Entertainment Insurance
Secure your production. Free your creativity.
Secure your production. Free your creativity.
With bold advocacy and genuine accountability, we use our access to multiple entertainment industry insurance carriers to provide customized coverage for your specific needs.
Our approach to finding solutions is more individual and less institutional. By understanding your priorities, we can get you covered on day one and provide year-round value with our Day Two Services® that support your risk management efforts 365 days a year.
With a commitment to transparency and authenticity, we’re a place that leads with values so value leads.
To learn more about how our values-based approach creates value for you and your business, click here.
Or visit our Insights page to learn more about essential entertainment industry insurance coverages.
Navigating the diverse risks and broad exposures involved with working in the entertainment industry can leave you wandering.
Fortunately, Higginbotham will guide the way. Our deep entertainment industry experience and strong insurance carrier relationships enable us to get things done that others can’t.
We’re on your crew.
Higginbotham uses a team approach to everything they do, and we have found that approach services us (and our clients) well. TJ Hutchings is always there to serve as the direct line to a broad array of services that Higginbotham provides for us.
We know what environmental, occupational and financial uncertainties can threaten your industry through years of serving a wide range of entertainment professionals including:
Whether you produce live events, are a DJ, work in the music industry or make feature films, there’s a broad range of risks involved with working in the industry. From slips and falls on set to property damage, civil issues and other setbacks, there are countless ways things can go wrong.
Higginbotham designs insurance solutions tailored to your unique operation.
While your coverage needs will vary based on your location, risk exposure and other factors, these are some popular entertainment industry coverages.
General liability coverage can help with the cost of financial loss resulting from claims of bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, libel and slander and advertising injury to others caused by your entertainment businesses and the entertainers you employ.
Exposures come from a wide spectrum of sources, including accidents on your premises, employment-related lawsuits and copyright infringement. These policies can cover the cost of defending or settling claims even if they are fraudulent.
They do not cover auto and professional liability exposures.
Film crew and cast insurance can help with extra production costs and covers prior financial commitments if a cast or crew member suddenly becomes unavailable to work due to an illness, injury or death.
Should your negatives, film, videotape or other media assets get damaged, lost or destroyed, film insurance can help cover the additional cost of reshooting or re-editing.
If your film footage is damaged or destroyed by your equipment or post-production process, this specialty coverage can help pay to recover or re-shoot it. It can also help if you accidentally erase footage or inadvertently shoot with a foggy or dirty lens.
This entertainment coverage can help cover the cost of lost, damaged or stolen props, wardrobe items and sets. It can also cover cameras, lighting and sound equipment, grip equipment, mechanical effects equipment, portable generators and other critical assets used in production.
An extension of prop, wardrobe and set insurance, miscellaneous equipment insurance can help cover the risks involved with using rented equipment. From production-specific equipment like cameras and microphones to mobile dressing rooms and honey wagon trailer units, this insurance is an important coverage to consider for your entertainment policy.
There’s always a risk of causing property damage when shooting a film or producing a video. If a third party owns this property, TPPD coverage can help with the costs of repairing or replacing it. This insurance can be tailored to cover property ranging from cast living quarters to buildings on set and more. It doesn’t apply to damage caused by a motor vehicle, aircraft or watercraft operation. In addition, it typically won’t cover property already covered under a miscellaneous equipment policy, such as cameras, props and lighting equipment.
Extra expense coverage can help with non-ordinary expenses incurred when production is interrupted. Like business interruption insurance, this protection can fund your operation throughout the repair, replacement or recovery period following a covered loss.
Also known as “riot insurance,” civil authority and commotion is a common coverage included in many entertainment insurance policies. Designed to cover the costs of property damage caused by demonstrations, protests or other gatherings gone awry, civil authority and commotion coverage can help mitigate financial risks related to fire, looting, vandalism, rioting and more.
Typically split into outside and inside coverage categories, money and securities insurance can help reimburse you in the event of robbery or theft. While it does not cover employee theft or theft by an owner or company principles, money and securities insurance can help replace your money and currency if it’s stolen should the policyholder experience loss or damage as a result.
Animals used in film shoots are typically specially-trained and considered highly valuable. Should an animal end up injured or killed on your set, animal mortality insurance can help with the costs of the medical treatment or replacement.
Commonly known as “commercial general liability insurance” (CGL), entertainment liability can help with the costs of personal injury, bodily injury or property damage caused by your operation. Considering the numerous areas where things can go wrong on a production set, a liability insurance policy is crucial for an entertainment business to carry.
Along with specialty insurance policies, entertainment operations need several standard commercial coverages, ranging from workers’ compensation to automobile insurance.
While your insurance broker can help determine the needed coverages for your production, typical commercial policies in the entertainment industry include:
It’s not uncommon for a production company to lease or borrow a rare or expensive automobile for use in a shoot. From exotic cars to classic autos and more, this insurance can help cover the costs of repairing or replacing these valuable assets if they end up lost, damaged or destroyed.
A commercial auto policy can help protect you from the risks of operating a vehicle for business purposes. Whether your entertainment business owns commercial vehicles or uses vehicles owned by another party as part of your operation, commercial auto insurance can significantly limit your out-of-pocket costs in the aftermath of an employee- or owner-involved accident.
This add-on insurance can help bridge the gap between your standard coverage limits and your real-world liabilities. From expensive camera equipment to rare props and intricate sets, umbrella insurance can give you peace of mind knowing you’re fully covered.
Also known as “professional liability insurance,” errors and omissions insurance is designed around the risks associated with consulting or rendering professional advice. If you or your business acts in a consultative capacity or supervises the work of subcontractors, E&O can help mitigate financial damages resulting from an error in judgment or willful act of negligence.
Commonly abbreviated as “workers’ comp,” this coverage can help with the costs of an employee injury on the job. From medical bills to lost wages, an employee injured in the line of duty can be costly. Rather than risk facing a lawsuit, it’s wise to consider adding workers’ compensation to your entertainment insurance policy.
Designed around the risks of shooting abroad, foreign coverage picks up where standard domestic liability policies end. Considering that most commercial policies have exclusions for losses suffered outside their originating country’s borders, foreign coverage is vital for international entertainment organizations to consider.
This coverage can act as an extension of a life science organization’s commercial general liability insurance. If you hire contract workers or other third-party medical professionals to work for your business, you can be held legally responsible for their actions. Incidental medical malpractice insurance can help cover legal fees, court costs and settlements if you’re accused of malpractice.
Regardless of your entertainment insurance needs, Higginbotham has you covered. Unlike the average insurance broker serving entertainment industry companies, our wide breadth of entertainment insurance experience enables us to design a policy for your unique needs.
But we don’t stop there.
As a place with the freedom to do what’s right for our clients, we also supplement your coverage with safety, loss control, contract review, certificate management and claims advocacy.
Paul Bassman is the Managing Director of Higginbotham’s entertainment insurance specialty practice. After graduating from college, he entered the music business and spent 15 years managing major label artists and talent scouting for Capitol Records. Ready for a change of pace, Paul transitioned to the insurance industry 16 years ago, leveraging his background in the music business to develop a book of business focused on live entertainment such as venues, concerts, festivals and sporting events. Entertainment and sports now represent 95% of his book of business.
Before partnering with Higginbotham, Paul’s agency placed coverage for over 2500 sports and special events. He has worked on projects with Lance Armstrong and the Discovery Channel Cycling Team and some of the country’s largest sports promoters. He has also placed coverage for some of the country’s largest music festivals, including Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits Music Festival and Miami Springfest.
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