Interview with Anita Winters of One of the Guys and The Event Warehouse

As we are in the middle of the festival season and our new online application flow is in full use, we were curious to know how online event insurance applications are experienced by our customers. We spoke to Anita Winters about this.  She works at event organisers One of the Guys and The Event Warehouse, the organisers of Paaspop, among others.

Can you tell us something about yourself and the organisation?

One of the Guys and The Event Warehouse are among the largest event organisations in the Netherlands. The best-known and biggest event we organise is Paaspop. But we organise a lot of events, more than a hundred a year. Other events you may have heard of include WiSH Outdoor, SMÈRRIG, Elsom and the QMusic the Party Fout tour across the country. So we do those kinds of big festivals, but also a lot of smaller events. In addition, we often collaborate with other organisations.

How big is the company and how long have you been working there?

There are about thirty of us now. Before COVID broke out, things were going very well and the company was growing very fast. Of course, that came to a halt for a while, but now we are happily running at full speed again. I have been working there for about four years now. I am the mother of one of the founders, and they asked me to handle the finances and insurance. I also work at Interpolis, so I do have some experience with insurance, which has worked out well.

How did you get through the COVID period?

Of course, that was a very unpleasant period for the whole industry. We were always making plans, starting to organise and getting things ready, but they kept on falling through. So many disappointments. But we survived, using the time well to further professionalise the organisation and make it ready for the future. Now we are back in full swing and the future looks bright.

How did you end up at Klap No Risk?

The Event Warehouse, founders of Paaspop and a number of other events, were long-time clients of Klap No Risk. Through them we came to you, and now we insure all our festivals with you.

How do you go about applying for insurance?

We keep an Excel sheet where I write down how many visitors each event expects, the budgets, equipment costs, etc. Based on that, we decide what we want to insure, and when that's finalised, we go to Klap No Risk. We usually apply for the insurance about three weeks in advance - also because there are still some fears now that measures might be imposed again. When the fear of COVID has really completely gone, we will again start applying for insurance a bit longer in advance.

Can you judge for yourself what to insure and what not to insure, or do you need help with that?

For big events, I always call or email you, and we get advice and a quote. And for smaller events, I calculate the premiums and apply for insurance online. What I like about you guys is that the lines of communication are so short. If I have a question, I can always call Maarten or the office and get an immediate answer. Estimating the risks, I think, is pretty straightforward. Things like equipment and liability we actually insure as standard. We look at material costs and visitor numbers, etc., and then it's easy to estimate what we need to insure. The only aspects about which there is always doubt are cancellation and bad weather. For indoor events we never insure cancellation, but for outdoor events it is always a point of doubt. After all, it is expensive insurance. But the weather is becoming more extreme in the Netherlands, so if you ask me, it is important insurance to take out.

How do you like our new online application flow?

Because we organise so many events, I use the application flow a lot. I think it works well. It’s nice to be able to calculate the premiums yourself online and get an instant quote. In the beginning, there were things that didn't work quite right, such as a policy being in the name of the wrong event. But I noticed that you were still improving the application flow, and I saw that those kinds of problems were always solved quickly. So yes, I am satisfied. I really like the fact that not everything has to be done by email or phone any more.