The international event insurance sector is looking to introduce a specific Covid-19 cover policy exclusive to New Zealand.
A policy which protects events from cancellations due to a pandemic was scrapped after the virus spread across the globe but because of the country's lack of community transmission, Kiwis may be the first to see it return.
It's estimated the cancellations caused by the Covid-19 pandemic acculumated to more than $8 million globally, leaving the events industry to largely foot the bill.
While most organisers in the past opted against ticking the box for pandemic cover, that's likely to change in future if the policy is reinstated.
"Ninety eight per cent of events in New Zealand don't take out insurance anyway and for those two per cent who would of done... 98 per cent wouldn't have taken out communicable disease cover or even have an understanding of what that includes," Event Cover NZ's Stuart Hartley told 1 NEWS.
Internationally, some of the world's largest events have been taking out pandemic cover for years on the off chance that someone like Covid-19 would break out.
The coveted Wimbledon tennis championship receivied a $200 million payout after canning its 2020 event in wake of coronavirus - but that type of insurance isn't an option any longer.
"If your house is on fire and you didn't have insurance, do you think anyone would cover you? No because it's on fire. What we've got at the moment is that the world's on fire... with Covid-19," New Zealand Insurance Council CEO Tim Grafton says.
With minimal community transmission, New Zealand's being looked at as the ideal spot to reintroduce the policy, according to Event Cover NZ.
"Those are the conversation that we've started," Hartley says.
"I'm confident that we're going to be able to get something... if that insurance is going to come back, it probably will in New Zealand."
The fear of Covid-19 disruption is still very real but the pain of cancelling could be less if this policy comes through.
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