Video shoot insurance? where to buy?

[Bill Thesken]

Talked my agent, they sent me an 8 page form to fill out. Will probably take over a week to get a quote they said. They'll have to go with a mainland company. It's a 10-14 day shoot. We need 1 million minimum liability to film on state land. I'm paying the actors a day rate so they need to be covered. Some action stunt scenes, water skiing, kayaking, climbing no more than 5-10 feet up a cliff. I figured I would give the local agent the business but probably should look at a couple of quotes.

Here's a couple of companies I found on the internet.

American Entertainment Insurance Services Fast Free Quotes

Video & Production Insurance - MA, NY, CA - Arts & Entertainment Insurance

Film Production Insurance : Entertainment Insurance : Movie Insurance : Event Insurance : Sports Insurance : ProductionInsurance.com

[Art Varga]

here is some good general information on insurance policies for videographers.

Risky Business - Film and Video Insurance


Art

[Bill Thesken]

Originally Posted by Bill Thesken

Talked my agent, they sent me an 8 page form to fill out. Will probably take over a week to get a quote they said. They'll have to go with a mainland company. It's a 10-14 day shoot. We need 1 million minimum liability to film on state land. I'm paying the actors a day rate so they need to be covered. Some action stunt scenes, water skiing, kayaking, climbing no more than 5-10 feet up a cliff. I figured I would give the local agent the business but probably should look at a couple of quotes.

Here's a couple of companies I found on the internet.

American Entertainment Insurance Services Fast Free Quotes

Video & Production Insurance - MA, NY, CA - Arts & Entertainment Insurance

Film Production Insurance : Entertainment Insurance : Movie Insurance : Event Insurance : Sports Insurance : ProductionInsurance.com

Alright, just following up on this. My local agent got a quote from Nautilus Insurance for $2 million Commercial General Liability. Cost $1,408 per year. Took about a day to get the quote.
The links to the websites above are worthless, I filled out their applications and did not hear back.
My advice is to go with your local agent.

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Brian Brown

Bill, I am a "one-man show" on 95% of the shoots I do. I don't have my policy in front of me, but I would suspect it only covers myself and whatever befalls me.

What is usually required is liability coverage so that if one of your lights falls over and starts a fire that burns down the venue where you're shooting, the property is covered. OR if that light falls over on someone watching you work or on your client or a crew member and they're injured, their medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc are covered. Venues where you want to work or jurisdictional permit issuing authorities don't give a d**n what happens to YOU or your equipment, they're worried about what happens to them or to members of the public if some act or accident on your part causes damage to their property or injury to some party who might sue. So if your policy only covers your own personal losses, you better call up your agent and get another one. If not because of a legal requirement then from a sense of moral responsibility to be able to 'make-whole' anyone who is harmed as a consequence of your actions and activities, even if the harm is accidental.

[Jeff Leeds]

Recently had to get film production insurance to meet City of San Diego requirements. It was on a public beach and although most will duck the permit/insurance and shoot without, I prefer to use it as a selling point to the client as it really does help me win jobs. It differentiates you as a professional from all the craigslist hacks. I have a Liability policy with a $2 million limit from Videographer Business Insurance - Photographer Liability Insurance for $360 a year. They emailed me the required Certificate of insurance and I forwarded to the City within the hour. Super easy. I also got a Certificate naming my client as additional insured onto my policy and sent that to my client. They really appreciated that and made me look professional. These certificates cost me nothing extra.

[Ryan Douthit]

I go through the artists cooperative Fractured Atlas. I get $3M liability for $500/yr with easy web-base certs.