Here's What You Need to Know About Short-Term Production Insurance

What are the risks if you don’t have production insurance?

When your equipment is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, you can’t leave things up to chance. Your home doesn’t go without home insurance for even a single day. Why? Because no one can afford to lose an asset worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single day. (Almost no one, anyway.)

And these days, many films are shot on rented equipment. These require huge deposits upfront. And, sadly, when you have a large number of people on set, rented equipment is the most likely equipment to be stolen.

If you think about it, it makes sense psychologically. The rental company can “afford” to lose it, is the thinking of the thief. But it’s YOU, and not the rental company, who is on the hook for the stolen property. It’s a nightmare scenario, to be sure.

But equipment theft is minor and petty compared to the other risks involved with working on a production. If you’re running an operation without insurance, you’re also risking lawsuits and even criminal proceedings can be brought up against you. It’s up to you as the producer to protect the film and everyone involved.

Production insurance also protects you if you have to reshoot any of the movie for unforeseen reasons. If the footage is damaged or lost, negatives get exposed, or actors drop out of the movie, production insurance will pay to help you complete your film.

Why short-term and not long-term production insurance?

Before you choose a short-term policy, consider your working schedule.

Short-term insurance is a great option for short shoots (some people only need to shoot for a few days) and producers with only a handful of projects each year. Conversely, if you shoot five or more times yearly, you’re almost certainly going to be better off with an annual policy.

More expensive long-term policies make sense when you’re working months on end, but are less necessary for occasional short-term shoots.

Some tips on short-term production insurance

Keep these tips in mind when shopping for production insurance:

Budget for it

You should budget 2% to 3% of your film budget for short-term insurance — at the very least $2,000-$3,000 dollars, even on a one-day shoot. And of course, the more complex your production, and the more expensive your equipment, the more this will increase.

You can only buy through a broker

If you want to buy production insurance, you have to go through an insurance broker. A producer may have one broker only, so put a little effort into it. Three or four phone calls could provide all the insight you need. You’ve probably got friends who can connect you with their brokers. If not, check out LA / NY 411

You need to be able to give certificates of insurance at any given moment

When you look for a broker, look for one that can provide certificates of insurance whenever you need it, like immediately. Film schedules can be crazy. If your insurance provider cannot respond immediately in an emergency, they’re not doing their job. Remember to enquire about this precise situation before you sign anything with an insurance broker.

Brokers understand the biz

Discuss the particulars of your shoot with your potential brokers. The better they understand your production environment, the better they’ll be able to cover you. Every production has a different amount of risk attached to it. If you’re working on one of those explosion-heavy action movies, your risks are significantly different than if you’re shooting an Elizabethan-period drama. 

Factors that make production insurance more expensive

Different productions have different types of equipment and action sequences to consider. Dangerous stunts, vehicles (helicopters for shooting, transport vehicles, filming vehicles, motorcycles, etc.), expensive film equipment, difficult shooting conditions (such as shooting underwater or in dangerous terrain), if you’re working with animals, and, of course, if you use live ammunition. So if your film has any of these elements, make sure to discuss them with your broker.

The important things

What you should know about short-term insurance is that it’s all about being prudent and humane. Many producers look for the cheapest insurance possible — just what will cover their risks — and then when someone gets sick on set or twists an ankle, there’s unneeded conflict. Lean on your broker’s experience, and get enough short-term production insurance to ensure that everyone on set is taken care of.

Once you’ve done that, focus on the important work of helping your production go off without a hitch. You’ve already got so much to worry about from day to day — you don’t have time to worry about everything that could go wrong. And that’s what you should know about short-term production insurance.

We answer your question: what is a production assistant? here!

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