Insurance

In the realm of independent production insurance is often an afterthought.  It takes a big chunk out of an already small budget, and it’s an extra stack of paperwork on top of an already large pile.  But you need to have it – for your protection as well as the protection of the people who are working for you and patronizing your show.  What if during rehearsal an actor trips and breaks his leg?  What if the theater catches on fire and someone in the audience gets burned?  As a producer, you are liable for damages.  Doesn’t matter if it was an accident.  They will be coming to you for the hospital bills.  And if you don’t have insurance then you are SOL .  Not to mention that on a humanitarian level, I care about these people and want to make sure that their needs are taken care of.

With that said, there are a few different types of insurance that you need to be aware of:

• General Liability Insurance – coverage is usually between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000.  Basically, this is that insurance that covers random freak accidents that happen during production.  EVERY PRODUCTION SHOULD HAVE THIS INSURANCE.  Period.  In fact, most theaters won’t even let you in without showing them a general liability certificate.  As far as cost, it depends on how long your production is, but expect to pay between $300 - $400 for this coverage.
• Worker’s comp/Volunteer insurance – This is insurance that compensates your employees (or volunteers) if they get hurt on the job and can no longer work.  This insurance makes sure they get paid for lost wages.  Worker’s comp insurance depends on how many employees you have, but volunteer insurance usually runs around $175 a year.
• Equipment/Inland Marine coverage – this insurance covers you in case the show’s property is damaged or stolen.  For example, say the moving truck gets in an accident, and your $5,000 set it destroyed.  This insurance would compensate you for the losses.  Unfortunately, this insurance is rather expensive.  The actual premium depends on how valuable your property is, but most insurance companies charge a minimum of $500.  Sometimes the theater requires you to have it to protect themselves from possible liability, but unless you have some extremely fragile and valuable set/wardrobe pieces, I’d forego this insurance.