Insurance
Home›Insurance›Industry & Deals›World Cup final coverage expected to push event insura…
World Cup final coverage expected to push event insurance above $1 billion
Morningstar DBRS estimates FIFA’s 2026 World Cup event cancellation protection has likely grown past $1 billion, helped by the expanded US, Canada, and Mexico footprint and higher demand for terrorism, cyber, and contingency coverage.
The FIFA World Cup final in the United States begins July 19, highlighting how much the insurance structures behind major sporting events have expanded as risk profiles rise, according to Insurance Business citing Morningstar DBRS.
For the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, FIFA reportedly secured about $900 million in event cancellation coverage. Morningstar DBRS estimates that amount has likely increased to more than $1 billion for the 2026 tournament, which is the largest World Cup ever staged and is spread across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Morningstar DBRS said the multi-country footprint has pushed insured values higher and increased demand for coverage tied to terrorism, cyber incidents, and contingency risks. It also noted that event cancellation is only one layer of protection for a tournament of this scale.
The analysis added that a cancellation of the World Cup final itself would not trigger the full insured limit because tournament revenues and costs are spread across multiple matches and stakeholders. It also said no World Cup tournament or match has been canceled since 1946, though individual games have been rescheduled due to weather, and that event-related losses from major sporting events have remained manageable for the wider insurance and reinsurance market.