You may want to get the rider anyway - the coverage is probably better.

Hello all-
I recently spoke with the Corporate HQ of a chain of stores, one of which I would like to use as a location. I was told it would be no problem, just send a waiver clearing them of responsibility in case of injury, and my insurance certificate.

I can guess that the certificate would be coverage in case of damages, but how much would I need, and where do I get it?

A million is minimum. Check with your insurance person that has your house and car, sometimes they will offer hazard and liability for business as well as covering your gear. If not ask who they know ,you'll probably have to go to a commerical carrier or broker.
Don

Thanks Don. Any idea as to what I can expect to pay?

Keith,
That'll depend. Lot of variables. Not too bad though, I have E&O, liability, all my gear is covered no matter where or what, the only thing they won't do is edit for me, and it 's costing me about a grand a year. I have all my stuff insured for REPLACEMENT VALUE and have 2 million liability and 1/2 million E&O. It's call a Business Owners Policy or something like that.

Don

I was looking for a one shot deal, just to get me through production. I would actually only need it for the 6 scenes shot in the store, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to carry it till the end of production. Do they have something like that?

Hmmmm, good question. Don't know, I'm sure someone does, but I have no idea who. Maybe a call to your insurance person and they can get you on the right track.
Good Luck in your quest!
Don

Thanks for the help Don. I'm leary of calling anyone around here, as I just keep getting misinformation or blank stares.

I just recieved a call back from an insurance company. I called, asking for an insurance certificate for an independant feature I would like to shoot. She called back, saying there was a company that could help, but they needed info. She then asked how much the project would cost. Not having all things considered, I estimated a low budget, $600-800. You could almost hear a pin drop. They will have a minimum requirement of $5,000. I thought you said this was a big feature production? No, I said this was an independant feature. But thank you, I'll keep looking.

Am I going to keep running into this? I really only need the Insurance certificate to secure the use of one location, but would like to have it for any secondary locations.. Any ideas?

Talk to the people from the chain again & explain the situation. Sign a paper that you'll personally be liable for damages. Perhaps they'll go for it. Your're not filming an ultralight flying around the store, are you?

Hey! I like that! I'll add it to the script now :)

Well, I suppose it was gonna come up eventually. How can I go about insuring my gear? I just talked to an insurance agent, and he said right now it's pretty tough to find anyone willing to write what he called a "floater policy."

I am not an expert, but if you are not using your equipement "professionnally" (you do not receive income from your videography activities) you can pass it on your house insurance (I don't know if there is a specific terme for this in english).

I have myself modified my house insurance to cover all risks (like a camera that fell on the ground) for almost nothing more.

In the professionnal area, it must exist some specifics insurances.

Yeah, unfortunately it's a mix of both.

I have been shopping also and the best deal, Ive found is AAA (you have to be a member) State Farm wanted 500 a year for my gear and AAA gave it to me for 225 a year. This covers it in my car from theft, and me being a ass and dropping it off a bridge etc, its a add on to my renters insurance and is covering about 25,000 worth of gear.

m

Damnit! I am indeed NOT a member! Any other suggestions? Throw 'em at me.

Michel, how's that work? If all your gear were stolen, do they need a list ahead of time of what you have? Receipts? Do they care if it's used professionally? Deductible?

How much does AAA membership cost?

Dave & Josh

AAA membership is around 35-40 a year, I gave agent a list of gear and have photos of all the equipment. The interesting part he didnt seem to care about the gears use for work, I told him my profession and he just said ok explained I was covered for everything and sent me the coverage and of course a bill.

Since its in my car going from site to site, or travelling with me etc, it definately makes me calmer.

Michel

PS Josh a lot of times triple a will send out a discount preapproved membership for about 35, the insurance services are located inside their offices might check in if your driving by and get the cost from them.

I see. So for like 265 a year, I can insure up to $25,000 worth of gear? (Hey that rhymed!)

I know some companies have different policies depending on if you have a car alarm or not.

Josh:

I cant give you the exact cost obviously but if its like mine, that would be about right....however one caution. I had heard others rave about state farm who previously had my auto ins. So I called them first and the cost was much different for me than other people were paying, I expected to hear around mid two's but they came back with the 500 (actually $570ish).

So while it should be the same cost who knows? I dont understand how they work but I know I need it. Another point my first inquiry to state farm was to have it insured in Santa Barbara which is a nice little beach town without any real crime...the AAA quote that I ended up getting is based out of Denver area which is much bigger etc. So who knows how they work but triple aaa worked well for me give it a try.


Michel

Does anyone know a good place that insures cameras? I own a DVX and would definately like it insured incase i do something stupid since i do a lot of outdoors footage. Pref. in San Diego, but doesnt matter too much.

Check with your agent that carries your homeowners or renters policy. You could probably get a rider that would cover you.
Don

While homeowner's insurace will either cover you already or allow for quick and easy addition of a rider for the equipment you choose to insure, it may not be the best idea.

Generally, making small claims against your homeowner's insurance is a _very_ bad idea. Homeowner's insurance is best used for rare calamities, not nicke and dime accidents (for most of us, digital equipment cost is no where near the cost of our house).

If you make small claims against your homeowner's insurance, you may end up loosing your homeowner's insurance which is a very serious issue for many reasons. Getting dropped will make it hard to get insured by other companies, for example.

I didn't say it was a great idea just that if all you want to do is cover your camera for a small amount it should be fine, even my own agent has told me that.

However, if you're covering a large amount of equipment and/or making a living or calling yourself a professional then you need to look elsewhere for coverage.

BTW, I've had a couple of claims (non equipment related) against my HO policy and they've never dropped me OR rased my rates. Of course I've been with them for 25 years. They know which side their bread is buttered on.
Plus a $3 or $4000 camera to me is not nickel and dime. Years back I had ALL of my still equipment (about 25 grand back then) covered under a rider and they never blinked. They loved the premium. At that time a seperate policy by a specialized company was very cost prohibitative.
All I'm saying is it pays to shop around to find the best deal for what you need covered.
Don

http://www.Safeware.com/ they will cover your camera if it is stolen on a shoot and will immediately give you coverage to rent one as good as or better than.

I have my computers to my camera equipment insured by them.

i don't see where they do camera gear -did you just contact them directly? what kind of premium do you have on your gear?

Say I'm out on a shoot and someone knocked
over my tripod and smashes my camera,
or the cam just falls out of my hands and breaks.
Who offers this type of replacement coverage?
My homeowners does not, and only will cover
10% of personal property for theft *away from home*.
Also, if someone trips on a tripod and is injured,
does homeowners liability cover this?

You may be able to purchase an All Risk Rider to your Home Owners Insurance. Liability for an accident may or may not be covered. These would be outlined on the terms of your policy. Your Insurance agent or an underwriter would be able to tell you if you have liability coverage for the type of accident you describe. You can also purchase liability insurance for such occurrences. Many times it is bundled in various types of business insurance. If your agent doesn't carry that type of insurance, contact an insurance broker.

In my case I am a member of WEVA since i do wedding videography, and part of the perks of the membership is group rates on equipment breakage and liability insurance. there are group rates available for most types of businesses out there.

Some local colleagues of mine who, along with myself, shoot all the time outdoors in the downtown area here in Orlando, have been warning me about something in regards to my short film I will be shooting next month. Apparently as a by-product of the goofy flip-flopping yellow and orange terror alerts we're under, nobody seems to be able to get by without permitting their shoots these days.

Now, in downtown Orlando, permits for shooting are free. So no problem, right? Well, the problem is that they require a policy be attached with $1 Million in insurance. You have to fax them the certificate to get your permit application approved.

So the question I have is, who has experience with this, and are there any pointers you may have as far as figuring out how to get an ultra low budget film shoot insured? It seems almost silly with how small the production is, but red tape is red tape.

Also, I do realize the implications of an accident on set so please, nobody chastise me for thinking the insurance is silly. :)

A friend of mine in Chicago wanted to get permits, and to do so he was also required to get something like $2 million in liability insurance. That's the way it goes, I'm afraid.

As I have been recently shopping around for insurance myself, I can tell you it isn't cheap. For the 30 days I will be shooting, I am looking at $1,200 and up for 1 Mil. If that is out of your budget, you might consider going Guerilla.

i have found 1mil $ liability insurance policy is far cheaper for 12 months then for 2 weeks. also coverage for a documentary is less then dramatic ..

the last time bought for a project that was for pro shoot it was 900 for a year (up to 70K budget documentary ..they wanted 1500 if it was dramatic) in california.

i do carry a floater policy with my home insurance for those "fun- have no plans to make $$ type projects ... $155 year for 1st million then less for each additional ...
you'll have to talk to your insurance for details ... there's one thing having fun shoot with 3-8 persons VS crew of 30!!!

now you might be able to get your insurance thru somebody else?
do you know any production company's ? they usually have insurance and you do your short under them. they get the permit in their name .. now why would they do this ? either because they are doing you a favor , they owe you favor , or because you are going to pay them for the use $$.

there are some non profit organizations that if you are a member will let you permit under them ...

also many camerpersons/gaffers carry liability and you might be able to strike a deal with them??

How are the WEVA rates?

sorry for the late reply, havent been checking this forum regularly. I just got my quote, and for my equipment which i believe i quoted as being $9,000 in value, i will pay $50 for the year. seems good to me, although i am only 19, so this is my first insurance experience and i have nothing to compare it to.

Jonathon,
Did this include accidental breakage? What is the name of the company who insured you? Was it through WEVA?

Yes this does include accidental breakage insurance. It was from a company called the William F. Buell Agency, and it was through WEVA (meaning this is group insurance so there is a discount).

Anyone know of companies outside of through
WEVA who offer accidental breakage insurance?

I'd love to know about this too. And I am not in any pro associations. Any options?

Your options are to purchase a regular business insurance package. It will cover accidental breakage, theft, etc. but is usually subject to a deductible. The other option is to add it to a home owners or renters policy as a rider. The rider covers the same problems, but is not subject to the deductible.

I tried through my home owners and they
refused to cover accidental breakage. I was
told they didn't want to take the risk because
it's easy for someone to come along and
knock over a tripod accidentally.
Additionally, theft "off premises" is only
covered for 10% of my max theft "on premises".

You might want to shop differnt companies for your home owners insurance. In over 25 years of buying insurance either for my business or through my home owners, I've never been told that.

Procuction insurance, although expensive, is your parachute if anything goes awry on your set. Remember that you are not only responsible for your talent, cast and crew but also for any Joe Schmoe that wanders in an possibly gets hurt due to your production.

It would be a real bitch if someone gets hurt, and beleive me, you quickly find out who your friends are when money is involved, and they have no one to sue, except you, personally, if there is no insurance to go after.

Also, be very careful if you are adding a rider to your homeowner's insurance. It would really suck if someone came after your personal belongings after a mishap.

How about your gear? Trash a camera due to a missed mark? Butter fingered grip or AC?

If you are engaged in multiple productions throughout the year, I would strongly recommend that you get a policy that covers you all the time. Probably cheaper than on a job-by-job basis.

RB

I recently got a renters insurance policy from Assurance and it covers all of my electronics up to $12,000 but the only problem is it doesn't cover against breakage, and that's something that's very vital to me being a skateboard videographer. Does anybody have policies that say it covers damage, as well as theft.

Thanks,
Steve.

My rider insurance covers everything including stupidity.

My friends and I are shooting our first production soon and we are trying to find out information about insurance. We dont want to cover the equipment just the actors and crew if something happens to one of them. Does anybody know who i should contact and exactly what i would need?


Thanks

The thing to do would be to try to contact a local film office. For example in Chicago there is the Chicago Film Office. Are you close to Philadelphia or any other major city? I'm sure they can help. Then if there is a city / state-run film office you can get info from them on what to do.

Oftentimes insurance is required by the city or state - and sometimes it's a lot!

Usually the insurance that you would get would be General Liability insurance - at least, that's what is usually required for a city-approved filming permit. And definitely, your city's film commission would be the best place to start - this is the same place where you would get your permit for shooting.

Also, don't mean to be a grouch, but it doesn't make anyone respond any faster if you use a ton of question marks and exclamation points. Sorry - had to add that. It's like typing with all caps - no shouting needed. Everybody gives their best around here to answer questions as they come.