I know some companies have different policies depending on if you have a car alarm or not.

ins costs
 

Josh:

I cant give you the exact cost obviously but if its like mine, that would be about right....however one caution. I had heard others rave about state farm who previously had my auto ins. So I called them first and the cost was much different for me than other people were paying, I expected to hear around mid two's but they came back with the 500 (actually $570ish).

So while it should be the same cost who knows? I dont understand how they work but I know I need it. Another point my first inquiry to state farm was to have it insured in Santa Barbara which is a nice little beach town without any real crime...the AAA quote that I ended up getting is based out of Denver area which is much bigger etc. So who knows how they work but triple aaa worked well for me give it a try.


Michel

Camera Insurance
 

Does anyone know a good place that insures cameras? I own a DVX and would definately like it insured incase i do something stupid since i do a lot of outdoors footage. Pref. in San Diego, but doesnt matter too much.

Check with your agent that carries your homeowners or renters policy. You could probably get a rider that would cover you.
Don

While homeowner's insurace will either cover you already or allow for quick and easy addition of a rider for the equipment you choose to insure, it may not be the best idea.

Generally, making small claims against your homeowner's insurance is a _very_ bad idea. Homeowner's insurance is best used for rare calamities, not nicke and dime accidents (for most of us, digital equipment cost is no where near the cost of our house).

If you make small claims against your homeowner's insurance, you may end up loosing your homeowner's insurance which is a very serious issue for many reasons. Getting dropped will make it hard to get insured by other companies, for example.

I didn't say it was a great idea just that if all you want to do is cover your camera for a small amount it should be fine, even my own agent has told me that.

However, if you're covering a large amount of equipment and/or making a living or calling yourself a professional then you need to look elsewhere for coverage.

BTW, I've had a couple of claims (non equipment related) against my HO policy and they've never dropped me OR rased my rates. Of course I've been with them for 25 years. They know which side their bread is buttered on.
Plus a $3 or $4000 camera to me is not nickel and dime. Years back I had ALL of my still equipment (about 25 grand back then) covered under a rider and they never blinked. They loved the premium. At that time a seperate policy by a specialized company was very cost prohibitative.
All I'm saying is it pays to shop around to find the best deal for what you need covered.
Don

http://www.Safeware.com/ they will cover your camera if it is stolen on a shoot and will immediately give you coverage to rent one as good as or better than.

I have my computers to my camera equipment insured by them.

i don't see where they do camera gear -did you just contact them directly? what kind of premium do you have on your gear?

Accidental Breakage Insurance.
 

Say I'm out on a shoot and someone knocked
over my tripod and smashes my camera,
or the cam just falls out of my hands and breaks.
Who offers this type of replacement coverage?
My homeowners does not, and only will cover
10% of personal property for theft *away from home*.
Also, if someone trips on a tripod and is injured,
does homeowners liability cover this?

You may be able to purchase an All Risk Rider to your Home Owners Insurance. Liability for an accident may or may not be covered. These would be outlined on the terms of your policy. Your Insurance agent or an underwriter would be able to tell you if you have liability coverage for the type of accident you describe. You can also purchase liability insurance for such occurrences. Many times it is bundled in various types of business insurance. If your agent doesn't carry that type of insurance, contact an insurance broker.

In my case I am a member of WEVA since i do wedding videography, and part of the perks of the membership is group rates on equipment breakage and liability insurance. there are group rates available for most types of businesses out there.

Need Insurance For Permit?
 

Some local colleagues of mine who, along with myself, shoot all the time outdoors in the downtown area here in Orlando, have been warning me about something in regards to my short film I will be shooting next month. Apparently as a by-product of the goofy flip-flopping yellow and orange terror alerts we're under, nobody seems to be able to get by without permitting their shoots these days.

Now, in downtown Orlando, permits for shooting are free. So no problem, right? Well, the problem is that they require a policy be attached with $1 Million in insurance. You have to fax them the certificate to get your permit application approved.

So the question I have is, who has experience with this, and are there any pointers you may have as far as figuring out how to get an ultra low budget film shoot insured? It seems almost silly with how small the production is, but red tape is red tape.

Also, I do realize the implications of an accident on set so please, nobody chastise me for thinking the insurance is silly. :)

A friend of mine in Chicago wanted to get permits, and to do so he was also required to get something like $2 million in liability insurance. That's the way it goes, I'm afraid.

As I have been recently shopping around for insurance myself, I can tell you it isn't cheap. For the 30 days I will be shooting, I am looking at $1,200 and up for 1 Mil. If that is out of your budget, you might consider going Guerilla.

i have found 1mil $ liability insurance policy is far cheaper for 12 months then for 2 weeks. also coverage for a documentary is less then dramatic ..

the last time bought for a project that was for pro shoot it was 900 for a year (up to 70K budget documentary ..they wanted 1500 if it was dramatic) in california.

i do carry a floater policy with my home insurance for those "fun- have no plans to make $$ type projects ... $155 year for 1st million then less for each additional ...
you'll have to talk to your insurance for details ... there's one thing having fun shoot with 3-8 persons VS crew of 30!!!

now you might be able to get your insurance thru somebody else?
do you know any production company's ? they usually have insurance and you do your short under them. they get the permit in their name .. now why would they do this ? either because they are doing you a favor , they owe you favor , or because you are going to pay them for the use $$.

there are some non profit organizations that if you are a member will let you permit under them ...

also many camerpersons/gaffers carry liability and you might be able to strike a deal with them??

How are the WEVA rates?

sorry for the late reply, havent been checking this forum regularly. I just got my quote, and for my equipment which i believe i quoted as being $9,000 in value, i will pay $50 for the year. seems good to me, although i am only 19, so this is my first insurance experience and i have nothing to compare it to.

Jonathon,
Did this include accidental breakage? What is the name of the company who insured you? Was it through WEVA?

Yes this does include accidental breakage insurance. It was from a company called the William F. Buell Agency, and it was through WEVA (meaning this is group insurance so there is a discount).

Anyone know of companies outside of through
WEVA who offer accidental breakage insurance?

I'd love to know about this too. And I am not in any pro associations. Any options?

Your options are to purchase a regular business insurance package. It will cover accidental breakage, theft, etc. but is usually subject to a deductible. The other option is to add it to a home owners or renters policy as a rider. The rider covers the same problems, but is not subject to the deductible.

I tried through my home owners and they
refused to cover accidental breakage. I was
told they didn't want to take the risk because
it's easy for someone to come along and
knock over a tripod accidentally.
Additionally, theft "off premises" is only
covered for 10% of my max theft "on premises".

You might want to shop differnt companies for your home owners insurance. In over 25 years of buying insurance either for my business or through my home owners, I've never been told that.

In good hands? A necessary evil.
 

Procuction insurance, although expensive, is your parachute if anything goes awry on your set. Remember that you are not only responsible for your talent, cast and crew but also for any Joe Schmoe that wanders in an possibly gets hurt due to your production.

It would be a real bitch if someone gets hurt, and beleive me, you quickly find out who your friends are when money is involved, and they have no one to sue, except you, personally, if there is no insurance to go after.

Also, be very careful if you are adding a rider to your homeowner's insurance. It would really suck if someone came after your personal belongings after a mishap.

How about your gear? Trash a camera due to a missed mark? Butter fingered grip or AC?

If you are engaged in multiple productions throughout the year, I would strongly recommend that you get a policy that covers you all the time. Probably cheaper than on a job-by-job basis.

RB

Insurance.
 

I recently got a renters insurance policy from Assurance and it covers all of my electronics up to $12,000 but the only problem is it doesn't cover against breakage, and that's something that's very vital to me being a skateboard videographer. Does anybody have policies that say it covers damage, as well as theft.

Thanks,
Steve.

My rider insurance covers everything including stupidity.

Production Insurance????? HELLLLLP!!!!
 

My friends and I are shooting our first production soon and we are trying to find out information about insurance. We dont want to cover the equipment just the actors and crew if something happens to one of them. Does anybody know who i should contact and exactly what i would need?


Thanks

The thing to do would be to try to contact a local film office. For example in Chicago there is the Chicago Film Office. Are you close to Philadelphia or any other major city? I'm sure they can help. Then if there is a city / state-run film office you can get info from them on what to do.

Oftentimes insurance is required by the city or state - and sometimes it's a lot!

Usually the insurance that you would get would be General Liability insurance - at least, that's what is usually required for a city-approved filming permit. And definitely, your city's film commission would be the best place to start - this is the same place where you would get your permit for shooting.

Also, don't mean to be a grouch, but it doesn't make anyone respond any faster if you use a ton of question marks and exclamation points. Sorry - had to add that. It's like typing with all caps - no shouting needed. Everybody gives their best around here to answer questions as they come.

Thank you. I also know the question marks dont get a faster reply. It shows the state of confusion im in with this subject.

oh by the way when u say u dont want to sound like something you normally do ;)


We are shooting in little towns in NJ which dont seem to have a clue about what we need. Most places are just requiring letters to the Police just so they know whats going on.

If you are taping in New Jersey you should check out the guidelines on the state film commission web site:

http://www.njfilm.org/

Which basically say that you should have a $1 million general liability policy to tape on state owned property and that small cities may not have any idea about this (which is obviously what you discovered on your own).

I found the best deal on a simple policy like that from my personal insurer (NJ Manufactirer's). So check with your insurance company.

By the way I received an abrupt refusal to do a simple handheld taping in Princeton Battlefield Park, which is the last thing I expected to get from a state park. But it was easier to find another state park that wasn't so overprotective than to complain. So you do get a wide variety of responses to even simple requests.

I am in the Trenton-Princeton area so if you are looking for locations around here e-mail me at ball@tcnj.edu and maybe I can help out.

Thanks Bill i found that site a little while ago. Thats strange that they wouldnt let u film there. I recall a few years ago when they were shooting IQ there in the park. I guess it had more to do with how much u could give them than anything.

Raaaha Rraaahaa! That's the sound of this thread being resurrected from the dead.

In another thread, someone mentioned a company called safeware (http://www.Safeware.com) that they used to insure their gear. I called them, and apparently how it works is, they specialize in insuring your COMPUTER, and the video gear counts as a peripheral (ha!). However, I am SOL as my computer was bought about 4 years ago, and they won't insure anything over 3 years old, and hence, they won't insure they video gear either.

I've checked with AAA, they won't do it. I've checked with the homeowner's policy (I am not the homeowner, I only reside with them--pathetic, huh?) they won't do it. I actually have quite a bit of gear, and what it's worth and what I paid for it could be disputed, since I bought a lot of it used, but I still have quite a bit.

Any other ideas on how to get some insurance for it, besides methods already discussed, and those mentioned in other threads? Is there a secret I don't know about?

Josh,

I checked with State Farm (didn't have any other policies with them). They issued a policy that covers all my gear (Camera/Field, Editing and Computers) for replacement value. I had to provide a list of what I had and the current retail replacement cost. The policy covers 100% minus $500 deductable. $80K worth cost about $800/yr.

OK, thanks. . .that sounds ok, since I my stuff is worth significantly less than that. . .

Is that rate you mentioned a. . .constant? That is. . .It costs $100 to insure per $10,000 woth of equipment?

Do I need to do anything special if I contact them? You said you didn't have any other policies with them. They don't care if it's for business or personal use (technically, mine would go under both, though I haven't made too much money from it)?

Well, thank you VERY much! I just got off the phone with State farm, and yes, they do do exactly what you said--it's called a personal articles policy, and it's pretty well priced, covered against everything, everywhere, and you don't need a previously existing policy.

So maybe put this in a separate thread, or article, or something, so next time someone asks if they can get equipment insurance, bingo! You point them here. Thanks.

Josh, a few questions.
Did they inquire as to whether it was for business or
personal use? Do they need a list of everything?
Does it cover theft from your car, say, if you were
traveling away from home?

Dave,

The agent I worked with said that it covers it no matter what! Lost, stolen, from home, car... Dropped over a cliff, you name it. Not usually a big fan of insurance but this policy really gives me piece of mind.

Yes, absolutely. The only thing that matters with the business/personal thing is the rate--I guess it's a little more for professional use. Yes, covered away from home, from all kinds of damage, disaster, theft, whatever. Can't believe I didn't know about this before! I can't stop using exclamation points!!!!!

Yes, they do need a list of all items you want insured, with their value. Here's where I got a little perplexed. I swear they said they wanted me to have it appraised? How? By whom? Maybe Rob can enlighten us. I've bought a lot of my gear off eBay, and I don't know if they want the eBay price, or the retail price for that item new. I still don't know how you'd get it appraised--it's not jewelery.