Stadiums are shaking, legends are ageing and the numbers aren't getting easier: inside the actuarial paradox of insuring rock's last giants

Insurance News

By Bryony Garlick

Nov 21, 2025Share

Image from: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons 

AC/DC’s return to Melbourne’s MCG last week - despite frontman Brian Johnson turning 78 and guitarist Angus Young now 70 - was powerful enough to trigger earthquake detection equipment and has become emblematic of the scale and intensity of modern stadium touring. Heritage acts continue to draw vast crowds and generate forces that stretch the traditional boundaries of live-event risk.  

At the same time, the death of Ozzy Osbourne has reminded the industry of a more personal vulnerability: the advancing age of the artists who still headline the world’s biggest stages. It has revived an old but increasingly urgent underwriting question - how to insure performers whose cultural value remains high even as their risk profile becomes more complex.  

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In this environment, Mark Hynds, of Rokstone, and Tim Thornhill, of Tysers, outline what sustainable cover for ageing artists truly requires, and why disciplined underwriting remains central to the sector’s survival.  

A market Under Pressure  

Hynds argues the core approach has not fundamentally changed. “Fundamentally the market has always tried to be pragmatic about insuring all of the artists who purchase cover,” he said, emphasising the need “to be sensible and mature about it.” Medical underwriting, in his view, is essential to maintaining equity across generations: “It's not fair to take money from younger artists and just be giving it all to older artists because then you're overcharging the younger artists and not charging the older ones enough.”  

London’s underwriting process, he notes, is long established and conducted transparently. “We seek out medical advice where required from experts. It's a transparent process. It's all done pre-bind.” Artists can then decide on exclusions, buy-backs or the extent of cover required. “The more cover, the more premium.”  

Experience can also shape risk. Hynds observes that younger artists “don't necessarily understand the rigours of touring so much,” while older acts, with seasoned production teams, tend to structure schedules more carefully. Underwriters, he said, must assess “the entire risk that we're taking on.”  

You Shook Me All Night Long  

For Thornhill, AC/DC’s stadium return illustrates the dual nature of modern touring risk. “The main risk considerations would be predominantly twofold,” he said. “Firstly, you have the potential cancellation of the events due to perils like adverse weather and the lack of availability of the venues. And then secondly… the ability of the artist to perform.”  

The second exposure becomes more involved with older performers. Thornhill explains that brokers “would be looking to get medicals from the band members to understand what their pre-existing medical conditions are,” and that for older acts “we might need full medicals compared to a younger band where we may just need a statement of health.” For high-budget tours, he adds, underwriters must have “the best information possible in order to underwrite the risk.”  

The seismic vibrations during AC/DC’s Melbourne show, produced by ground-level speakers and thousands of fans bouncing in unison, underline that physical exposures now extend well beyond the stage.  

Back in (underwriting) Black  

Self-insurance has become a talking point, but Hynds cautions against underestimating the stakes. “Non-insurance or self-insurance has always been something that's ever present in the contingency space,” he said, and some artists inevitably decide to “back myself a bit more than that.” But major tours often require artists and production teams to commit “tens of millions of pounds” upfront. Without insurance, he warns, many would never happen. “If you couldn't insure your corner shop, there wouldn't be a corner shop,” he said; no-one would risk their life savings “if one fire would burn it and they'd lose it all.” Touring, he argues, operates on the same principle: without cover, “it would be questionable whether there would be so much touring.”  

Thornhill also sees artists weighing cost against appetite. “We do see some of the older artists do this because the rates… might be too high and they feel like it's not worth it,” he said. Others moderate premium by accepting higher deductibles: “Rather than having a nil deductible on a 15 show tour we might see… a two-show deductible.”  

Highway to risk appetite  

Both men agree that sustainability depends on accurate pricing. “It's about charging the right price for the right risk,” Hynds said, ensuring the pool can pay claims when they arise. Thornhill stresses the need for cover to mirror contractual exposure between artists, promoters and venues. For older acts, he said, the process becomes a negotiation to find “an understanding of where that appetite… sits.”  

The past decade, Hynds adds, has brought heightened accountability and more technology into rating, leaving the sector “more mature than it was,” though profitability pressures persist.  

For those about to underwrite (We salute you)  

What is clear is that heritage acts show little sign of slowing down. They continue to fill stadiums, move seismic equipment and, in many cases, outperform younger generations commercially. For insurers, the task is to keep pace with that demand while maintaining a grip on the risk. In rock’s long farewell tour, the music endures, but so does the actuarial challenge.