Bob Battaglia, assistant vice president of commercial lines at Philadelphia Insurance Companies, where about 90% of special events business is so small “that even if the price went up you wouldn’t even notice—it would be the equivalent of your price for milk going up 2 cents a gallon.”

For the most part, coverage developments for small-scale special events insurance is similarly stable. “From an insurance product coverage standpoint, there’s not a whole lot happening,” Battaglia says. “Coverage-wise, it’s primary and/or excess GL to satisfy liability needs. Some venues may require higher limits.”

In recent years, Beck has also noticed a trend in larger metropolitan areas involving venues requiring higher limits for parties hosting events at their locations. “Where it used to be that a $1 million dollar limit was probably sufficient, now we’re seeing some venues requiring a $3 million limit or maybe even a $5 million limit,” he points out.

Why? Even if an event doesn’t appear to have much exposure, “some states are just a little more legally sensitive,” Beck explains. “They may feel it’s necessary to put a little more buffer between them and a potential lawsuit by requiring event hosts to have more coverage. Generally when you get a facility or a venue that has a risk management person on staff, that’s where you might see these higher demands because they’re constantly looking at the legal landscape and just trying to find ways to protect their insured from financial impact.”

Large-Scale Events: ‘Bigger and Badder’

When it comes to larger-scale events like live music concerts and high-profile film productions, which involve a much higher production value, “you’re dealing with these large, theatrical productions,” says David Cloward, global product leader for live entertainment at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, which is currently being integrated into Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty. “No longer do you have just an artist onstage sitting strumming a guitar. And with that comes a whole different slew of things you’ve got to look out for.”

That means “exponentially increasing” equipment limits, which take into account more sophisticated technology like light panels and LED boards that could cost up to $5-10 million each, Cloward says. “Artists are trying to enhance that concert-goer’s experience, so they’re getting a little bolder—‘How can I get closer? How can I reach my fans?’” he says. “You’re seeing moving stages going over crowds, you’re seeing aerials, people hanging from the rafters. You’re dealing with a whole different bit of exposure.”

In a nutshell, events are getting “bigger and badder,” Cloward says. “Within the live space, it’s exciting, but everybody always tries to outdo what they did last time. It’s very much catapulted safety into the forefront of the discussions.”

Cloward notes in particular the 2011 Indiana State Fair stage fair collapse and the 2012 Radiohead stage collapse in Toronto, which killed the band’s drum technician. “Special events is a reactionary-type business,” he says. “Whenever you have big events like that and catastrophes, they get headline news now. That’s when the industry reacts. As with most insurance, until a tragedy or a large event occurs, everybody kind of goes their path.”

“The larger the event and the more people that will be attending it, the more important scrutiny should be paid to safety and medical issues,” Beck agrees. “With larger events, there’s a little more onus on the event organizer to have all the proper safeguards in place.”

Moving forward, expect large, multi-day festivals like Lollapalooza, Coachella, Bonaroo and Pitchfork to get even more popular. “They’re beasts,” Cloward says—and it’s only the beginning, he adds, given the smart business options they represent for all parties involved. For the artists, a multi-day music festival means earning a boatload of money without having to spend nearly as much from a production standpoint. “All I’ve got to do is jump onstage,” Cloward says. “I’m maximizing my profit and more of my fans are able to attend.”

And musicians aren’t the only party getting the most out of consumer dollars during these events, which involve a slew of other vendors and concessioners looking to make a profit. “These things are becoming more commercial—when they hit generally five or six months prior, they sell out in minutes,” Cloward says. “They’re becoming real destinations. People are looking at these as little mini-vacations. You see rides, you see attractions, you see gourmet foods—it’s no longer just one segment or target. The audience is broadening.”

Plus, multi-day festivals can add a generous boost to the economy of a local community. “Ever since the recession hit, communities are realizing ‘Hey, we need some revenue streams here,’” Cloward says. “The value that these things bring to a small community could be huge.”

Jacquelyn Connelly is IA senior editor.