What is commercial film insurance?

Commercial film insurance is a very broad term that means different things to different people and organisations. There are also lots of very different commercial film insurance products available with vast differences on the cover provided.
We typically define a commercial film policy as one that protects you from losses during production, such as damage to equipment (owned and hired), injury and damage known as liability insurance, and then most importantly cover to re-shoot and additional expenses incurred if things go wrong.
However, it’s not that straightforward. You can purchase anything from the very basic liability only insurance, to the all-encompassing commercial producer’s indemnity which covers cancellation for ‘any matter beyond your control’.
Here’s a short overview of differing levels of production insurance available:

• Minimum – The absolute minimum for production businesses to secure is liability insurance and equipment. Securing employers’ liability cover is also necessary to comply with UK legislation.
• Media Production – this is a far more comprehensive policy, and will cover liability, equipment and also reshoot costs in certain situations*

*more details provided under “What is media production insurance?” below.

• CPI – The final option is CPI, or Commercial Producers Indemnity, which covers all of the above, plus shoot cancellation due to the non-appearance of essential crew for any reason beyond your control.

In addition, most companies would also purchase professional indemnity or errors and omissions, which covers you for mistakes, or allegations that you’ve made a mistake.

It’s our job to help you work out what you need. We can help design production insurance policies that meet your needs.