The whole world has been affected by the COVID-19 virus, otherwise known as coronavirus. It’s hard to find anywhere that hasn’t been impacted in some way, from regional lockdowns to loss of business. Unfortunately, if you’re one of our many clients in the amusement industry, you’ve probably felt the effects of the global pandemic pretty hard. In the past months, most states have gone through an intensive lockdown, allowing only essential businesses to run.
Recreation and entertainment, of course, is not considered essential. Not only that, but many amusement venues have a strict lockdown protocol enforced on them, due to the inherent risk they carry. These are businesses where many people congregate, often bringing their entire families. Indeed, if you’ve been hit hard by the virus, you’re not alone.
At Northeast Insurance Center, we care greatly for our many partners and clients in the amusement industry. We’ve labored for years partnering with the most reputable insurance providers in the industry, and we work tirelessly to find the best possible insurance policies for businesses all over the spectrum in the entertainment industry.
Needless to say, we care for you. Here is what players in the amusement industry need to know about COVID-19:
The Country Is Starting to Open Up
Whether you’re a family fun center, a go-kart venue, a laser tag arena, an indoor inflatable center, or any other number of entertainment-related venues, it’s safe to assume that you’ve probably been locked down. Entertainment centers pose a significant threat to the spread of the virus for obvious reasons.
Fortunately, things are starting to change. While the virus has not been eliminated or contaminated, the spread has greatly slowed down, enough for most states to open up many services that were closed down before.
Entertainment is chief among those services. As of the date of this blog’s posting (6/23/20), every single state has opened up to some degree, with most of them allowing for multiple types of entertainment businesses.
What Is the Status of My State?
While we could type a specific rundown of every single state, there are already many outlets doing this, and they’re more likely to be up-to-date. We recommend checking out this COVID lockdown tracker from The New York Times. This lists every single state and what their current state of lockdown is. At the time of this blog post, every single state has opened up, with Tennessee marked for “regional reopening.”
However, every single state has its own provisions on what their reopenings entail. Some of them are opening up everything, with certain restrictions. Some of them are requiring masks, others not. Some of them are only opening up certain types of businesses. Be sure to check the tool to familiarize yourself with your area.
Most Businesses Are Opening With Restrictions
Although it is no doubt fantastic news that your amusement industry business is likely opening back up, it’s not without a few caveats. These, of course, shouldn’t be scoffed at, as they’re all in the interest of public health, and there’s nothing more important than preventing the spread of the virus. Even if it is inconvenient, it’s important to remember that we all need to do our part to ensure that there aren’t mass outbreaks of COVID-19.
Every state has different orders, but here are some examples of some restrictions that are being applied to various businesses, those in the amusement industry included:
- Reduced hours
- Mandatory mask wearing
- Reduced crowd sizes
- Social distancing measures
Loss of Income Isn’t Covered By Insurance
While this doesn’t have anything to do with businesses opening up or closing down, it is relevant for all of our clients. We specialize in finding quality insurance to cover all manner of different businesses in the entertainment industry, and at this time, we are sorry to report that loss of income due to COVID-19 is not currently covered by insurance.
If your business has seen a major lack of profits due to COVID closures, you’re not alone. At Northeast Insurance Center, we’re hoping that a carrier steps up and provides this essential coverage, but unless that happens, we encourage you to hang in there, and do everything you can to keep your business afloat while also being cognizant of the spread of COVID-19.
High-Quality Insurance Policies for the Amusement Industry
We’ve covered countless unique businesses in the amusement industry. Axe-throwing, go-karting, laser-tagging, theme parks, mini golf courses, you name it — these are all different businesses that we’ve covered with high-quality, low-premium insurance policies. As COVID-19 continues to be a gamechanger, it’s possible that you’ve been doing some restructuring to your business. If you’re in need of insurance, we can help. We’re partnered with insurance providers all over the country who have policies that are custom-tailored to unique businesses such as yours. We encourage you to contact us today for a quality policy!
