Myth: I don’t need insurance to abide by the “SAG New Media” contract.
Fact: You need coverage for General Liability and Workers Comp to abide by the “SAG New Media” contract.
Recently, people are asking about the SAG New Media arrangement, which you can research on their website at www.sagaftra.org. There seems to be a question about whether or not you need insurance to abide by the arrangement.
Many people believe that since the production falls under the “new media” definition, this means that SAG knows the production is small and made for online distribution. Therefore, they think that they shouldn’t have to secure coverage for their film production because of its size. This is not the case. SAG requires at least $1,000,000 of General Liability and $1,000,000 of Workers Comp coverage whenever you are using SAG actors.
The SAG New Media Contract Requires Insurance
It doesn’t matter if you only plan to do a 30-second video for a Facebook ad or a short YouTube clip that you hope goes viral. If you use a SAG actor, then they must have coverage through a Workers Comp policy. This covers the actor if they injure themselves. General Liability insurance covers injuries or property damage to third parties caused by the actor.
For proper coverage, you need both Workers’ Comp and General Liability insurance. If you don’t have Workers Comp coverage for them, you could get in trouble with the government for employing people without insurance. You also might get the actor in trouble with SAG for working on an uninsured production. The same goes for General Liability. If an actor accidentally hurts a third party or damages third party property, you want to make sure they aren’t held personally responsible.
If you are a producer looking to hire a SAG actor, or if you are a SAG actor and need proper coverage, call me. You need to make sure you are abiding by these new rules. Either phone me at 818-295-2266, or you can contact SAG directly, using the contact info on their website.
