[tkflames]

I can't see cost overrun insurance being available as it is imagined. Bidco will need to put a lot of skin in the game for a private insurance to come on board...something along the lines of:

$1B deductible (I.e. the first $1B is covered by the government). Then for every $1M over that, insurance will pay for $200k up to $30M for a premium of $20M....numbers may change but the product could not really be better than this.


What insurance *may* cover is the security risk. E.g. for $XXM insurance would cover any additional security requirements in excess of budget+deductible resulting directly from an immediate threat or world event preceeding the Olympics. I.e. Bidco bets that security would be the same or less cost as it would be today and insurance bets that there are no major events that would change the security budget. Again, put yourself in the shoes of the insurance company, how much money would you need up front to bet that security requirements in 8 years are not vastly different than today. For me personally to hedge that bet, I would ask for billion(s).

I do believe that out of everything the security budget is the biggest unknown without any legacy value (unless calgary becomes the global hub of security technology going forward). Projects scopes can be added, deleted and modified as the budget and local conditions allow. Realistically speaking you could host geto Olympics without any upgrades to any facility and there is not a lot that the IOC could or would do about it. I also believe that the security hedge should be covered by the federal government, whereas the infrastructure hedge should be covered by the provincial/municipal governments. This is not the deal I see on the table right now...