The FINANCIAL — Hollywood’s latest special-effects blockbuster Gravity has wowed critics and cinema audiences alike, but such high-octane, action-packed films present interesting risks for film makers and their insurers, according to Lloyd's.
In the run up to Christmas cinemas are dominated by films laden with special effects and action sequences – films such as the breath-taking science fiction thriller Gravity, Marvel Comic’s Thor, fantasy films like The Hobbit and animation spectaculars like Disney’s Dinosaur movie.
Such films attract big audiences and are where the Hollywood studios make much of their money – so the stakes are high should something go wrong. Whether it’s lost Computer-generated imagery (CGI) data, an injured actor or a stunt gone wrong, mishaps can lead to expensive delays and even cancellation, according to Lloyd's.
Fortunately such risks are often covered by specialist insurance, the kind found at Lloyd’s. Lloyd’s insurers offer personal accident insurance to cover the risk of death or injury to actors and stunt professionals, as well as film production and completion guaranty insurance.
Many of the big blockbusters currently showing in cinemas will be insured in the Lloyd’s market, according to Tim Prifti, accident and health underwriter at Kiln. The Lloyd’s insurer has written personal accident policies for many actors and stunt persons over the years.
Insuring leading actors is a specialist form of insurance, according to Prifti. “This is a small pool of highly paid individuals, which makes insuring actors a volatile risk – just the kind of risk that is associated with Lloyd’s specialist personal accident market.”
Many stars are said to like doing their own stunts, including Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie, although the risk of allowing them to do so is often too high for the film’s backers. “Film producers will not want to risk their actors on, for example, a high speed car chase. But by using stunt doubles who are specially trained and understand what is involved together with using special effects, a lot of the risk to key personnel is mitigated,” said Prifti.
Stunt professionals also buy insurance from Lloyd’s insurers like Kiln, which specialise in the more hazardous personal accident risks. “Every year there are injuries and unfortunately even deaths involving stunt professionals. Stunts are well thought through with lots of planning to mitigate the risk, but there is still the potential for tragedy,” said Prifti.
Although a small element of film risk, stunts can have a massive impact on the completion of filming, explains Matt Lawford, film specialist at Lloyd’s broker Chesterfield. In the event of a stunt not going to plan, filming can be delayed, rescheduled or even cancelled. “Film companies can’t insure enough,” he said.
“If filming involves stunt and action scenes, then personal accident insurance, liability and film cover are likely to all be in place as each party – the film or production company, actors and stunt teams – will have some exposure,” added Lawford.
Demand for ever more elaborate stunts has been on the rise. Lawford recalls an advert that involved a 3D car chase where vehicles flew over the heads of actors. “There is massive potential for danger but professionals rarely make mistakes. But when mistakes do happen they can be expensive,” he said.
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