How do Entrusted Property Liability and Civil Liability For Buildings coverage work?
Hello!
As you already know, this month of November is the Civil Liability Month here at #MondayBlog!
And continuing the multifaceted coverage, today we are going to talk about two coverages, which complement each other and are directly linked to the possession of third-party properties, goods that you will use in your production.
We are talking about Entrusted Property Liability and Civil Liability for Buildings .
Do you remember, dear reader, that we explained that liability coverages within multi-risk insurance such as events and audiovisual tend to complement each other and that it was very important to understand the General Liability/Filming exclusions, in order to understand which additional coverages are essential for your kind of risk?
Our time has come to prove that affirmation. Filming Liability covers damages to third parties, but it does not cover damages caused to its employees, this is the role of Employers Liability, as we have already explained in our first post this month, “How does Employer's Liability coverage work and what does Alec Baldwin have to do with it??”.
These two complementary coverages to Filming Liability that we are going to explain today are, in essence, fundamental for your total financial protection in an audiovisual production.
Are you ready?
ENTRUSTED PROPERTY LIABILIY
What is the Entrusted Property Liability Coverage?
This is a very interesting question, as the coverage of Entrusted Property seems to be highly explanatory, doesn't it? If we were to follow a simple logic, the coverage should apply and be valid for every good or property of a third party.
But when we talk about Liability we cannot forget the exclusions, because the logic of civil liability coverage is applied as follows, all damage to the property of a third party is covered, except for what was excluded.
For example, Entrusted Property does not cover damage caused to buildings, and the location you rent to film is a third party asset in your custody. To cover damage caused to a property's structure, Civil Liability for Buildings coverage will be required, which is the next coverage to be discussed in our post.
The coverage of Entrusted Property was created to cover, in essence, all material damage caused involuntarily to the contents of buildings and/or places belonging to a third party.
And within these damages and/or losses, the coverage conditions clearly specify that there is coverage for material damage, including explosion, theft and qualified theft caused to third party assets that are under the care, custody and control of the Insured during the performance of the audiovisual production insured.
Case Study
Now, let's say you rented a house to film your project, and that house came fully furnished, and you decide to use that structure as it is, we're not talking here about your usual props that your production brought to the site, OK?
And instead of goods, objects and structures that were already from the rented place. And there are some tragedies during the filming….how will this coverage behave, huh?
Your footage is going well, the rented house has everything you needed and more. On the third day of shooting, the production accidentally spills a bottle of wine on the renter's rug.
Later that day, while filming a scene, they hit the crystal lamp with the microphone extender and the whole thing fell to the floor.
As if that wasn't enough, when they returned to the property the next day, they found the house with the door broken open and some of the items in the house were clearly stolen.
What now?
How is the liability coverage triggered in this case?
You hand the house back to the owner, try to settle the damages, but you can't get anywhere. Exactly five weeks after the delivery of the property, a lawsuit arrives at your company. And in it the request for reimbursement for damages caused to the property of this owner that we talked about earlier.
You will notify the insurer of the claim and then it begins the review process under Entrusted Property Liability coverage.
What would the regulation look like?
After checking all the facts, if it is proven that you are responsible for damage to the rug and chandelier, and also for the theft of other goods (someone from your team forgot to properly lock the property, for example), the judge will decide if it is up to indemnity.
At the same time, the insurer will carry out its own investigation and find out if the claims are covered by your policy. If everything is within the product's conditions, after you pay the damage, you can request reimbursement from the insurance company.
CIVIL LIABILITY FOR BUILDINGS
What is Buildings Liability coverage?
Buildings Liability coverage, on the other hand, comes to complement the Entrusted Property Liability, since the Buildings Liability assumes damages exactly where the entrusted property excluded.
Buildings Liability coverage was created to cover damage caused to buildings you occupied for production purposes in the event of damage such as fire, explosions, broken glass, and damage caused by electricity and water.
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Ah, it's important to note that this coverage does not cover damage to floors or walls.
If such a situation happens, the surest way is to cover is through Filming/General Liability.
Case Study
Remember our example of that wonderful house you were filming in, let's keep using it as a backdrop and explain this new coverage.
Imagine, then, that you decided to put some paintings on the walls of the house and by sheer bad luck you hit a water pipe, and it was the start of a flood!
In the madness of trying to stop the water, a piece of equipment fell and broke the glass in the living room window.
And you're already starting to consider whether this house is haunted, aren't you?
The truth is that our example is a compilation of claims that we have already taken care of, which is why we are so insistent that audiovisual insurance is a real necessity, as accidents of this type happen A LOT in filming.
How is coverage triggered in this case?
As with all Liability coverage, it is necessary that the third party sues you. From there, everything can be resolved amicably through an agreement between the parties, or in a more litigious way, with a sentence given by a judge.
In any case, all of this will only be covered if, first, you have taken out the Civil Liability for Buildings coverage in your policy and, also, if your GUILT in the damage caused is proven.
If these two issues are present, then the insurer will safely reimburse you at the end of the process.
What would the regulation look like?
Since you are covered under your contracted insurance, the usual fact-checking will take place. The regulator will prepare a report, with the amount of the calculated loss, and the real value of the damage. And, it will take care that you have the amount of insured amount necessary to cover all repairs to the goods.
Since our example was quite simple, there is no doubt that water damage and glass breakage are covered hazards. In this way, there will be no complications or surprises in this imaginary regulation.
Did you like to know more about these two additional coverages to Filming Liability?
Get ready because next week we are going to talk about Liability and Land Vehicles, with two covers: Civil Liability for Vehicles at Production Service and Guarded Vehicles Liability (for events).
We look forward to seeing you next week to continue our Liability Month here at #MondayBlog.
Have a great week, lovers!
Prospecto Seguros
Learn more:
Audiovisual Production
Errors and Omissions
Equipments
Drones
Life and Personal Accidents