Artists' health insurance
insurance policies must also
include challenges
with pregnancy

Many artists choose to take out event insurance to cover them in the event of unforeseen events and illness that make cancellations necessary. But not all artists get peace of mind from buying event insurance. This is shown by member enquiries that the Danish Artist Association has recently received.

"We have been contacted by several female members who needed help assessing the terms of an event insurance policy purchased from a foreign insurance broker. The problem was that although the event insurance covered cancellations and no-shows due to illness, the basic terms and conditions stated that illness related to pregnancy and maternity, not was covered by the insurance," says Jens Skov Thomsen, Head of Legal Affairs at Dansk Artist Forbund.

"Event insurance did not give female artists the same financial safety net as their male colleagues. Simply because, as women, they can be affected by illness and unforeseen complications related to pregnancy and maternity leave," says Jens Skov Thomsen.

The artist union investigated insurance terms

Members' inquiries prompted Artistforbundet to initiate a study of the Danish market for event insurance, with a special focus on coverage terms for cancellations and no-shows due to illness.

The union enlisted the help of lawyer Nikolaj Nielsen, a former head of equal treatment at the Danish Institute for Human Rights who has been involved in a number of landmark cases on discrimination and insurance.

Nikolaj Nielsen explains that in Denmark, it is primarily the insurance brokers in RiskPoint Group who sell event insurance. But at first glance, it was not possible to determine whether the insurance offered by the company was fully comprehensive.

"We contacted the Danish insurance provider to find out more about the basic terms of their event insurance and how it covered. We received a clear written confirmation that the basic terms as of 1 January 2024 also cover illness and complications of pregnancy and maternity," he says, who is a partner in the law firm Kontra Advokater.

The lawyer will not speculate on whether the terms of cover have been adjusted as a result of the Artists' Union's enquiry. But he says that cases of gender discrimination have put the insurance industry in the spotlight in Denmark in recent years.

Many insurance companies have discriminated against pregnant women

"In 2021, the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority reported 14 insurance companies to the police and fined them for discriminating against pregnant women. This concerned pregnant women's access to health insurance, accident insurance and travel insurance. And about women's right to be paid their insurance premiums," says Nikolaj Nielsen and elaborates:

"For example, if you had an accident, you could get your insurance premium paid, but if the accident was due to pregnancy or childbirth, the insurance would not cover you. The foreign event insurance that the female members approached the Danish Artist Association about is the latest addition," he says.

"Regardless of the country of origin of the insurance product, insurance sold in Denmark must comply with Danish legislation," emphasises Nikolaj Nielsen. And here, illness and complications related to pregnancy and maternity should never be excluded if the insurance covers losses due to illness in general.

Unlawful discrimination

"If you encounter such terms as an insurance customer, you should not accept them. It's direct discrimination, which is illegal under both the Equal Treatment Act and the underlying EU directives. Because it's like saying that this insurance does not cover certain diseases that can only affect women," says Nikolaj Nielsen.

The lawyer is backed by a number of decisions by the Board of Equal Treatment in recent years. As recently as April this year, four women with birth defects won their cases in the Board of Equal Treatment. They had accused their insurance companies of gender discrimination because they had been denied coverage from their accident insurance policies. The four women were awarded compensation ranging from DKK 5,000-15,000.

Since the Danish Institute for Human Rights raised a number of cases back in 2020 where pregnant women were discriminated against by their insurance companies, over three million insurance policies have been changed in favour of the women, while thousands of women have received compensation and damages for gender discrimination, according to the Institute's website.

And the Danish Artist Association keeps a close eye on the insurance area, says Jens Skov Thomsen, Head of Legal Affairs at the Danish Artist Association.

"In this situation, we received written confirmation from the Danish insurance brokers that illness and complications during pregnancy and maternity are covered by the basic terms of the insurance. We are satisfied with that," he says and continues:

"But it's frustrating that in 2024 it's still necessary to emphasise that female artists should of course be able to do their work on the same terms as their male colleagues. Also when it comes to taking on the huge financial responsibility of headlining events and tours. An artist's work involves many people other than the artist themselves - and the artist bears the financial responsibility for a whole host of talented colleagues and other professionals, even if the job or tour cannot be completed as planned. That's why female artists should of course be able to buy insurance that covers them too, if They are affected by some of the illnesses and complications that can occur during pregnancy and maternity," he says.

The artist's journalist contacted the insurance company RiskPoint Group for a comment, but the company stated that it was unable to answer questions in this context.