DITs - What kind of insurance do you take out?

[Karel Bata]

What do you insure against?

If you were to c**k up you could cost the shoot a lot, so are you covered against that, or do you rely on the production company's own policy?

Personally, I've never bothered insuring for something like that, but then nothing serious has ever happened that was my fault, and er non-one's ever asked...

 

[ericyoung]

Accidents and human mistakes happen - as long as it wasn't something deliberate, it should be covered by the production company's policy.

 

[Karel Bata]

Cheers. I thought so.

 

[Jordan Livingston]

Karel,

If your DIT kit is valuable (duh), always ask production to be named as "additional insured" as well as "loss payee" on their insurance policy, and request a certificate. Whatever policy they have that's good enough for camera rental houses, locations, and city permits is most likely going to be adequate for you as well.

There are always exceptions to insurance policies. For example, I've noticed that most production insurance explicitly DOES NOT cover equipment while it's in a personal crew vehicle (this means your kit is not ensured while you're traveling to and from set!). I am personally not comfortable with this, especially since my "personal vehicle" is actually a Sprinter van containing tens-of-thousands in DIT and other equipment, so I took out my own private insurance policy on my gear, which specifically DOES cover it while in transit, in my vehicle, in my storage unit, or in my home. The annual cost of this policy pales in comparison to the replacement value of the gear, not to mention the loss of income that would result from my gear being damaged or stolen.

Best,

- Jordan

 

[Vladimir Cassel]

Anyone know the average price in the states for a $1 million general liability insurance? I'll have to get my first permit soonish...

 

[Jordan Livingston]

My company's annual policy is ~$5k, paid quarterly. This again includes coverage for my equipment while traveling and stored in crew vehicles.

I strongly recommend against the 'short term' policies or 'co-production' 'rider' policies. In many states, these policies are actually illegal and invalid, but one thing is always certain; the companies will not pay out on a claim. These tempting and inexpensive policies may get your foot in the door of a rental house, but you are not protected from liability in most cases.

- Jordan

 

[Michael Romano]

If your DIT kit is valuable (duh), always ask production to be named as "additional insured" as well as "loss payee" on their insurance policy, and request a certificate. Whatever policy they have that's good enough for camera rental houses, locations, and city permits is most likely going to be adequate for you as well.

Spot on. I also make sure my kit travels in the Camera truck during the shoot to minimize exposure to risk. My gear doesn't even go to the prep without the certificate.

The insurance for lost footage is a little different. That I have the production secure on their end. With all the redundancy built into my DIT operations, any failure would be likely be mechanical (No loss of footage) or happen before it became my responsibility, IE - if they dropped a camera in the drink before I was able to retrieve footage.

That said, I also have my own policy to cover the gear when its not working in my possession. Theft is my most major concern so I made sure the policy covered it.

 

[Jordan Livingston]

Pertaining to lost footage, my policy only covers the raw cost of the footage itself (film negative, tape, hard drives, etc.). It is NOT the same as a completion bond, which pays for re-shoots. Interestingly, the "lost footage" clauses do extend to whenever the 'media' is in my possession, including my vehicle, my studio, my home, etc. These days, the cost of a large hard drive is less than the policy deductible, so I don't really think this provision is of much value, if any.

- Jordan

 

[Karel Bata]

Excellent advice. Thanks!