Production Insurance

[John M]

So I know very little about "production Insurance". To sum up my knowledge in this area I know that some location owners require it and some don't. The problem I'm having right now is that I'm a student and like all students I have no money to spend. Unless I want to spend the rest of my days shooting in my friends basements or without a permit on city streets I need to make myself and my group less of a liability and if my understanding is correct, I can do that through having production insurance.

My question to you fine folks is what do I need to know about production insurance and who do I need to talk to if I'm going to acquire it?

I realize that my question is sort of long and hard to answer so I really appreciate anyone taking the time to read this.

Regards,

John

 

[4100xpb]

If you're studying film at school, you will often be covered by your school's policy for certain work. Check with them.

 

[John M]

Unfortunately I`m not studying at a film school. I`m just a plain old university student. You`re response is appreciated none the less. Thank you.

 

[Martay]

It isn't hard to answer. You simply look for a production insurance firm, preferably two or three, and ask about the policies and prices.

In the interim, it appears you will be limited to where you can shoot without it. The rest of your days may not be spent limited to them, but that means you'll need to get a plan to be covered for this.

Perhaps you could convince a production company that carries a policy (most often they have a standing policy just like auto insurance) to partner with you on a project which will allow coverage to extend to your project.

-M

 

[John M]

Thanks for the thoughts Martay. Good idea on asking a larger company to partner with me. I never would thought of that. Personally I really hate this business side of film making because it can get so confusing, but on the other hand when you actually have an idea of what to do it's not so bad. Once again, thank you.

 

[Steve House]

FYI, there's production insurance such as Errors and Omissions and then there's liability insurance, which covers people and locations against damage you do or accidents you cause while on a location. The production insurance usually doesn't come into play until your offering a show to a distributor or something like that. What you're likely running into now is location owners or government jurisdictions that require liability insurance before they'll grant permission to shoot on their property or issue permits.

 

[Martay]

FYI, there's production insurance such as Errors and Omissions and then there's liability insurance, which covers people and locations against damage you do or accidents you cause while on a location. The production insurance usually doesn't come into play until your offering a show to a distributor or something like that. What you're likely running into now is location owners or government jurisdictions that require liability insurance before they'll grant permission to shoot on their property or issue permits.

Good points. It seemed pretty clear that he was discussing the latter from his first post but it is good to point out the difference.

Also of note, you will need Liability Insurance (w/Workman's Comp) if you are to work with any SAG actors even under their experimental arrangement.

-M

 

[Allen Green]

try filmemporium.com we bought insurance for our shoot from them and they were very helpful and gave us a good deal. I don't have my notes in front of me or I would give you the guy's name that handled our stuff. I worked with the LA office. Their web site has a lot of answers to production insurance questions.
Good Luck
Allen
http://www.killingstrainmovie.com

 

[John M]

Cool guys, I really appreciate the advice. Also thanks for the recommendation Allen. It's always nice to get pointed in the right direction. Take care.

 

[JonathanLB]

FYI, there's production insurance such as Errors and Omissions and then there's liability insurance, which covers people and locations against damage you do or accidents you cause while on a location. The production insurance usually doesn't come into play until your offering a show to a distributor or something like that. What you're likely running into now is location owners or government jurisdictions that require liability insurance before they'll grant permission to shoot on their property or issue permits.

Production insurance has nothing to do with E&O insurance, so unless you mistyped that I'm pretty confused by that response. Production insurance covers a HUGE variety of different aspects, from props and wardrobe through automotive and liability through potentially cast and crew, workers comp, post-production, etc. My annual insurance policy for instance has I think 3-4 different companies that cover different aspects of my production insurance through my agent (Wells Fargo Insurance Services).

E&O insurance is not necessary until you actually are in position to reach a deal with a distributor. Then you'll need it, no doubt about that.

 

[Steve House]

Production insurance has nothing to do with E&O insurance, so unless you mistyped that I'm pretty confused by that response. Production insurance covers a HUGE variety of different aspects, from props and wardrobe through automotive and liability through potentially cast and crew, workers comp, post-production, etc. My annual insurance policy for instance has I think 3-4 different companies that cover different aspects of my production insurance through my agent (Wells Fargo Insurance Services).

E&O insurance is not necessary until you actually are in position to reach a deal with a distributor. Then you'll need it, no doubt about that.

Right - was I was trying to distinguish was between insurance for your production to protect you, your investors, and/or your distributors against loss, something that location owners and permit granting agencies would care less about, and liability insurance protecting the owners of locations, the general public, and the city/county/etc where you're shooting from liability should your activities lead to damage or injury. A location owner is worried about his potential liability if a light falls on someone or starts a fire, not whether your leading lady comes down with the flu costing expensive production delays, someone steals your camera, or whether you've properly licensed the music you're using.