ASK & DISCUSS
INDEXUninsured low budget productions
10 years, 2 months ago - charlotte knight
I've seen a few posts asking for people to work for free on producions but stating that they are not insured. If you are expecting people to give up their time for free then at the least you should be making sure that you have employee and public liability insurance in place and that relevant risk assessments have been done, on a single shoot basis this is not very expensive. If someone working for free was to get injured on your shoot or injured a member of the public the producer would be personally liable for any financial repercussions. This is not intended to be a preach but just to make newer producers more aware of the risk they are taking by not spending a small amount of money on insurance. Film sets are fairly high risk work spaces with electrical equipment and trip hazards. I would suggest, even on no budget shoots, that you save or source the funding for insurance before embarking on the project.
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10 years, 2 months ago - Marie-Helene Boyd
thanks for this post. you've really hit the nail there. am going to be embarking on my short soon and first thing on my to do list is this. :)
Response from 10 years, 2 months ago - Marie-Helene Boyd SHOW
10 years, 2 months ago - Lee 'Wozy' Warren
I would suggest a simple check list for any producer who is new or uncertain of what is or isn't needed, even for a short film...
Wozy
@wozyW
Response from 10 years, 2 months ago - Lee 'Wozy' Warren SHOW
10 years, 2 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin
In the UK, Essex Insurance Brokers seem to have a good understanding of the short film market. For a bigger production, companies like Towergate Camerasure understand the full range of needs for features (which can be more complex)
Response from 10 years, 2 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin SHOW
10 years, 2 months ago - Marlom Tander
It's worse than that. If not insured then ANYONE can be personally sued.
Actor trips over cables - can sue the person who put the cables down, the person who told the other person where to put the cables, the director, for wanting to hurry up and not let the cable laying job get done properly, and, of course, the producer. Whoever can be held in the chain and has enough personal wealth to make suing viable.
Got a house? Thinking of crewing an uninsured shoot? You just put your house on the line.
Response from 10 years, 2 months ago - Marlom Tander SHOW
10 years, 2 months ago - Ruth Curtis
which are the best insurance companies/policies to use?
Response from 10 years, 2 months ago - Ruth Curtis SHOW
10 years, 2 months ago - Dan Selakovich
I agree. It's absolutely nuts. Especially on these shoots where you have a lot of inexperienced people. Here in America, it's especially important since we have no national healthcare system. A simple trip to the emergency room to have a cut stitched up could easily cost 5k and up, depending on the hospital.
Response from 10 years, 2 months ago - Dan Selakovich SHOW