A government U-turn allowing pubs and bars across England and Wales to trade until 5am on Monday has handed the hospitality sector an eleventh-hour commercial boost, but left brokers rushing to clarify cover and operators weighing whether they can safely open at all.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed on Thursday evening that pubs and bars across England and Wales would be permitted to stay open until 5am for England's FIFA World Cup round-of-16 match against Mexico, removing the need for individual premises to apply for extended opening hours. The move, enabled through emergency legislation, reversed the government's position from earlier in the day after ministers had ruled out further licensing changes.
The hospitality sector welcomed the announcement. Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said fans and operators would be "over the moon", while Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), described the decision as "fantastic news" for the sector.
For the insurance market, however, the late reversal has created a different challenge.
For brokers working in the pub sector, the reaction has been more measured. Jon Evans, commercial director at Aldium Insurance Services, an independent broker with a dedicated pub insurance specialism, said most insurers the firm works with had indicated they would follow the government's framework for permitted opening hours to support mutual clients where possible.
But with that framework now extending to 5am, Aldium has been checking that insurers' positions remain unchanged.
"We're now going back to a couple of those insurers and saying, does your stance still stand, now that the government framework is allowing it by automatic inclusion," Evans said, adding that the picture was not uniform.
Evans said Aldium had written to its pub clients on Thursday, but many operators were still working through the practicalities.
"I think they've been gauging whether they can get the staff, because a number of the staff might want to be watching the match and support England themselves. And is there really going to be enough people able to attend to make it financially worthwhile? With [people] having to possibly work on Monday morning."
Gary Holmes, head of schemes development at MGA Commercial Express, said operators need to consider several interconnected risks before deciding to stay open. With longer trading hours comes a longer window for alcohol-related incidents, alongside staffing challenges that carry their own insurance implications.
Holmes was direct about one area insurers watch particularly closely.
"What insurers don't like is employees acting as door staff. Insurers typically expect door staff to hold a valid Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence and be supplied through a third-party security provider.”
Holmes also highlighted public liability risks, including spilled drinks, broken glass, busy walkways and external areas around premises. His advice was for operators to start by checking what they had originally disclosed to insurers.
"It's important that operators look at what they've disclosed to their insurers at the beginning and what they've agreed, and if in doubt about whether their policy is covering them, get in contact with their broker or insurer."
Both Evans and Holmes said the timing of the announcement is what makes Sunday's fixture different from previous World Cup matches.
Earlier licensing extensions for the tournament only covered knockout fixtures kicking off between 5pm and 10pm. Sunday's 1am start fell outside those arrangements, prompting the government's last-minute intervention.
Evans believes earlier clarity would have helped operators prepare.
"I think originally the government had said it wouldn't relax these laws, and now they've changed on that. It doesn't give pubs much time to adjust."
He added that smaller rural pubs may simply lack the staff or resources to take advantage of the extended opening hours.
Holmes said a single World Cup fixture is unlikely to change underwriting overnight, but if late-night licensing becomes more common, insurers will ultimately judge the market by its claims experience and adjust their appetite accordingly.
"If they're not generally into late opening or late licences, the concern for insurers is whether it's going to be adequately managed, staffed, resourced and controlled."
