Curtains up

recovery

HIGHLIGHTS Alberta Catastrophes p. 36

ENTERTAINMENT CLAIMS No business like show business

For claims adjusters in the entertainment field, the pandemic hit TV and film producers like a catastrophic event. Here’s what it took for adjusters to survive the deluge…

Sometime during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Canadian TV production made a call to their insurance adjuster with an unusual claim — they didn’t know what to do with their live animals.

They had bred the animals specifically for their TV production, which had now been disrupted because of a government lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“That production was forced to shut down because of COVID and they were stuck with animals and unable to return them to their original breeder,” according to Frederick Amirizian, a Crawford & Company (Canada) insurance adjuster and film and entertainment subject matter expert. “They had to feed them, [and] keep someone on location to make sure they were okay.”

Once COVID lockdowns were lifted, the filming crew worked as quickly as possible to make sure that they could continue to use the animals, which incurred major and unexpected costs. Time was of the essence, as Amirizian recounts: “The production needed cubs, but obviously the animals [didn’t] stop growing [during the lockdown].”

In the Canadian entertainment industry, time is money.

According to the Canadian Media Producers Association, as cited in Crawford & Company (Canada)’s recent white paper, Entertainment Contingency Claims, the Canadian film and television production generated nearly $9 billion in production volume and approximately 179,000 jobs.

Film and television production is a round-the-clock, deadline-driven business. It is tied heavily to rental and equipment costs, labour costs, special effects work, and marketing. Any production delays, often the result of actors falling ill or faulty equipment, typically drive insured losses in show biz. And those entertainment losses can be on an epic scale.

And so, when COVID-19 shutdown orders literally became show-stoppers, insurance adjusters were inundated with entertainment industry claims. Amirizian says he received the same number of claims in one month as he typically saw in an entire year. For entertainment adjusters, it was the equivalent of adjusting a catastrophic event.

BY DAVID GAMBRILL, Editor-in-Chief

“When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it brought on a simultaneous wave of claims because all production was halted at once,” the white paper states. “And even though the production halted for the same reason, all pandemic-related claims were different or atypical. Uncertainty around restarting or relocating production loomed, and there were limited mitigation measures.”

Even when provincial governments lifted some of their most severe lockdown restrictions, production crews still had issues to figure out. Yes, the projects had been restarted, but they still had novel claims related to accessing existing set locations, recreating sets elsewhere, and ongoing social distancing requirements.

“Some productions have resumed, but it’s hard to shoot action, comedy, or romance scenes [while] keeping appropriate distancing,” says Crawford’s executive general adjuster John Sharoun, who joined Marcel Lacoste, a pioneer in entertainment claims, in mentoring Amirizian. “Scenes have to be reviewed and the logistics of production rethought…And the question of how coverage may apply arises because these are unusual scenarios.”

The entertainment adjuster It takes a special skill set and personality to adjust entertainment claims.

“You have to be responsive whatever time it is,” observes Amirizian, who compares his job to delivering a baby, since he has to be available to policyholders day and night. “I have been called in the middle of the night because an actress was sick and (production) didn’t know what to do. No one can wait. In this industry, every second has a big impact on production so you always have to be available.”

Adjusters working in this line of business also develop a very technical knowledge base. They handle complex claims involving tight television and film production schedules, dangerous stunts, filming with live animals and highly specialized equipment — to name a few. All the while, they have expert knowledge of relevant insurance policies, each of which is tailored to the policyholder’s unique risk.

Entertainment adjusters must also build a high level of trust and credibility with clients and other stakeholders. They deal with a lot of different people in resolving a claim, so good communication skills are a must.

“You have to be a good fundamental adjuster to begin with and have traits to manage multiple stakeholders and communicate effectively,” Sharoun says.

One advantage of working in the entertainment industry, Sharoun added, is that people involved in the creative process are typically flexible and very used to last-minute changes, whether or not the unforeseen mishap is insured. As a result, the production crew is wellversed in reviewing alternative scenarios and financial impacts with the adjuster to determine possible loss costs.