Can my US insurer just raise the limit?

Sometimes, and the limit is rarely the hard part. The three things that actually cause a rejection are the deductible cap, the cross liability clause and the territorial extension — a US policy that has been endorsed to $5,000,000 but still carries a $25,000 retention and no cross liability still fails Vancouver. Send the permit requirement to your broker in full rather than only the number, because the number is the easiest condition on the page.

Do we need a Canadian insurer?

Not always, and increasingly the practical answer is that it is simpler. Some authorities and venues will accept a US policy properly endorsed with the territorial extension and the required wording; others expect locally admitted paper, and a Canadian co-production or a provincial tax credit application may effectively decide it for you. It is worth settling before the location agreement is signed.

What about crew we bring with us?

They still need provincial workers compensation coverage for the work performed in the province, and the production usually needs a clearance from the provincial board. Bringing crew across also raises work permits and, on the insurance side, whether your employers liability responds outside the US at all. None of it is difficult and all of it has a lead time.

Is Toronto or Montreal the same as Vancouver?

The structure is the same and the numbers are not. Each municipality sets its own limit and its own list of named parties, and the provincial workers compensation board differs — WorkSafeBC, WSIB and CNESST are three separate systems with three separate registrations. Treat every Canadian city as its own requirement rather than assuming the Vancouver certificate travels, in the same way City and County of Los Angeles are not interchangeable.

Does my US production or tour policy work in Canada?

Usually not as it stands. Vancouver requires $5,000,000 of commercial general liability for a filming permit where Los Angeles requires $1,000,000, names five separate public bodies as additional insured, caps the deductible at $5,000 and requires a cross liability clause — a combination a standard US policy rarely satisfies without endorsement. Workers compensation is provincial and does not travel at all.

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The detail

The City of Vancouver requires a minimum of $5,000,000 commercial general liability, inclusive per occurrence, for filming permits, with a maximum deductible of $5,000 per occurrence and a cross liability clause.
City of Vancouver — Insurance requirements for filming, events and facility use
Vancouver requires an additional insured endorsement naming the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, the Vancouver Police Board, the Vancouver Public Library Board and the Vancouver Art Gallery, together with their employees, officers, agents and volunteers.
City of Vancouver — Insurance requirements for filming, events and facility use
Productions using drones in Vancouver are required to carry aviation liability insurance in addition to the general liability required for filming.
City of Vancouver — Insurance requirements for filming, events and facility use

What this means for you

THE LIMIT IS FIVE TIMES LOS ANGELES. Vancouver asks $5,000,000 where the City of Los Angeles asks $1,000,000 for the same filming activity. A production arriving on its domestic policy is not slightly short, it is short by a factor of five, and it finds out at the permit desk rather than in prep.
FIVE ADDITIONAL INSUREDS, NOT ONE. The City, the Parks Board, the Police Board, the Public Library Board and the Art Gallery, each with their employees, officers, agents and volunteers. That is an endorsement your insurer has to issue, not wording typed onto a certificate.
THE DEDUCTIBLE IS CAPPED. A maximum of $5,000 per occurrence, which quietly disqualifies policies carrying a larger retention — including plenty of perfectly good US production packages bought with a higher deductible to reduce premium.
A CROSS LIABILITY CLAUSE IS REQUIRED. This is a Canadian convention and a common gap on US paper: it treats each insured as though separately insured, so one additional insured can claim against another. Ask your insurer for it specifically rather than assuming the policy has it.
WORKERS COMPENSATION DOES NOT CROSS THE BORDER. It is provincial — WorkSafeBC in British Columbia, WSIB in Ontario, CNESST in Quebec — and a US policy gives you nothing. Anyone working in the province has to be covered under the provincial scheme, and clearance is checked.
TOURS HIT THE SAME WALL. A US touring policy frequently stops at the border by territorial limit, and Canadian venues ask for Canadian-standard wording. Equipment crossing on a carnet has its own conditions. Confirm the routing early, because retrofitting a policy mid-tour is slower than arranging it up front.

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We do the filings, and we place the accounts other brokers decline — lapsed authority, claims history, new ventures. Tell us the situation and a licensed human replies the same business day.