Arts & Entertainment Insurance Gives Protection in Studio & On Location
From touring gigs to film and TV production to celebrity weddings and all entertainment and arts in between, losses to equipment and personnel can be devastating. Venues, equipment, people, and schedules all pose financial risk to producers and other sponsors of production and events. Despite careful planning, losses can still happen. That’s where solid insurance comes in to back you up, keep operations going, and prevent a financial disaster. Here are some of the essential coverages you should consider to protect your arts and entertainment business.
One of the key things to note in finding insurance is that modern creators and producers work across product types. You might not only make a film but also host a premiere, create your own commercial, and sponsor celebrity promotional events nationwide and abroad. Each activity may need its own insurance, but all coverage should be integrated across the broader scope of your business portfolio. Arts and entertainment production can involve unique aspects that don’t fit a “check the box” approach. An insurance agent specializing in the arts and entertainment sector can help weave together a package of protections that reduce your risk of loss.
Property Insurance for Arts & Entertainment Productions
The arts and entertainment industry relies on sets and sound, musical instruments, lighting, filming and editing equipment, and post-production negatives or film, but it also needs to insure trailer housing, offices, and storage; mobile equipment such as cherry pickers, cranes and skid steers; LED video walls; stages and scaffolding; cosmetics; props and much more.
A commercial property insurance policy provides payments for damage to your structures, equipment, business contents, and raw film or edited stock held within insured buildings. It covers fire, wind, water damage from broken pipes or other leaks, lightning, theft, and vandalism. For flood, earthquake and, in some cases, wildfire or hurricane, you will usually need a separate policy.
Equipment breakdown coverage is a type of property insurance that provides funds for repair or replacement of vital equipment that fails. It also helps pay for the rental of substitute equipment and compensates you for lost income from business interruption.
For damage to mobile equipment, such as skids, cherry pickers, forklifts and other off-road movable machinery, you will need separate insurance, often called a mobile equipment floater. You may also need separate protection for gators and other utility vehicles, but that requires analysis of how those vehicles will be employed. Use on or across public roads may necessitate special low-speed vehicle registration and insurance, depending upon state law, so talk to your insurance agent about such use.
Coverage can be written to extend to items and raw film you take or expose on location (even abroad) as well as your contractually obligated coverage for rented or leased items. Your insurance agent can review your contracts to help identify gaps in your coverage.
When you obtain property insurance, you will be asked to provide indicators of the value of what you are insuring, so prepare an inventory and valuation of your structures and business property. Policies can provide reimbursement on the replacement cost, or the depreciated cost (actual cash value) of the item. Confirm the basis for a loss if you have replacement cost coverage; it should reflect current costs, as prices have increased in the last few years.
Film Producers Policy Combines Coverages
Film, television and music video producers may find the bulk of coverage they need under a film producers policy, which is a program of insurance designed specifically for this segment of the industry. It covers things like:
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Property (see above)
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Liability (see below)
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Cast members (injury, failure to appear)
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Technology and equipment failure (equipment breakdown coverage)
Animals (illness, injury, death, loss of use) -
Living quarters (damage to the quarters) and
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Project abandonment. Use security cameras and adequate lighting.
The policy can often be tweaked to meet special needs. And it can be enhanced with other policies, such as workers comp and commercial auto. Similar products exist for venues, performers and hosts.
Liability Insurance for Arts & Entertainment Productions
When you produce or sponsor a film, play, concert or other recorded or live event, you are exposed to liability for injuries as well as harm done to venues or recording locations. Liability insurance helps pay for legal defense and money you must pay to claimants.
General liability insurance covers injuries to non-employees on your sets or that result from your off-premises work. For example, if a crane you are using to erect a stage or set falls or drops something on someone else’s building or vehicle, this policy could cover repair costs. Or if someone visits your work location, trips on something and breaks a bone, general liability insurance would help with their medical treatment costs. If alcohol is being served at an event, make sure you have liquor liability insurance. And if you have a caterer serving food and alcohol, ask to see that company’s certificate of insurance (including liquor liability) and make sure it has adequate limits.
If you use your home for your business, it’s likely that your homeowners policy excludes coverage for “business pursuits.” You will likely need to have your home added under your general liability policy in case a customer, employee or independent contractor is injured at your home.
You may also need crew and stunt liability insurance, which goes beyond workers compensation insurance, to help pay medical costs and lost wages of injured actors, stunt performers, and other crew whose activities or employment status fall outside workers comp coverage. If your cast includes animals, it may require a rider or endorsement to your general liability policy to cover them.
Some production companies also get environmental insurance, which can be especially important when doing on-location work and developing film, a particularly chemical-intensive stage of the production process. This coverage helps with containment, cleanup, remediation and legal defense costs.
Employment practices liability insurance and abuse and molestation insurance may be a good idea for all businesses in the arts and entertainment industry. The industry is vulnerable to complaints from employees and prospective hires that report they experienced discrimination, harassment, molestation or abuse. Costs can be exorbitant, particularly settlement or award expenses, and a crisis management or public relations firm may be needed in addition to lawyers and investigators.
Cyber Insurance for Arts & Entertainment Productions
Scripts, footage, and intellectual property are attractive to cyber thieves. And your computerized production processes can be targets for those who would benefit from a shutdown of your operations. To protect your investment in pre-production development, production operations and post-production finishing, look to first-party cyber insurance. It can help with the costs of ransoming your digital assets if they are locked by a hacker and the expense to restore your digital systems or data that are damaged by a cybercriminal.
Third-party cyber liability insurance may also play a role in arts and entertainment protection, especially through any media liability clause it may contain. Talk to your agent about coverage provided in your general liability policy concerning the use of artificial intelligence, computer-generated imagery and digital streaming. If those aren’t covered, you might be able to negotiate some insurance through a media liability policy or a media liability clause in your cyber coverage.
Event Cancellation Insurance for Live Performances
If your revenue depends on the completion of a live performance, event cancellation insurance can protect you from massive financial loss. It can insure you against ticket refunds, lost income, and mandatory venue fees when a performer cancels, when weather prevents a performance, or when you have an equipment or other technical breakdown.
Workers Compensation Insurance for Arts & Entertainment Productions
Workers comp for the arts and entertainment industry is fairly complex because it often includes employees who work across state or even international borders. There is also a lot of travel, either by bus or plane, which can drive up costs and coverage complexity. Exposures to hazards are also typically higher in this industry than in most others and can include electrocution, trip injuries, falls from heights, heat-related illness, hearing and vocal cord injuries, and weather-related injuries such as lightning strikes or being hit by flying or falling items. Active shooter and other violent incidents are also a concern. It’s best to work with a workers comp insurance agent who is familiar with the arts and entertainment industry with access insurers that specialize in the field. They often have products already suited to your needs and can tailor them for your specific employee risks.
Keep in mind that stunts and stunt performers often are insurable under workers comp but that a rider might be required. Additionally, some stunts may be excluded from workers comp protection. If so, ask your insurance agent about crew and stunt liability insurance. Your agent will also be able to help you discover and comply with state-based requirements for your locations if you are working across state lines.
Commercial Auto Insurance for Arts & Entertainment Productions
Road-use vehicles need their own commercial auto insurance. These include the trucks, buses and cars that haul equipment or people to and from locations, as well as executive cars and other company-owned vehicles used for business purposes. Even employees’ personal vehicles that are used for business activity (beyond commuting to work) need to be covered.
Commercial auto liability insurance protects your business from the costs of injuries to others or damage to their property caused by the operation of your vehicles.
Commercial auto property insurance also helps pay for damage to your company vehicles, with comprehensive coverage adding to that protection with money to repair damage that occurs when parked.
Work With an Experienced Arts & Entertainment Insurance Agent
Risks in the arts and entertainment industry are vast, intertwined and constantly changing. An independent insurance agent who can access programs and commercial insurance policies specifically designed for the film, television, live performance, music video and DICE (documentary, industrial, commercial and educational) sectors will be a welcome addition to your risk management team. Your agent can provide risk management ideas and help you transfer some of your risk to insurers that are looking for companies like yours. Find an arts and entertainment insurance agent near you.