How the right film production insurance can bring your story to life!
Insurance is available right now.
You need efficient, personal service
Whether you have a multi-million-dollar firm project, or are a solo film maker, or have a video or film production company — your production company needs a dedicated broker to find film production insurance in Colorado (and in other states!).
You need a broker, not a captive agent
Hire an expert to shop for the best deal for you; don’t depend on an insurance company’s agent to sell you only their product. A broker is able to approach multiple insurance carriers. That way, YOU get to choose what works–with help from your ‘personal insurance shopper.’ (And, guess what: a broker doesn’t cost you anything.)
Aldgate is here to help you navigate insurance.
Tell us a little bit about your film production insurance needs. We will get back to you as soon as you can with some ideas of how we can make your story shine.
Film Production Insurance from Aldgate
We are not an insurance company or an insurance company’s captive agent. We work for you. We are independent, licensed, professional, commercial insurance brokers that have worked placing commercial insurance for companies large and small all over the world for years. We access all the best specialty film insurance companies.
We started this boutique brokerage so that we can bring our broad knowledge and expertise to bear on your insurance placement, with personal service.
We’ll help you navigate through the insurance purchasing minefield.
You can find us on Production Hub and IMDB.
We are licensed across the country. Licensed in the states of CA (0K32177), CO, FL, IL, MD, NJ, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, TX, VA, WA
29805 US Highway 24, Buena Vista, CO 81211-9601
Types of policies EXPLAINED:
GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE: Also known as “GL” coverage, this protects the policyholder if a third party (like an injured bystander) makes a claim against the policyholder. The standard limits on these policies is $1,000,000 per occurrence with a policy aggregate limit (i.e., policy maximum, regardless of the number of claims) of $2,000,000.
INLAND MARINE INSURANCE: Also know as “equipment floaters” or “equipment cover” or “property cover”, this insurance covers insured property for damage to, or theft of, that property. There are two main types. First, equipment rental houses typically require filmmakers to buy equipment coverage that protects the rental house’s equipment. This is rented equipment coverage. Filmmakers can also buy equipment coverage for their own equipment, or owned equipment coverage. The amount of the insurance (aka the limits) is the total value of the equipment.
WORKERS COMPENSATION INSURANCE: Most states’ laws require employees to have workers compensation coverage, even if they are only an employee for a day. SAG has rules for actors working under SAG contracts. For short-term films, filmmakers often use the services of payroll companies who provide workers compensation insurance along with payroll services. However, the film production company can purchase coverage for their own entity.
COMMERCIAL AUTO INSURANCE: This is commercial automobile coverage, also known as “non-owned and hired auto” (“NOHA”) coverage, and it’s different than personal auto coverage one has for their own car. A driver’s personal automobile insurance can have limitations (aka exclusions) on the use of their car for business purposes, so do terms and conditions on car rental company contracts. (Read the terms!) This is where commercial auto coverage comes in. If a filmmaker rents a van to carry around their equipment, they will likely need some kind of commercial NOHA auto coverage. Once again, there are two types. The standard is liability coverage, which, like general liability coverage, protects from liability claims made against the policyholder. Limits of $1,000,000 are common. Auto liability coverage does not cover damage to the vehicle! So, the second type is property insurance for damage to the vehicles themselves. This is auto physical damage coverage (often called “comprehensive” and “collision” coverage).
EXCESS OR UMBRELLA INSURANCE: If higher auto or liability limits are required, extra limits on top of the primary limits can be purchased. For example, it’s not uncommon to buy a $1,000,000 excess policy over a $1,000,000 GL policy, to reach a total of $2,000,000 per occurrence limits.
What’s a “certificate of insurance”?
Once you have a policy in effect, your insurance broker can create a “certificate of insurance” often on a commonly used form called an “Acord 25”. This industry standard form document shows basic details about the policy, such as the limits, policy term, and policy number. They are not official insurance company documents and they are not the same as a “binder” or a “declarations page” or a policy.
Certificates of insurance are often required by equipment rental houses, or anyone else requiring the filmmaker to have insurance. Equipment rental houses often require to be named as a “loss payee” on a certificate of insurance. Property owners requiring you to get them a certificate of insurance often require they be named as an “additional insured” on the certificate.
What does “loss payee” mean?
If an equipment rental house is a “loss payee” under a policy, then they’re paid directly by the insurance carrier for damage to their equipment if a claim occurs. This is used on equipment floater/property policies.
Pro Tip: If someone requires that they be named a loss payee on a policy, then it’s critical that the insurance company be informed of this before the policy is bound. Most insurance policies do not automatically have loss payee provisions in them. If the loss payee is not specifically covered in the policy, then the Acord certificate of insurance listing them as a loss payee is not worth the paper it’s written on.
What does “additional insured” mean?
Building or venue owners often require to be added as an “additional insured” on general liability policies. In a nutshell, it means that if there’s a claim, the additional insured will be protected under the general liability policy in addition to the policy’s purchaser.
NOTE: Ask a professional! We are here to help you navigate these things.
Start with the following….
Policy Contact Info
1) Name (Exact legal name of entity, such as the name of the LLC production company or an individual’s name)
2) Address (must be physical address—no P.O. Box), City, State, Zip code
3) Role of the person applying for the insurance (e.g., Exec Producer, Producer, Director, Production Manager, etc.)
4) Contact phone number
5) Often, a driver’s license or ID from a producer is required.
Insurance History for the Entity
6) Any insurance declined or cancelled in the past 3 years? Yes/No
7) Any claims/losses in the past 3 years? Yes/No
8) Any prior insurance coverage? Yes/No
9) If yes, details of the prior insurance insurer (dates, insurer, policy number).
Production Details:
10) Title
11) Total Budget
12) Exact Production Dates (or your best estimate now)
13) Filming Location (all states and countries)
14) Address of primary filming location (including venue name, if any)
15) Synopsis
Other Details:
1) Maximum number of people on set at once
2) Total number of people involved in production who will be on site over the requested policy period
3) Will security be hired to protect the equipment? (Y/N) If no, then why not (is it a private venue)?
4) Will you be leaving any equipment in vehicles at night?
What you think is a stunt may NOT be what the insurance company considers a stunt. And, guess what? Regardless of what you consider a stunt, you might not have coverage when you need it.
To an insurance company, a stunt is anything involving a car, a boat, a plane, a fall, a fight, plus anything:
> flying: drones, helicopters, planes–including anything around an airport/airfield;
> driven: cars, vans, motorcycles, scooters, snowmobiles, including anything at a race course or race track;
> exploded or caught on fire: pyrotechnics or fireworks;
> involving animals: dogs, horses, and pets, as well as exotics;
> that’s potentially deadly: archery, firearms, including blanks, squibs;
> involving a fight, choreographed or not;
> pornography;
> at heights above 3 feet off the ground or more, including falls;
> involving live music;
> in a bar or nightclub;
> involving a temporary structure installed or built for the film.