Can Hollywood Get Insurance on New Film and TV Production Amid Pandemic?

As Hollywood looks to resume film and TV production in the coming months, one major roadblock continues to be whether insurance and bonding companies will cover the risks associated with potential COVID-related illnesses and pandemic-related shutdowns. While producers have long made financial allowances for shutdowns and reshoots in their overall budget, insurance coverage on this type of disruption is in flux in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Elsa Ramo, managing partner of Ramo Law, whose firm represents producers and content creators, estimated that overall insurance and bonding costs of a COVID-protected production could be at least 15-20% higher, while other insiders said that it’s far too soon to determine the potential cost of future coverage — if it’s even available at all. “Most insurance companies are going to be sure that if it’s a type of pandemic similar to this, whether by duration or whatever the next outbreak is, business interruption policies are going to have much higher language that will make it clear that there is no coverage,” Kent J. Schmidt, a partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney who specializes in business litigation, told TheWrap. Standard “business interruption” clauses in insurance policies generally don’t apply...

Read original story Can Hollywood Get Insurance on New Film and TV Production Amid Pandemic? At TheWrap