✅ Features:

• Calculates insurance cost estimates based on:
  • Production duration.
  • Crew/cast size.
  • Budget range.
  • Coverage type.
• Realistic assumptions for low/mid/high-risk productions.
• Downloadable .txt estimate report.
• Clean UI: black background, white text, dark blue buttons.
• Smart warnings if input combinations may require broker consultation.

Shield Your Production: Introducing the Film Insurance Cost Estimator!

Insurance isn’t just a smart choice for a film production; it’s often a mandatory one, required by locations, equipment rental houses, distributors, and even your cast and crew. For independent filmmakers, understanding and budgeting for these essential coverages can be a complex puzzle. Our Film Insurance Cost Estimator is your straightforward solution, providing rough quotes for the vital insurance policies your project needs to operate safely and legally.

Designed for independent filmmakers, line producers, and production managers, this tool demystifies film insurance costs, helping you budget accurately and avoid unexpected financial burdens.

Estimate Your Essential Coverages.

Our Film Insurance Cost Estimator helps you calculate approximate costs for the core insurance policies vital to most independent film productions. The estimates are based on key factors like your total production budget, shooting duration, and inherent project risks.

• Production Budget: Input your film’s total budget. This is a primary driver of insurance costs, as policies often scale with the size and complexity of the production.
• Shooting Duration: Specify the number of shooting days or weeks. Short-term policies are common for indie films and are priced accordingly.
• Production Type: Select whether it’s a narrative feature, short film, documentary, commercial, or music video, as risk profiles can vary.

• Key Insurance Types Included:
  • General Liability (Commercial General Liability – CGL):
    • Purpose: Protects against claims of bodily injury or property damage to third parties arising from your production’s operations. This is often required by locations and municipalities for permits.
    • Estimator Factors: Production budget, number of shooting days, specific locations (e.g., public spaces often require higher limits).
    • Typical Ranges: For smaller indie productions ($0-$250K budget), basic CGL might start from $500-$1,000 for a short-term policy, potentially increasing to $1,000-$5,000+ for longer shoots or higher budgets (e.g., $1M to $5M coverage limits are common, with costs increasing for higher limits).
• • Errors & Omissions (E&O) Insurance:
    • Purpose: Protects against claims of intellectual property infringement (e.g., copyright, trademark), defamation, libel, slander, invasion of privacy, or unauthorized use of materials. Essential for any project intended for distribution.
    • Estimator Factors: Production budget, film content (e.g., documentary with potentially sensitive subjects can be higher risk), use of pre-existing materials.
    • Typical Ranges: Often ranges from $2,000 – $3,500+ for a 3-year term for budgets under $250K, increasing with higher budgets or higher risk content.
• • Workers’ Compensation (Workers’ Comp):
    • Purpose: Covers medical expenses and lost wages for cast and crew injured on the job. Legally mandated in most regions if you have employees (even temporary ones).
    • Estimator Factors: Total payroll, number of cast/crew members, riskiness of their roles (e.g., stunts increase cost), state regulations.
    • Typical Ranges: Highly variable by state/region and total payroll. For independent films, it can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, calculated based on payroll per $100.

• Optional/Add-on Coverages (as prompts/advanced options):
  • Rented Equipment Insurance (Inland Marine): Covers loss or damage to rented production equipment. (Often tied to a percentage of equipment value, e.g., $175 for $50,000 equipment value).
  • Props, Sets, Wardrobe Insurance: Covers loss or damage to your production’s physical assets.
  • Non-Owned & Hired Auto Liability: For vehicles used by the production but not owned directly.
  • Cast Insurance: Protects against financial loss due to illness or injury of key cast members that delays production.
  • Specialty Coverage: For stunts, pyrotechnics, animals, water activities, or international shooting.

The calculator will provide a combined estimated cost, giving you a crucial line item for your overall film budget.

Niche Potential: Risk-Adjusted Quotes & Compliance Guidance.

What truly elevates our Film Insurance Cost Estimator is its specialized focus on the nuanced needs of independent filmmakers and its practical guidance:

• Risk-Adjusted Estimates: The calculator goes beyond simple percentages by asking about specific risk factors (e.g., presence of stunts, pyrotechnics, international travel, shooting in public spaces). This helps provide a more accurate, albeit rough, quote.
• Minimum Coverage Thresholds: Informs users about common minimum coverage limits (e.g., $1M CGL, $250K equipment coverage) often required by rental houses and locations, ensuring filmmakers budget for adequate protection.
• Short-Term vs. Annual Policy Guidance: Advises on whether a short-term project policy (often more cost-effective for single projects) or an annual DICE (Documentary, Industrial, Commercial, Educational) policy (better for companies doing multiple projects) is more suitable, with rough cost differences.
• Deductible Impact: Briefly explains how choosing a higher deductible can lower premiums, offering a strategy for cost optimization.
• “What If” Scenarios for Risk: Allows users to see how adding specific risks (e.g., “add 1 day of stunts”) impacts the overall insurance premium, fostering proactive risk management.
• Compliance Prompts: Reminds users that insurance is often needed for permits, location agreements, and equipment rentals, and that Certificates of Insurance (COIs) are often required.
• Bundling Benefits: Suggests that bundling multiple policies with one provider can lead to discounts.

The Essential Use Case: Initial Budgeting for Essential Insurance Coverage.

The primary and most vital use case for the Film Insurance Cost Estimator is providing initial, realistic budgeting for essential insurance coverage. It empowers filmmakers to:

• Accurately Budget for Protection: Ensure that a significant and often mandatory cost is accounted for early in the budgeting process, preventing unexpected financial shortfalls later.
• Secure Permits & Locations: Understand the typical insurance requirements needed to secure filming permits and gain access to desired locations.
• Protect Against Liabilities: Have a rough idea of the cost to shield the production from potentially devastating financial claims due to accidents, injuries, or legal disputes.
• Attract & Reassure Crew/Talent: Demonstrate a commitment to safety and proper compensation (via Workers’ Comp), making the production more appealing to professional cast and crew.
• Plan for Distribution: Recognize E&O insurance as a non-negotiable cost for any film seeking distribution, integrating it into the financial plan from the outset.
• Engage with Brokers Confidently: Go into discussions with insurance brokers with a basic understanding of their needs and potential costs, leading to more efficient and tailored quotes.
• Mitigate Financial Risk: Proactively identify and plan for a critical expenditure that safeguards the entire production’s financial well-being.

Don’t let insurance be an afterthought that drains your budget or stalls your production. Equip your project with the Film Insurance Cost Estimator and build a secure foundation for your cinematic vision.

📋 Film Insurance Cost Estimator

Estimate insurance costs for general liability, E&O, and workers’ comp based on your production’s scale and length.

Number of Shooting Days: Number of Crew/Cast: Production Budget Level: Low Budget (under $250K) Mid Budget ($250K – $1M) High Budget (over $1M) Production Risk Level: Standard (interviews, drama, contained sets) Elevated (action, stunts, minors, animals) Estimate Insurance Costs