• While at your show in the Far East, a member of your staff is infected with parasites, falls seriously ill and needs to return to the United States. Does your workers' compensation insurance cover the cost of airfare and medical treatment?
• A wildcat airline strike in the city where you are holding your show dramatically reduces attendance. Are your losses covered?
• During the week before your show opens in a city in Holland, one of your employees has some free time, drives into Germany to sightsee -- and has a fender-bender. Does your insurance cover it?
• When it comes to insurance for events held outside the United States, some show managers are walking on thin ice. "There's no difference between insurance for shows in the United States and shows overseas," they maintain.

They're only partly right. True, there are many similarities between insurance needs for domestic and international shows. But show managers who aren't aware of the differences -- and often you have to dig to find them -- are putting themselves at risk.

There are six main insurance areas to consider when planning a show outside the United States: Liability, cancellation, workers' compensation, automobile, exhibitors and service contractors.

Liability insurance
This type of insurance is a must: the hall requires it. Liability insurance provides coverage for bodily injury and property damage to third parties, such as customers, hall management and employees of other organizations, but not your own employees.

U.S. liability policies cover the United States, Canada and U.S. possessions and territories, explains Stephen Healey, Vice President of AON Risk Services/AON Group, an insurance agency in Washington, DC. If you produce a show anywhere else, he says, you'll need a foreign -- sometimes called "international" -- liability policy. Foreign liability insurance is inexpensive, says Healey, because "in most countries, people don't sue. Also, your exposure is limited because your time is limited."

In other countries, as in the United States, hall management usually tells show management how much coverage is required, and you don't get your facility contract if you aren't adequately insured. But there are variations.

In Mexico, for example, "Some facilities request that you pay part of their liability policy," says Patricia Farias-Barlow, President and CEO of show organizer Fapezel Comunicacion S.A. de C.V. in Mexico City. She explains that so many show managers had ignored facilities' liability insurance requirements that facilities needed to protect themselves. Consequently, "many exhibit centers took out their own year-round policy, and they charge each show manager a proportional part." She notes, however, that the hall contract will specify whether you need your own liability insurance or will be expected to share the facility's.

Show managers also should be aware that World Trade Centers have a variety of regulations pertaining to liability insurance. A survey by the World Trade Center Association's Committee on Trade Fairs and Trade Marts reveals that while some WTCs permit show organizers to obtain coverage from the insurance company of their choice, others stipulate that show managers must use a company approved by the facility. Still others insist that the organizer use the facility's own insurance company. And some WTCs require a security deposit of 10 percent of the total rent.

John S. Foster III, an Atlanta attorney who is counsel to association management and trade show sponsors, also notes that foreign hotels and convention centers often require show organizers to obtain liability coverage from a local insurance company. "Check the contract to see what's required and have an attorney read the contract as well," says Foster. "The attorney might try to negotiate it."

An international liability policy will cover you if you are in another country temporarily -- just for a show. But Healey cautions that if you decide to establish a permanent presence in the country, you'll need more long-term coverage, called "admitted liability" insurance, that is licensed and regulated by the local jurisdiction.

Cancellation insurance
There are enormous differences of opinion about cancellation insurance. Some show managers skip it because they think it's too costly or they feel the risks are remote. Others couldn't sleep if they didn't have it. Probably most show managers wouldn't think of going into Mexico City without earthquake insurance; yet Farias-Barlow doesn't recommend it. Her reasoning: "Some areas of the city are highly seismic, but most facilities are outside those areas." Buildings near Exhibimex, in Mexico City, toppled in the 1985 quake, Farias-Barlow acknowledges, "but they were shabbily built. Earthquake insurance is not really necessary, but get it if it makes you feel better."

Before deciding whether or not to take out cancellation insurance, however, it's important to be aware of the breadth of coverage it offers. To begin with, it covers not only cancellation but also "curtailment," says Patrick Givens, President of insurance brokerage Givens & Williams Inc., Fairfax, VA. "If, for example, there's an airline strike and only half of your people show up, that's curtailment and the typical policy provides coverage," he says.

If the show is indeed canceled, coverage extends to loss of anticipated profits, including the return of fees for registration and exhibitor space, says Daniel S. Jarrett, Account Executive with Huntington T. Block Insurance in Washington, DC. Also covered are management's preshow expenses, such as lining up speakers and entertainment, preregistering attendees, fam trips to the meeting site, financial agreements assumed by contract, various service agreements, room block guarantees and other types of deposits.

Cancellation insurance also covers theft of door receipts at the door or while en route to a bank, and physical loss to your property while in transit to or from your event. Pay particular attention to that last element. Jarrett advises: "Your shipper might insure the property. You have to fine-tune the insurance so you're not paying for double coverage. The forms are extremely broad and cover a multitude of perils. Forms can also be tailored to fit a show manager's unique coverage needs."

A lot of educated guessing goes on as show managers and insurance companies put together a cancellation policy. What do you want to be insured against? What risks are likely? "The possibility of strikes is much greater overseas," observes George W. Guthrie, CPCU, Sales Executive at Washington, DC, insurance broker Seabury & Smith Inc. "Bus drivers, air controllers or railroad workers could go out without warning. To find out about the local labor climate, work with an attorney here who has access to the expertise of an attorney there."

Monsoons are a possibility in southeast Asia, political unrest in a number of areas. And don't think of water damage as being caused only by heavy rainstorms or a river overflowing its banks, cautions Givens. "If there's surface water and a basement site where water can rush in, there's a risk." That certainly could be a concern in exhibition facilities that are conversions, not purpose-built. The greater the risk, the more you'll want the insurance -- and the higher the rates will be.

"Take out cancellation insurance as soon as you sign the hall contract," urges Guthrie. "If you wait too long, it might not be available." That is, risks might start to become apparent and thus uninsurable.

Workers' compensation
Domestic workers' compensation insurance usually covers your employees when they are overseas temporarily. But the cutoff period for coverage varies by state, notes David R. Kornreich, CPCU, a partner in New York City insurance brokerage Loveman, Kornreich Co. Inc. Also, "If someone is injured or falls ill and wants to be repatriated for treatment, airfare and other costs are not covered by domestic policies," he says. Nor do domestic policies cover employees' non-working hours. Consequently, show managers should look into "voluntary overseas workers' compensation coverage," which picks up that slack.

Automobile insurance
Your employees need automobile insurance when they drive rented cars overseas. "Some countries include liability insurance with rentals," says Kornreich. "Check to find out."

Even if liability coverage is included, however, it might not be adequate. The Chubb Group, a major writer of overseas insurance contracts, suggests these instances: in Mexico and Korea, liability coverage applies only to the driver of a vehicle, not the passengers; in Taiwan, basic coverage is limited to $20,000; and in some countries, bodily injury and property damage are not covered at all if they are caused by an intoxicated driver. Find out what the local insurance coverage is and obtain appropriate additional coverage.

Givens notes another point. "Generally, international auto insurance doesn't cover physical damage to rental vehicles, so it's necessary to buy local physical damage coverage for them."

If your employees will be driving from one country to another -- especially likely in Europe -- Foster cautions, "Make sure that the insurance applies in all the countries visited."

Exhibitors and contractors
At international shows, just as in the United States, exhibitors and contractors should all be required to present proof of their own liability and workers' compensation insurance. The liability insurance should name show management as "additional insured" so that if someone who sues an exhibitor or contractor then decides to go after management, management is protected.

In developing countries, however, enforcing those requirements can be difficult. Show management might then look into obtaining blanket exhibitor liability insurance and building the cost of that insurance into the exhibitor fee. This can be complicated, Foster says, because exhibitors might refuse to accept it if they have their own coverage and "it's not worth it to the underwriter unless a minimum number of exhibitors participate."

With blanket exhibitor coverage, says Healey, "An exhibitor would not be a named insured unless specifically added by endorsement." That could require making changes in the policy as new exhibitors sign up. An alternative is to get coverage that is "manuscripted" -- does not require listing of each exhibitor -- if the underwriter will agree to do it that way. Large show organizers will find it much easier to get what they want.

Farias-Barlow covers her contractors with a blanket policy known in Mexico as "third party civil liability." She explains, "Mexico isn't a highly insurance-oriented country and not everyone is insured." It's practical, and not terribly expensive, for her to cover contractors with her own policy rather than to insist that they obtain coverage.

She also took out theft coverage for her exhibitors after having to reimburse exhibitors who had been robbed, even though she was not at fault. "We're a new industry and are still trying to educate the community about the value of shows," she says. "We have to be careful not to argue with our exhibitors." Taking out her own insurance was one way to avoid arguments and smooth the relationships.

Putting it together
Show managers' first step in obtaining international coverage is to contact their domestic broker. If he doesn't work with an underwriter who handles international insurance, he can find a broker who does. According to several brokers, international coverage should be written as a separate insurance policy, not as a rider attached to a domestic policy. Coverage can be written to insure a single event or an entire schedule of events. "If a schedule of events is insured, the rates are often more favorable," says Jarrett. "Each event, however, is rated separately for its own special characteristics."

Show managers generally consult an attorney whenever contracts are involved. "It's even more important to do so when you go overseas," says Guthrie. "You're not familiar with the local customs and practices. You should therefore work with an attorney who has experience in overseas practices and can make arrangements for you to talk with an attorney in that country."

The message comes through loud and clear: There are no definitive guidelines when it comes to international insurance. One broker describes it as "a very fluid process." Each country and each facility has its own issues and requirements. Show managers are well advised to start their research early, ask lots of questions and get expert guidance. And maybe carry a rabbit's foot.