Location Insurance

T

TommieGreen

Active member
I want to shoot in a location and they told me this:

"Your liability insurance for commercial photography requirement is an aggregate
of $250,000 and the insurance certificate must specifically state: "... The
State of Michigan, its departments, boards, commissions, officers, and employees
are included as additional insureds." Do not simply list the State of Michigan
as "certificate holder"."

I don't know what this means.
I don't know where to go to get insurance (I'm a guerrilla specialist, never had to purchase any before)
Is there a way around this? Maybe something I could tell them (Or counterfeit insurance perhaps...)
If not, how much would this cost me and where would I go to get it?


Any help would be MUCH appreciated. Thank you!
 
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You need to go to a commercial / production insurance agency. They can underwrite you for a term policy or an annual one that will provide the coverages required for production. The $250K requirement indicated by State of Michigan is low - most want $1M ~ $2M. Once you have the basic policy, the agency or underwriter will arrange specific Certificates of Insurance ("certs") for rental houses, property owners and other entities who want to make sure your activities are covered.

Homeowners' insurance won't do this, nor will an "umbrella" policy. If anyone tries to tell you to wrap your business coverage into those policies, you would do well to ignore them.

You need to work with someone who is specifically familiar with production types of coverage. A basic, general aggregate business insurance policy isn't going to provide riders for the unique situations that occur within film, concert, tradeshow or other entertainment-oriented work.

We use The Hanover.
 
I'm not being an ass or anything, but I didn't understand any of that.
Could you maybe try answering the questions I asked, lol, I'm sorry, man.
 
Google "production insurance" or "film and television production insurance broker" and you'll get some good results. They should be able to explain what you'll need better than I can. They are going to ask you very specific questions ranging from "have you ever had a claim" to "are you going to be working on or near the water", "does all of your work (or the project) occur domestically", "what is your payroll" and on and on.

You may be asked to fill out a survey to answer questions like these. This is all normal procedure, so don't be surprised if they want to know a bit about your project(s).

Good luck.
 
We spend $6000 annually (or so) for our liability policy ($2M general aggregate; domestic USA; worker's comp; unlimited riders). With only four people formally attached to our company when we're not in production, we were surprised how insistent they were that we must have worker's comp. insurance. The requirement for this may vary from state to state and you may be able to satisfy temporary labor coverages through third-party payroll services like Entertainment Partners, Talent Fund et-cetera.

There isn't really a cheap alternative to an annual policy, though you might be able to jump into a larger "group policy" for individual productions or shorter terms.
 
Couldn't I get it per production though? Because $6,000 is enough money to save my life, so if I ever came across that much money, TRUST, I would not spend it on insurance of any type, lol
 
There are SO many companies! Do you suggest any?

And do the locations that request Insurance check up on the certificate to prove it's real?
 
I told you the name of our underwriter. The Hanover. They are the company who actually insures us. A broker will have a list of underwriters they can get you quotes from.

In a market like Los Angeles, where film is a very organized and understood business, you'll have a hard time going out uninsured. I'd advocate for finding a legitimate source for coverage if you're undertaking production. One mistake in production can be devastating and cost the at-risk producer millions. It's worth the cost of a $500 or $1000 term policy.

At least twice now, you've asked for information pertaining to faking or knowingly providing fraudulent proof-of-insurance. This forum isn't the place for that.
 
If you ask an agent for a general liability policy for "electronic media production" you may find it will be less expensive than asking for "huge mega movie productionm policy" The point is, most small video companies only shoot a small portion of the time, so that matters. The rest of the time you are quietly sitting in your edit suite.

I carry a general liability policy which includes specific policy riders for field shooting video and photography for 1mil each and 2mil aggregate and it runs around $1200/year. I tie my auto and contents (inland-marine) coverage to the same policy and it becomes very good coverage for a bargain. Try Liberty Mutual, which used to be Ohio Casualty. Make sure you get an agent who knows about business policies!!!!

Your mileage may vary, but I have carried similar style policies for over 20 years for several businesses. The one I just described has been in place for 6 years.

Grant
 
ggrantly said:
If you ask an agent for a general liability policy for "electronic media production" you may find it will be less expensive than asking for "huge mega movie productionm policy" The point is, most small video companies only shoot a small portion of the time, so that matters. The rest of the time you are quietly sitting in your edit suite.

I carry a general liability policy which includes specific policy riders for field shooting video and photography for 1mil each and 2mil aggregate and it runs around $1200/year. I tie my auto and contents (inland-marine) coverage to the same policy and it becomes very good coverage for a bargain. Try Liberty Mutual, which used to be Ohio Casualty. Make sure you get an agent who knows about business policies!!!!

Your mileage may vary, but I have carried similar style policies for over 20 years for several businesses. The one I just described has been in place for 6 years.

Grant
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Sigh. Thanks alot, guys. But back in 2005, this site used to be more guerrilla-friendly. We still do exist, You know! I'll see what I can do. Thanks again
 
"fractured atlas" is a non-profit (I believe) and geared toward artists. They may be the guys that will come closest to your guerilla budget. I have't used them but others have discussed them on the site. Good luck.
 
TommieGreen said:

Sigh. Thanks alot, guys. But back in 2005, this site used to be more guerrilla-friendly. We still do exist, You know! I'll see what I can do. Thanks again
Click to expand...

I don't know what you want? As I said before, there are options (like lambert suggested) such as Fractured Atlas, where you might be able to pool together with a larger group to get what you need.

Do some research by talking with an insurance agent. They can help if you're willing to provide detailed information about your production(s).

When it comes to products and services, especially for a technology-dependent industry like filmed-entertainment, you're going to have some real-world costs. Insurance is one of them. Equipment is another.

This site is just as friendly as it ever was for low-no budget filmmakers. At the same time, lying, cheating and stealing does nothing to move guerrilla filmmaking forward.
 
Being "guerrilla" or "guerrilla friendly" has nothing to do with this. If you want that location, you need insurance. There's nothing anyone here can say or do which will change that, however friendly we may be . . .
 
The only possible alternatives to (buying) insurance I've heard of and this would be a long shot would be to partner with a municipality and use their insurance. I believe it was a dvxuser member who successfully used this strategy when they needed a street closed in a small town for a short film( the police helped out gratis). I find it unlikely that this would work today. A california production company was selling insurance/certificates under their policy for a while giving a certificate but this did not seem kosher (and very well may have put the seller and the filmakers in legal jeopardy and any one unlucky enough to have a claim in a perilous position). I mention this as a warning against unconventional means of attempting to insure a production. Just because filmakers have gotten away with quasi-legal/fraudulent practices in the past doesn't mean one should try it today. On one of the legit insurance companies website it says their liablity insurance for filmakers starts at $435 (liability general 2 million)(you'll spend more money I'm positive but it gives you a starting point).
 
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