Equipment & Resources
10/30/09 Dear Production Students (Both Undergrad & Graduate):
I am happy to inform you that the RTF Department finally has a Blanket Liability Policy that will cover academic film shoots. When Linda Cavage & I visited your class, we mentioned that the acquisition of such a policy was in the process.
If you notice a $5 charge has been posted to your What I Owe, it is the cost of General Liability Insurance for Fall 2009.
In future semesters we will post to your “What I Owe” both the General Liability Insurance and the Equipment Insurance after the 12th class day.
Let's review insurance:
We finally have General Liability Insurance:
What is it? It covers THIRD PARTY PROPERTY DAMAGE IN THE UNITED STATES and is provided in case you film off campus and property belonging to someone else is damaged due to your film shoot. There is NO deductible on this policy.
How much does it cost a production student? $5/pdn student/class/semester
What if a location or rental house requires proof we have liability coverage?
1) General Certificate of Insurance contact gholder@mail.utexas.edu for a copy of the document. You may give them a copy of this and it will cover most needs.
2) City of Austin has a separate Certificate. If you film in a City Park or other City of Austin Property (like Austin Studios), the City requires
a liability policy before they will allow you to reserve the property for your film shoot. Contact gholder@mail.utexas.edu for a copy of the document.
3) Any other location or rental house that needs to be added as an "additional loss/payee" and named on the policy needs a new Certificate. EMAIL ME IF YOU NEED A CERTIFICATE ISSUED TO ANY ENTITY OTHER THAN THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS OR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
4) Please email me with brief details about all your off-campus film projects as they come up: class/dates/where/how much money did you spend. In our first year of having a blanket policy, UT System has asked me to track the usage. This information is needed for tracking purposes: number of off campus film shoots, budget for film projects number of projects done in the course of a year
What did we do before we had this insurance?
1) I obtained this kind of insurance for individual students when it was required by a location or a rental house, the minimum cost for a week or less was $100/film shoot. Cost paid by the student.
2) Student purchased their own insurance.
3) Not everyone's film projects were covered. This makes the student (in charge of the
shoot) responsible for all damages.
I've contacted other film schools and they already have a blanket policy that covers all their production students. This is something we have needed for some time but it has been a slow process to get all the approvals we needed.
Examples:
1) You accidentally break a window. This insurance will pay to replace the window.
2) You film on City of Austin property (such as Austin Studios). The insurance meets the
City of Austin's minimum insurance requirements, making it possible for you to use their
facility.
3) You rent additional camera gear from Gear or Chapman Leonard. The insurance
meets the rental houses' minimum LIABILITY insurance requirements, making it possible for you to rent from them.
What does it NOT COVER?
1) Stunts
2) Pyrotechnics (of *any* kind)
3) Feature films
4) Vehicles
5) International travel
6) Travel *outside Texas* - You must contact me at least two weeks in advance.
What if I need to submit a claim?
1) Contact me via phone or email (471-4136 or gholder@mail.utexas.edu)
2) Provide me with a written account of what happened. Email to me is fine.
3) I will first check to verify you are indeed enrolled in a current RTF production class
before submitting a claim.
4) I will contact UT System Office of Risk Management.
5) I will contact you, the student, with any additional information required by UT System.
This will include, but is not limited to, proof of damage (like a photograph) and
value/replacement cost.
6) I will stay in contact with you, the student, and the property owner until the claim is
resolved.
We already had Equipment Replacement Insurance:
What is it? It covers RTF EQUIPMENT ONLY and is provided in case equipment is lost, damaged, or stolen.
How much does it cost a production student? 25.50/student/pdn class/semester covers the RTF Owned Equipment that you check out. This was posted to your What I Owe after 12th class day.
Deductible: $2,500 PER INCIDENT-- this is what YOU owe if you have a loss, theft, or damage covered by the policy.
Example:
1) Stolen camera valued at $6000: you pay $2500 I file a claim with insurance for $3500.
2) Stolen tripod valued at $1000: you pay $1000 as it's under the deductible.
3) Stolen camera AND tripod, stolen at the same time: $6000 + $1000 = $7000:
you pay $2500 and I file claim with insurance for $4500.
4) Oops - something wasn't covered under insurance; you pay the entire amount.
What if you rent equipment that must be insured for replacement value? Contact me via email. This occurs more with graduate students and any cost for non-RTF-owned equipment is passed on to the student.
We already had Student Accident Insurance:
What is it? It covers some medical bills for RTF Students injured on a student film shoot.
How much does it cost a production student? RTF Department covers this at no cost to the student.
Example: RTF STUDENT Crew member accidentally broke a leg while working on a student film. You must contact me ASAP to complete paperwork & provide documentation that I will forward to the insurance company. This helps cover medical bills you paid out of pocket
How do you submit a claim? Contact me via phone or email within 48 hours of the injury.
NOTE: The injured person must be an RTF student.
Feel free to contact me if have questions about any of our insurance policies, your What I Owe charges for insurance, or if you need a specific Certificate of Insurance issued to a location or rental house.
Best Wishes on All Your Academic Film Projects,
Gloria Holder
Departmental Accountant: Radio-Television-Film
Production Accountant: U.T. Film Institute
University Staff Council Representative: District 171
University of Texas at Austin
CMA 6.118; One University Station A0800
Austin, TX 78712
512-471-4136, 512-471-4077 (fax)
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