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Short-Term Film Production Insurance: How It Works

Production insurance is a crucial part of any great filming project. Providing complete peace of mind for the producer, this tailored insurance has been designed to cater to the diverse needs of different filming projects, covering all kinds of film-related risks.

Production policies are created with a wide range of production projects in mind. Typical policies provide coverage for anything from injuries and accidents on set to damage, theft and loss of equipment. Coverage might also include interruptions to filming, as well as unexpected cancellations or postponements.

Whether you’re finalising plans for a new video content campaign, you’re hard at work on a TV advertisement for your brand or you’re thinking ahead to a large-scale production for 2021, you need to think about production insurance. Keep an eye out for a policy that covers all the risks your project might encounter, and make sure your team is fully covered for any eventuality. That way you’ll be free to relax and let your creativity run wild!

If you’re new to the world of production insurance and unsure which route to go down, read on to find out how it works.

  

Choosing a policy

Many insurers now offer policies made with the creative industries in mind, with plenty of options for those producing films. That’s great news for producers, as it makes it far easier to find a policy that covers the risks that specific projects might be open to.

Work with a broker to narrow down your exposures and decide on your requirements, or contact your chosen insurers directly to find out whether or not they might be the right fit for your project. Thankfully, insurers offer great flexibility in production insurance policies, so you shouldn’t have any trouble securing a policy that provides all the coverage that you need.

 

What’s covered by production insurance?

Production insurance policies cover the wide range of liabilities associated with creating, producing and distributing a film. The most comprehensive policies will provide coverage for accidents, injuries, cancellations and interruptions to the filming schedule. Good policies will also cover accidents, damage and theft of equipment, whether it is owned or rented.

Policies will often need to incorporate employers’ liability insurance; this is a legal requirement for any productions that employ staff. Public liability insurance should also be included, because as we all know accidents can easily happen on set. Many policies also incorporate producers’ indemnity insurance, which covers the costs of interruptions and cancellations in filming, and any costs associated with rescheduling parts of a production.

 

Short-term vs. annual: Which is best?

Companies working on production projects regularly might benefit from annual coverage, but if this isn’t the case then short-term policies are your friend. These policies can be written according to the specific timeframe that you need, and will cover the project from its planning stages to the last day of filming. If you’re undertaking a single filming project and want to keep costs down, short-term insurance is a good option to go for.

 

Production insurance coverage areas

Production insurance policies can be very broad in nature, or they can be quite specific. In some cases, policies will be limited by predetermined coverage areas. Put simply, this means that policies will only take effect in certain places, as agreed when the insurance was initially taken out.

If specific coverage areas have been chosen, then all filming will need to take place within this area, and no equipment will be able to travel out of that zone. Speak to your insurer about where you plan to film, and share as much detail as you can about the regions that you’ll need to be insured in to make sure that your policy provides all the coverage you need for the duration of the project.

 

Insuring your equipment

Filming equipment can be eye-wateringly expensive, and as the complexity of a project grows so too do the price tags attached to the equipment on site. Whether your company plans to make use of its own equipment or hire cameras and production equipment in, you’ll want to make sure that your production insurance has everything fully protected.

Production insurance policies provide all the required coverage for both hired and owned equipment, protecting producers from the financial implications of loss, accidental damage and theft. Often hire companies will require a certain amount of coverage before any equipment can leave the building, so it’s worth checking these requirements with your chosen hire company before you choose your policy.

 

Making a claim

If any hiccoughs do occur during filming, production insurance will quickly spring into action to stop the project grinding to a halt. Producers can contact their insurers at any point to make a claim, and many insurers will provide producers with the advice and expertise that they need to reduce costly interruptions to filming, and get the show back on the road. Speak to your chosen insurer about the claims process to learn more about how it works, and what your insurer can do to help.

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If you’re hard at work planning your next production, now’s the time to look into production insurance. Consider the exposures of your project and choose a policy that provides you with complete peace of mind, for the duration of filming.

Think about all the risks involved in your project, from accidents and damage to theft and loss. Consider employers’ liability and public liability insurance, and look out for policies covering interruptions, cancellations and rescheduling – because the costs involved in these can be significant. Don’t forget about equipment either; whether you own it or hire it you’ll need to make sure it’s fully insured and protected while on set and on the move.

Once you’ve finalised your plans and you know exactly which risks your project is open to, you’ll be able to choose a policy that does everything that you need it to. For more information on how to pick the perfect production insurance policy, or to learn more about how short-term production insurance works, get in touch with the team at Eggar Forrester Creative.

You might also be interested in reading more about our photography insurance services or our events insurance.

Posted: August 26, 2020 | Categories: Film Production

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