The FIFA World Cup 2026 is unlike any sporting event the insurance industry has encountered before. Spanning 16 cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico, with an estimated six million attendees and projections of more than 100,000 security personnel across three nations, the tournament represents a risk management challenge of extraordinary scale one that Torrence Brownyard (pictured), president of the Brownyard Group in Bay Shore, New York, says the insurance industry is not taking lightly.
"There's a figure suggesting it's the equivalent of 80 simultaneous events happening at one time," said Brownyard, who leads one of the longest running family-owned specialty program administrators in the US. "Managing the security, insurance, and logistics for that is a massive undertaking."
For organizations with any involvement in the tournament, from ticketing platforms and broadcasters to security contractors and local vendors, Brownyard's message is unambiguous: existing coverage is almost certainly not enough.
"Most standard policies are not going to be sufficient to cover this exposure," he said. "Specialty insurance and non-admitted carriers are going to have to step in to meet the unique needs."
General liability is typically the first line of defense, but Brownyard cautions that many GL policies contain exclusions specifically for largescale events, as well as for liquor and host liquor liability. Terrorism coverage frequently an optional addon that organizations bypass is, in his view, essential for any entity associated with this World Cup.
"Terrorism is at the top of the list of concerns security firms are encountering, followed by crime and cyber-attacks," Brownyard said. "Some events are being held in Mexico, which introduces cartel related concerns."
The full spectrum of coverage that may come into play is broad: property insurance, business interruption, terrorism, cyber liability, event cancellation, and international and foreign liability critical given the three country footprint of the tournament and the reality that many US based vendors may not currently hold policies that extend beyond American borders.
The Paris Olympics served as a stark preview of what largescale global events can trigger. During those Games, cyber-attacks targeted organizations involved in broadcasting, ticketing, fan apps, and digital infrastructure. Brownyard expects similar if not greater exposure at the World Cup.
"Cyber liability should be seriously considered, particularly for organizations involved in ticketing, broadcasting, running websites, apps, or other digital infrastructure tied to the event," he said.
Equally significant is the specter of event cancellation driven by health risk. Business interruption policies often contain pandemic exclusions a clause that can prove financially devastating for companies that have invested heavily in World Cup related contracts. With attendees arriving from nations around the world, Brownyard described the potential for disease spread as a present and real concern.
"We're a few years removed from COVID, but the uncertainty is real," he said. "With venues hosting people arriving from countries around the world, the specter of a pandemic is very present in a way it simply wasn't for earlier World Cups."
While coverage is central to risk mitigation, Brownyard emphasizes that insurance alone cannot resolve every liability. The legal strategy must work alongside it. Organizations should engage counsel to limit exposure through contracts, indemnification clauses, and hold harmless agreements transferring liability away from their operations wherever possible.
Workforce management is another pressure point. The sheer scale of the World Cup means most organizations will need to dramatically expand staffing, and Brownyard warns that cutting corners on recruitment, screening, and training carries its own liability exposure.
"Putting untrained or unqualified people in situations that could cause harm is a serious risk in itself," he said.
For risk managers and brokers still working through their clients' World Cup exposure, Brownyard's assessment is blunt: the window for preparation is closing.
"Organizations that haven't started this process are already behind," he said.
Brownyard, who has led the firm's Brownguard security insurance program and has spent more than four decades specializing in niche liability coverage, notes that some security firms being brought in to supplement World Cup operations are operating outside their typical scope making it all the more urgent to confirm proper coverage is in place before the opening match.
The bottom line, he said, is that this event demands a tailored, nuanced approach to insurance one that accounts for international exposure, political instability, terrorism, and cyber risk, and that is built around each organization's specific role in the tournament.
"Anyone involved directly or indirectly with this event needs to sit down with their insurance broker or carrier, discuss their specific role, go through all possible risks, and confirm they have the proper coverage in place,” he said.
