Insurance advice

D

Doron

Hello All,

I am in a bit of a problem and looking for some answers. I am an MFA student at a public university in Illinois and in two weeks I will start filming my Thesis film.

Recently I learned that the school does not offer any insurance at all and it is up to me to buy insurance for the equipment I get from them, liability insurance and workers compensation. Since all of my crew and cast volunteered to work on this project I can not purchase workers compensation, since according to the rules of the state of Illiinois volunteers are not entitled to workers compensation.

My question is, is there any kind of insuarce I can purchase to make sure that I am covered if something happens during the filming?

Also, I will be paying for their room and meals. If that is the case, are they still considered volunteers? What is the minimum wage I need to pay so I can purchase worker's compensation?

Thanks
 
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Yes, you can purchase liability insurance, but you should talk to an insurance agent who specializes in film. You should also get an entertainment lawyer to advise you.

What're you doing about bookkeeping?
 
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Thanks Mogul, and I plan to purchase liability insurance, but I wanted to know if there is insurance I can purchase to cover the cast and crew even if they are volunteers
 
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Doron said:
What is the minimum wage I need to pay so I can purchase worker's compensation?
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The minimum wage in Illinois is $8.25 per hour. In general worker's
comp insurance is not required for short term movie production where
no one is being "hired" or paid. When everyone is being paid the
producer (employer) will use a payroll company that will handle
everything - taxes, deductions, insurance. You can look into that option.

You are not the first MFA student at your university to make a Thesis
film. I'm sure you have asked other MFA students what they did and
where they got worker's comp insurance. What did they tell you? Have
you asked the head of the MFA department?
 
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