You wouldn’t drive a car without car insurance, would you? Then it only makes sense to have an insurance policy to protect your latest film projects and productions. If you are currently shooting a film or planning to in the near future, consider how you will protect your project, crew, and production equipment from potential liabilities. Video production insurance acts as a safeguard that protects against injuries on set, broken equipment, stolen goods, and similar situations from wreaking havoc on your finances. Learn more about video production insurance, what it covers, and what policies are available below.
What Does Video Production Insurance Cover?
No matter how careful you are, there is always a chance that your film could hit a snag during the production process. It is thus important to consider what legal problems you may run into as a filmmaker and what insurance policies could reduce your liability. Video production insurance can help cover a wide range of claims, such as injuries to crew members, broken equipment, stolen props, commercial vehicle accidents, and similar types of incidents relating to video production. Some policies also cover defamation, privacy laws, and infringement of intellectual property. While video production insurance is often optional, many venues require that you have it before you can shoot on their site.
What Video Production Insurance Policies Are Available?
General Liability Insurance
Commercial general liability insurance can protect your business and employees from legal claims involving property damage and bodily injury up to your policy limits. With a solid insurance policy in place, you can prevent having to pay litigation services, judgments, and settlements out of your own pocket. The cost of general liability insurance is typically based on the size of your film production business and the unique risks that your company faces.
Inland Marine Insurance
Not to be confused with “marine insurance,” which covers products when transported over water, inland marine insurance covers products, materials and equipment that is transported over land or while temporarily warehoused by a third party. With inland marine insurance, you can maintain coverage for any type of property that is considered to be transportable, movable, or “shipped” over land. Some examples of things that may be covered by inland marine insurance include communication equipment, contractor’s equipment, valuable paintings or sculptures, computer equipment, and transportation equipment.
Commercial Automobile Insurance
You may need commercial auto insurance if your business vehicle requires higher liability limits than you would normally get with a personal auto policy. Commercial auto policies provide businesses with several types of protection, including auto liability coverage that can help pay for bodily injury or property damage that you cause, medical payment coverage, physical damage and collision coverage, and uninsured motorist coverage.
Workers Compensation Insurance
Workers compensation insurance, or workers comp for short, is an essential component of video production insurance as it protects your employees in the event of an injury or death. This type of insurance typically covers medical expenses, as well as a portion of lost wages. In some cases, coverage will also include rehabilitation and death benefits.
Excess Liability Insurance
Excess liability insurance is a useful policy to have, especially for businesses that face higher risks. This type of insurance provides limits that are above a business’s primary liability policies. If your video production company ever faced a catastrophic liability claim that surpassed your normal policy limit, having excess liability insurance can come in handy.
Errors & Omissions Insurance
Errors and omissions insurance is a type of commercial liability insurance that helps protect businesses, their employees, and other professionals against negligent actions or inadequate work. Errors and omissions insurance will typically cover court costs, as well as any settlements up to a specified amount. This type of insurance is typically required for any company that gives advice or provides a service.
Travel Accident Insurance
Travel accident insurance is a special type of travel insurance that essentially acts as life insurance in the event of an accidental death or dismemberment during a trip. If your video production business has to travel to different locations or venues, having travel accident insurance is a must in case of a serious accident. Travel accident insurance benefits are paid regardless if the traveler had other types of life insurance or AD&D coverage.
Cyber Liability Insurance
With the rapid growth of technology, having cyber liability insurance is a must. With cyber liability insurance, your business is protected from a variety of technology-related claims, such as data breaches that involve sensitive information like credit card numbers, social security numbers, account numbers, or driver’s license numbers. In addition to covering court fees, this insurance can help notify customers of a security breach, recover compromised data, and restore the personal identity of victims.
Learn More About Video Production Insurance
As a filmmaker, you expect your project to run smoothly, however, this is unfortunately not always the case. When unexpected situations arise that could lead to a lawsuit, you want to be protected. For more information about video production insurance, specific policies, or how to obtain it, contact the professional production insurance brokers at MFE Insurance today!