To All of Our Customers, Friends and Family
We Are Here For You During This Challenging Time

We know everyone is feeling a bit out of sorts being isolated and “on lockdown” at the moment. But here at United Agencies and Insured Production, our teams are working harder than ever to serve you, your business, and all of your commercial insurance needs. While our offices are temporarily closed to walk-in visits, and you may not be receiving visits from your Sales Representative like usual, we are here for you online and by phone. Reach out to us from the comfort of your office, or your home office, and gain relief in knowing a United Agencies professional is available when you need us most.

As always, you should feel free to contact me with any questions you might. I am always happy to help you with any of your insurance needs.

Sincerely,

As an insurance agent, it is my responsibility to protect my clients. Today, that means protecting them against all of the bad things they might face on the set. There is general liability film insurance for the majority of claims. I also recommend Workers’ Comp and Third Party Property Damage. However, it surprises me when my clients don’t want to cover the worst possible scenario, the loss of a cast member. Cast Extra Expense Insurance ought to be one of the “primary insurance policies” for all film productions.

Why Do You Need Cast Extra Expense Insurance?

One of the worst things that could happen to any production is if one of the actors or crew members gets injured, becomes sick, killed, or they have to leave because of a sudden illness or death in the family. When this happens, it forces you to shut down production while you wait for them to return. It could be weeks before you go back into production. Even worse, in the case of death, it could shut down your production permanently.

In such a case, the primary concern would be for the well-being of the actor or their family, but there are real financial issues that you need to resolve in their absence. If you are filming and one of your cameras breaks, that’s unfortunate, but it’s pretty easy to replace your equipment. If you are shooting and somebody walks by the set and gets hurt, that’s terrible, but you can keep working while you settle the claim. The one thing that can hold up the entire production and cost you thousands of dollars a day is the sudden loss of an actor, director, or key member of the production.

Who is Covered by Cast Extra Expense Coverage?

Thankfully, there is insurance coverage for this worst case scenario. It’s called Cast Extra Expense. All you need to do is make a list of your key cast and crew members before your policy starts. Each person on the list needs to complete a simple medical exam. That’s it. All they have to do is pass a routine physical to make them eligible for addition to the coverage. You can start the coverage with a deductible as low as $2,500, which is nothing compared to spending tens of thousands of dollars a day while the whole crew sits on their hands.

The next time you have a production with a big-name actor attached, make sure you have more than just Workers Comp to cover their injuries. Workers’ Comp pays for their medical costs, but it won’t pay for the money you lose while they recover. In other words, Workers’ Comp covers their expenses and Cast Extra Expense covers yours.

I know that none of us likes to think about or discuss a worst-case scenario that would require this type of coverage. In fact,  Cast Extra Expense can sound a little morbid or harsh, but sometimes we have to plan for the worst and hope for the best. Make sure you add this coverage onto your next production. Don’t let the unthinkable derail your production.

As always, you should feel free to contact me with any questions or for a quote. I am happy to help you with any of your insurance needs.