No documentary would get very far without a comprehensive suite of film equipment. From the cameras that capture the scenes or people at the heart of the story to the memory cards that store this essential data for later use, documentary teams rely on their equipment to get the job done.
As a result, insurance for documentary production should be at the top of the list of ways to protect these high-value assets and keep the project on track.
Independent documentary filmmakers and small production companies, especially those managing their equipment, will need equipment insurance. However, choosing the right policies, coverages, and limits is sometimes complicated.
Let’s explore balancing thorough coverage and mitigating unnecessary expenses when selecting insurance for your documentary production.
Coverage To Look For In Your Film Equipment Insurance
Before a studio can select the right equipment insurance, they will need to gather data and assess their insurance needs. Some of the main things to think about are:
- What risks are most salient? Is equipment most likely damaged, stolen, compromised, or something else?
- How much does gear cost? Has the value of the equipment decreased over time compared to its original purchase price?
- To what extent does the gear need to be replaced immediately? Does the documentary rely on every piece of equipment, or are spares available?
- Is this policy the primary source of coverage? Many production insurance packages include some equipment insurance, but it may not be enough to address your documentary’s needs.
- Do you intend to insure all equipment? Some studios insure everything, while others minimize costs by selecting only the equipment that is most financially damaging to lose or repair.
These are just a few factors that determine the baseline equipment insurance protection that is right for your documentary production. Every studio is different—and every project is unique, too.
Working with industry professionals experienced in providing equipment insurance specifically for documentaries can help you access flexible, customizable policies to address your project’s needs, even if they change over time.
Primary Components of Equipment Insurance Policies
A good equipment insurance policy should be customized to the production company’s unique needs, goals, and situations. When determining what factors are right for you, consider:
Coverage Limits
Insurance for documentary production may have a built-in limit on the value it will cover, either as a whole policy or on a per-item basis.
If your team is working with high-value items, such as IMAX cameras, review the policy details to establish that damage to these pieces of gear would be covered. Selecting lower coverage limits is one method of reducing the overall cost of a policy.
Deductible
The deductible is the amount your studio will pay for damages, repairs, or replacement before insurance kicks in. A lower deductible tends to raise the price of insurance, while a higher deductible decreases it.
Replacement Cost vs. Cash Value
Equipment insurance policies are meant to compensate production teams for their losses should something happen to their equipment. However, this compensation can come in multiple forms.
Replacement cost means that if a camera is broken during a shoot, the insurance company will pay to replace the item with an equivalent one—even if the replacement costs more than the original to achieve the same features.
Conversely, policies that operate via actual cash value will calculate how much it would cost to replace that camera with one in a similar condition, including depreciation.
This can mean a lower price than new (unless the camera was, in fact, brand new). In most cases, policies that utilize actual cash value will carry slightly lower premiums than those operating on replacement costs.
Exclusions
For a documentary, examining the specific inclusions and exclusions in any equipment insurance policy is wise. Specific tools, such as drones for panoramic shots, may need riders or additional coverage to fit into your insurance plans.
Waiting until a valuable item has been damaged to discover it was not covered in your policy can spell financial trouble for any studio.
Secure Your Documentary Production With MFE Insurance
Your documentary benefits from the wide range of cameras, lighting, sound equipment, and more your team manages daily. Protecting these assets can keep your studio going strong through many projects by mitigating the financial consequences of damage and loss to these tools.
The experts at MFE Insurance have helped documentary productions of all sizes and scopes create customized insurance protection for their equipment. Contact MFE Insurance to explore our insurance for documentary production.