The ALS Group Risk Management Articles

With the second anniversary of Superstorm Sandy just around the corner, I was thinking back to the whirlwind of media predictions that preceded landfall. Where would it strike? When would it hit? How bad would it be? Forecasters commented over and over that predicting the path of the storm and its ensuing destruction was particularly difficult because nothing like it had happened before. So I was surprised to learn of an even larger storm from 1821: the Norfolk and Long Island hurricane. If the Norfolk and Long Island hurricane were to hit today, its damage would exceed that of Sandy, Rita, Andrew and Katrina.

The unthinkable happens: the business that you have put all your passion, hard work, and money into is destroyed, and there was nothing you could do to prevent it. Or was there?

One of the most expensive predicaments a film production (especially the big-budget type) can face is a delay.  When you consider the scheduling of a large scale production, and the amount of money that goes into cast, crew, equipment, locations, permits, food, vehicles, etc. for each day of filming, a simple accident, especially, the film’s star getting injured can result in tremendous expense.

Entertainment insurance provides coverage for the film industry and its producers. It is a large sub-section of the insurance and risk management world with its own unique exposures and coverages. The film industry in the United States is a big business generating $522 billion in revenue in 2013. According to Statista, that number is expected to rise to $632 billion in 2014. As revenue rises, so do film costs, with even “low budget” production costing several million dollars. These high costs bring high exposures! There are tight deadlines, a lot of moving parts and many people performing a variety of roles, both on the set and in the production offices.

As stated in my May Blog, there are many regulations an organization needs to implement and maintain in order to be in compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and avoid fines and risks associated with not being compliant.