Co-Producers for Insurance purposes? Bad idea!

Lately there has been a trend amongst small producers to “buy” insurance by entering into a co-producer agreement. But they’re not buying insurance. They are buying a piece of potentially worthless paper to rent locations, equipment, and etc.

If you’re really  buying insurance why isn’t your name shown as a named insured on the certificates of insurance, film permit filing, and et cetera?
Let’s look at some of the risk you take:

• Your name is shown along with the co-producer on rental agreements, and once a claim is filed the carrier may only cover (at best) the portion the co-producer is responsible for – leaving you completely exposed.
• Look at the insurance limits: for example, $250,000 in rented misc. equipment is the total annual limit. Do you know how much of that has been set aside for claims by others? There might be nothing left to cover your damage. Buy your own policy in your name and the limits are yours alone
• God forbid you have a general or hired/non-owned auto liability claim.
• This practice is actually illegal in the state of California. Why you ask? the insurance carrier doesn’t know who you are and never had a chance to underwrite the risk.

So there you have it. If you really want to be insured, spend the extra money and do it right. There may well be a time where you’re glad you did.

As they say, “nothing good is cheap and nothing cheap is good!”

Greg Zeboray @ zeboray.com