I frequently get inquiries for (Production) E & O
insurance and it seems many of those aren’t really prepared. To apply, you
first need to have retained a Clearance Attorney. Why? Because the attorney not
only sets all your clearance procedures, they are also named on the insurance
application. Because that comes with significate risk for them, it is also
common for the attorney to review the entire – completed production, including
the underlying documents, to ensure that all necessary rights have been
obtained and that there are no defamation, privacy, copyright or trademark
violations.
If you don’t have a clearance attorney, you may want to
consider Ted Gerdes (Gerdes Law in Beverly Hills, gerdeslaw.com). I’ve used him
for years and he is as thorough and diligent as they come.
You’ll need to make sure that you have (among other items):
- Written warranties from all writers and other content providers
- Written agreement from all performers or persons appearing in your production
- Musical rights releases
Also, if you want title coverage make sure that you have
obtained a title report and opinion letter.
I know this sounds overwhelming, but E&O is a very
complicated form of insurance that protects many entities, including
distributors and broadcasters. #productioninsurance
