COVID-19 brought festivals and concerts to an abrupt halt, with dire financial consequences for those who organised and who performed at them. Henry’s career in insuring musicians and events was a baptism of fire as the pandemic hit.
Henry is a broker with Tysers, working with the music industry to make sure they are protected when things go wrong – that could be equipment getting lost or damaged, crew being injured, artists falling ill or gigs being cancelled. A physics graduate from Leeds University, Henry started his career in teaching but has always had a passion for music but was looking for a way of combining that with more stability and even a pension! “I had not really thought about music and insurance, but then I googled businesses that did it and made some applications.”
“The onset of the pandemic and mass cancellation of events was quite early in my career” said Henry. “It made it really hard for the entire music industry; artists lost money as did organisers and we had some tough conversations around what was insured and what wasn’t”. Then after months of activity, the industry came back to life with gigs and festivals being rescheduled.
Henry spends a lot of time talking to artists, managers and organisers, and says “The best thing about being in this business is the contact you have with clients, talking about their plans and ambitions and being able to give them some peace of mind when they are taking a risk.” The industry is also always evolving with new types of events such as animatronics, dance festivals and immersive experiences, so there is always something to learn and new ways to develop your career. There is also the opportunity to travel visiting clients and events in across the UK and abroad.
As Henry builds his career is doing the exams to be an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute saying “The value of these professional qualifications is the confidence they give you in the more technical aspects of the industry, and the confidence it gives other people in you.”