Is ticket insurance worth it?

That £2.86 'refund protection' checkbox is one of ticketing's highest-margin products — sold at the exact moment you're most committed. Sometimes it's rational. Usually you already have the rights you're paying for.

What you already get without it

• Event cancelled or rescheduled: refund of at least face value from the primary seller — that's standard UK practice and STAR-code backed; insurance adds nothing here.
• Event materially changed (venue, headline act on many terms): refund rights commonly apply.
• Section 75: paid by credit card over £100, your card issuer is jointly liable if the event doesn't happen and the seller won't pay.

The economics

Premiums run 6–12% of ticket value. Realistic personal no-show risk for a plannable local event is low single digits, and policies exclude the commonest reason ('changed my mind'). For a £30 local gig, a £3 premium against a ~2% claimable risk with paperwork attached is a poor bet. It changes when the ticket is £150+, the date is far out, travel is involved, or your circumstances are genuinely volatile — shift work, health, small children.

If you do buy it

1. Read the covered-reasons list before paying — 'illness' often requires a GP note; 'work' often requires employer letters.
2. Check the claim deadline (some are 48 hours from the event).
3. Compare against your existing travel/bank-account insurance, which may already cover event tickets.

For organisers

Offering protection can genuinely help fans on premium tickets — but it's also a fee by another name if pre-ticked or pushed on £12 tickets. Under UK consumer rules optional extras must be genuinely optional (no pre-ticked boxes). The honest configuration: off by default, clearly priced, on tickets where it can plausibly pay.