You are the company, the employee and the person on set.

Workers compensation

Required in almost every state the moment you have employees. Priced on payroll and class code, which is why the class code is worth arguing about.

Without it — A loan-out employs you, so the production asks the loan-out for the certificate — and in most states a corporation with an employee cannot simply opt out.

General liability

Third-party bodily injury and property damage — the line nearly every contract names by default.

Without it — Productions and venues require it of anyone invoicing them, whatever the size of the entity.

Professional liability

Covers the advice, the drawing, the diagnosis — the work itself, rather than someone getting hurt on your premises.

Without it — Directing, writing, producing and consulting are professional services, and the claim is financial rather than physical.

Inland marine & equipment

Tools, equipment and property in transit. It picks up exactly where commercial property stops, which is the moment the item leaves the building.

Without it — Your own kit — camera, tools, instruments, computers — travels to every engagement and is not covered by the production’s policy.

Commercial auto

Vehicles the business owns and the people who drive them for work.

Without it — Driving to and between engagements on business is not what a personal auto policy was rated for.

Umbrella & excess liability

Extra limit stacked above general liability, auto and employers liability. Usually the cheapest million dollars on the policy.

Without it — Larger productions specify limits above primary in the deal memo before they will engage the entity.

Cyber & tech E&O

Breach response, ransomware and the notification costs that follow. Technology errors and omissions sits on the same policy and covers the software or service itself failing a client, which is the half most tech companies find out about too late.

Without it — Scripts, unreleased material and client data sit on your machines, and a leak is a career problem as much as a claim.

Key person & buy-sell funding

If an owner or an irreplaceable employee dies, this is the money that keeps the business running and funds the buy-sell agreement so the surviving owners can buy out the estate instead of ending up in business with it.

Without it — The company has exactly one asset who can perform the contract, which is the definition of the exposure.

Do I really need workers compensation for a company that is just me?

Usually yes, and it is the reason most people end up here. A loan-out is a corporation that employs you, so the rule that lets a sole proprietor skip cover generally does not apply — and independent of the statute, productions will not put you on the call sheet without a certificate. Some states allow an officer exclusion and some do not, and where one is allowed a production may still refuse to accept it. Sort it before the deal rather than during the week you are meant to start.

Does the production’s insurance not cover me?

It covers the production, not your company. If you are engaged through a loan-out you are not their employee — that is the entire point of the structure, and it is why they ask your entity for its own certificate. The arrangement that saves you tax is the same arrangement that moves the insurance obligation onto you.

What limits will I be asked for?

Commonly a million in general liability and statutory workers compensation, with the production named as additional insured, and larger shows asking for an umbrella on top. Above-the-line engagements and anything with a network or studio behind it tend to specify more. The deal memo says; it is worth reading the insurance clause before signing rather than after.

I work in several states. Does that complicate it?

It does, and workers compensation is the part that bites. Cover is state-specific, and a policy written for one state may give you nothing in another — which matters for a loan-out precisely because the work travels. Tell us the states you actually engage in, including the occasional ones, so the policy is endorsed for them rather than discovered to be silent.