Fireman's Fund at the Academy Awards

With the glamour and glitz of last night's 79th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, the sobering thought that filmmaking can also be 'risky business' seems out of place.

Yet, without insurance, motion pictures as we know them today would be impossible to make. The reason is simple. Without insurance, financial backers would never invest in big budget productions where a simple accident could easily cost 250,000 US dollars (and up) a day.

As a top insurer of the entertainment industry since the days of the silent screen, Fireman's Fund knows the dangers which lurk on any film set. In the old days, all Hollywood needed was protection again fire damage and props.

Today, Fireman's Fund provides a full range of sophisticated insurance coverage for a modern blockbuster. The customary insurance needed on a movie production include workers compensation, general liability and automobile insurance. The specialty coverages protect producers against the costs associated with delays in producing a film and damage to the final product.

Fireman's Fund insured a number of this year's films nominated for an Academy Award, including "Departed" which won Best Film, "Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man's Chest", "Apocalyptic" and "Flags of our Fathers".

A war movie, such as "Flags of our Fathers", wouldn’t be complete without ships, tanks and carriers. For the film, which was directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, Fireman’s Fund provided cargo and hull coverage to Warner Brothers, allowing it to create authentic battle scenes.

The film was based on the February to March 1945 events at the Pacific island Iwo Jima. Locations in Iceland were chosen to film these scenes. Therefore, much of the equipment had to be shipped there for filming and back. The Specialty Insurance business of Fireman’s Fund provided marine insurance and loss control services, and was involved in the shipping of several loads of authentic World War II landing craft, amphibious tanks and personnel carriers.

"We were able to provide Warner Brothers with end-to-end transport of the cargo from the moment it was loaded into the shipping containers, and made sure the hull policy kicked in as soon as the equipment was off-loaded from the ship," said Jeff Weed, Specialty underwriter.

Thanks to Fireman’s Fund’s comprehensive coverage, there was no need for Warner Brothers to worry about securing multiple separate policies from different insurance carriers. Weed: "The studio came to Fireman’s Fund because it knew we are trustworthy and it can depend on us to meet its needs and get the job done."


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