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FAQ category: Home Page Production

Production insurance is a very broad term that means different things to different people and organisations. There are also lots of very different production insurance products available with vast differences on the cover provided.

We typically define a production 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.

Media production insurance is a package taken out by production companies and agencies to cover the shoots that they produce. It primarily covers reshoot costs they incur if a shoot is delayed or cancelled under the following sections of cover:

Cast – Cost to reshoot following loss of any essential crew due to death, accident or sickness.

Production Media – Cost to reshoot following loss physical loss of, damage to, or destruction of production media.

Extra Expenses – Cost to reshoot following loss of or damage to essential equipment, props or location.

The policy will also cover any props or equipment they are using for the shoot and public liability and employers’ liability to protect them if there are any injuries on set or damage caused to third party property.

Similar to media production insurance, CPI policies are designed to cover all aspects of a shoot that a production company or agency would be expected to cover when producing a shoot. This includes public & employers liability, any equipment or props they are using for the shoot and reshoot costs under the following sections:

Cast – Cost to reshoot following loss of any essential crew due to anything beyond your control.

Production Media – Cost to reshoot following loss physical loss of, damage to, or destruction of production media.

Extra Expenses – Cost to reshoot following loss of or damage to essential equipment, props or location.

The media production is the most popular. It’s a comprehensive policy and covers the bulk of what could go wrong.

That said, we are increasingly seeing agencies and larger brands insist upon the broader ‘anything beyond your control’ CPI policy. It’s possible to take a combination of both, for example purchase media production annually, then extend to CPI for shoots as and when required.

We advise it. If you are responsible for the entire budget of for a shoot and you are forced to delay or cancel shooting, losses can easily hit the tens of thousands of pounds. You may also find that your clients and ad agencies that you work with will expect you to meet certain insurance requirements.

Yes, we are able to offer both annual and one-off cover. However, we would always recommend that clients take out annual production insurance as this will provide peace of mind that any shoot you are producing will be covered. Annual policies tend to be more cost-effective as insurers charge lower rates for annual production policies.

The insurers charge a rate on the production budget (one-off policy) or the total value of annual production (annual policy).

It protects both. It protects the production companies for claims that may arise from their legal liability and damage to equipment, sets and props.

If you purchase media production or commercial producers’ indemnity, the policy is also providing essential protection for your client, as it is covering their investment / budget.

The protection for the client is by virtue of the fact that the policy includes re-shoot costs. If things beyond your control go wrong, the policy will cover the re-shoot costs without the client having to pay twice! Please remember the cover for re-shoot depends on which product is taken. The two options being media production or commercial producers’ indemnity, the difference being explained above.

Ad wrap insurance is a policy taken out by ad agencies and clients to cover all aspects of a shoot. This would include all aspects of the media production and CPI policies mentioned above but would also include things like the products of the shoot and non-appearance of talent which production companies would not typically be expected to insure.

  • Public and Employers’ Liability – your legal liability to injury or damage.
  • Equipment (owned and hired), props, sets and wardrobes – all risks damage and theft. Our policies also cover the continuing hire charges that you are legally responsible for up to a maximum of 13 weeks.
  • Cast – This protects the production for the re-shoot or production costs should an insured person be prevented to commence, continue or complete their duties and performance in that production due to their death, injury or illness.
  • Production Media – The insurance covers the production for the re-shoot or production costs following physical loss of, damage to, or destruction of production media by any cause.
  • Extra Expenses – The insurance will pay for the interruption, postponement or cancellation of the production due to physical loss, damage or destruction of property or facilities used by the insured party for that production.
  • Third party costs- This provides cover for production costs not included in your original budget but for which you may become responsible for in the case of a re-shoot. This might include such costs as model or talent fees, advertising agency costs and your client costs.
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