Jackson's death and the event cancellation insurance nightmare

LOS ANGELES - JUNE 23: In this handout photo ...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

It seems that the recent death of Michael Jackson has precipitated the start of not only one of the largest ticket refunds in history, but also raises the added issue regarding the payout of the event cancellation coverage purchased by the promoter, AEG Live. Insurer's had issued a policy, with a premium of $18 million, to cover the cancellation of the concerts in the event of an accident. The policy was also supposed to provide coverage if medical issues should arise causing cancellation. The problem is the wording of the policy and the actual cause of the singer's death. It is supposed to take up to several weeks for the reports to come back with a definitive answer on the cause of Mr. Jackson's death. Imagine the cost to the promoter if the policy should end up being denied. It's being written that they sold tickets with a face value of $85 million, gave Mr. Jackson $20 million upfront and spent close to $10 million on rehearsal costs.
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