Insurance

mountainmedia

mountainmedia

Well-known member
So does anyone here have their 300 (and/or other production equipment) insured for replacement value? If so - with whom and would you be willing to ballpark what you're paying (yearly/monthly)? I'm checking into it now with a couple of sources, but figured there might be some good leads here. Thanks! :)
 
Great ?

Great ?

I've been thinking about this myself, I just don't know what type of insurance would cover the gear. It could be home, auto, etc...

I guess I just need to put in a call to the insurance company.
 
i deal with kat wong at heffernan.
i've got all of my gear with them, so i couldn't tell you what the 300 breaks out at.

InsureMyEquipment@heffINS.com.

Katherine M. Wong, CLCS
InsureMyEquipment.com
InsureMyRentals.com
Heffernan Insurance Brokers
811 Wilshire Blvd. #1801
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-785-6912 Direct
213-236-0511 Main
626-379-6280 Mobile
213-623-1388 Fax
Kwong@heffins.com
 
To do this right, buy a general liability policy from a business insurance broker. There are lots of companies that do small LLC or S-Corp policies. This will cover you when working in public if someone trips over your extension cord. This coverage is essential to work on most corporate sites and or to get a permit, if required, where you intend to shoot. Then, add your "contents" coverage to that policy as a bundle. Some portion of your equipment is mobile and that will be an amendment (rider) to your policy. For example, if you have 25k worth of gear and half of that will be traveling outside your normal business location, then that will be a higher rate than stuff that doesn't move.

If you work with a good agent and they work the system for you, insurance can be had for a reasonable amount. I get 500k per incident 1M aggregate general liability and cover my contents which includes the typical one man band setup for around $1200/year. I include my newer vehicle for commercial use for another $1000/yr. This is with a main-line AAA rated company that specializes in business insurance and has real people available in the event of a claim. Don't bother with homeowner type coverage as it will NOT cover you in any business related situation, and most homeowner agents aren't familiar with business needs.

When applying for coverage the important part here is to make a good impression with the underwriter via your agent.....there will be questions, and if you tell them about your pending trip to the Afganistan, your rates may vary. One of the things I communicated to the underwiter was that the actual time spent shooting in the field was pretty low compared to the office-edit suite time. That equals less exposure and makes me more like a graphic artist that does field work some of the time. New businesses or businesses with employees will be higher. If you start generating large amounts of revenue, you will usually be placed on a earned premium which will be based on your gross revenue/yr. I wish I had that problem!

Best Regards,
Grant
 
Another note to the OP; there is a pretty big difference in insurance jargon between replacement value and market value. Replacement value is usually termed agreed value. That means if the equipment need replacing, then the agreed value will be paid. Agreed value may be the new replacement cost under some circumstances. Agreed value coverage is common on collector items, and may not even be available for something like a newer video cam. Agreed value will be much more expensive. Market value is the more common way to have a claim paid. If your cam is a year old, how much would the depreciated cam sell for? That is what an insurance company wants to pay normally. That is just the way it is....if you file a claim, an insurance company doesn't want you to be better off than before you made the claim. They want to share the risk with you. That will motivate you to avoid making claims and protect your investment and their reserve.

Regards,
Grant
 
For the traveling gear, you will need an "inland marine rider". At least that's what it's been referred to in the 20 years I've been buying it. It does not have to be a "special" agency, I get mine from the same folks that do my liability, home, and auto.
 
The General Liability policy can be purchased as a stripped-down policy for $1M - $2M coverage. Bundled with this, or purchased separately, you can buy insurance to cover your productions on a job-to-job basis or on annual policies. Annual coverages, dollar-to-coverage is a better deal, and you can do monthly installments or "four-pay" (this does not mean quarterly, so watch out!) or once a year. They usually only charge you less than ~$5 an installment if you wish to make your payments that way.

You can also insure your equipment under a TravelGuard policy - just select the coverage you want when traveling abroad.

Domestic general liability policies won't cover you in foreign markets, at least not without an international coverages rider or addendum.

e
 
I got a quotation for "electronic equipment upto 75000 euro" + "additional costs for also 75000 euro" for both together 1275 euro a year
 
I have great insurance, hate the company but love my INDEPENDENT agent. The reason is I have had several claims over the years and if it gets expensive the natural inclination of an insurance company is to figure out how to avoid paying us. So it is up your agent, and this is why it is so important to have an independent agent, to go to bat for you and jerk their chain.

I have been robbed, the truck broken into (theft from an unattended vehicle is a "grey" area). I have had a piece of gear fall off a helicopter belly mount into Lake Michigan (they don't want to cover water loss without a marine recovery effort). I have had a very bad soundman from Craigslist leave the boom pole, mic and pistol grip in a stadium (they don't want to cover "mysterious disappearance").

My agent is Karen Hoyt at 847-836-1000, tell her Ned sent you. No matter who the insurance carrier was she went to bat for me. Most everybody THINKS they have insurance, it's when you go to collect a claim that's more than a couple of thousand, that's when you need a champion to fight for you because they will drag it on and on. They are all evil, it's the agent that counts. If the agent works for the company full time and is not independent they will espouse the company line as to why your claim won't get paid, so go independent.

Have a deductible of $1000 so if something happens you mainly just lost your day rate. If a crew member does the problem tell them it's cool, you're insured BUT they have to give you some free days till the deductible is made up. That's what the soundman who left the gear in the stadium did.

And keep your original receipts in a house different than your gear. The price for insurance may vary a couple of hundred here and there, make sure you feel comfortable with the AGENT and they come highly recommended like Karen Hoyt.

Later,

Ned
 
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