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Master Insurance Enrollment Procedures for Columbia University’s School of the Arts Film Division
The Risk Management Department administers the master insurance program providing graduate students in the Film Division at Columbia University’s School of the Arts requisite coverage for locations, equipment rentals, and Workers Compensation coverage for matters related to their production. To qualify, students must be currently enrolled in the School of Arts and their proposed film production must be an approved film project (e.g. applies to their graduate degree).
All insurance requests must be received by the Office of Risk Management a minimum of two weeks (10 business days) in advance of the date the certificates of needed. There are no "rush requests." Insurance request forms are available online at the Finance Gateway Forms Library. Completed request forms should be emailed to the Office of Risk Management at RiskMangementRequest@columbia.edu or faxed to (212) 854-9709. (Do not send requests to multiple email addresses.) NO HANDWRITTEN FORMS WILL BE ACCEPTED. All forms must be typed--there are no exceptions.
When forms are completed and submitted, the director and producer will be contacted within 2-3 business days to confirm receipt. In the days after confirmation of receipt, students will be receive certificates of insurance as printable PDF files directly from the SOA Film Division's insurance broker. It is the student's responsibility to contact Risk Management and remit payment as necessary for his/her project. A letter from the Risk Management Department is necessary for any students applying for a permit from the Mayor’s Office of Film (http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/index/index.shtml); this will be emailed to students based on information provided in their location request form(s). No certificates or letters are available from the Risk Management offices--all certificates are emailed.
Not all film projects require an appointment with Risk Management; however, all international productions must make an appointment with Risk Management. If you are shooting internationally, you must set an appointment at least 4 weeks in advance of the first day of production. Appointments can be scheduled by emailing Jessi Rose Cuthbert-Payne at jrc2110@columbia.edu.
A Note about Risk
Film School students sponsoring or arranging a production are responsible for the legal and financial obligations that accompany a filming. The city, hired talent, and equipment rental shops will be seeking proof of financial capabilities before permitting the production or making available their professional services. The University provides access, on an optional basis, to a package of insurances that satisfy the basic financial responsibility requirements. We strongly encourage all film school students to avail themselves of these services when arranging a project.
Organization of information to follow:
- Cost of Insurance
- Location Insurance
- Equipment Rental Insurance
- Workers Compensation
- Motor Vehicle Insurance / Auto Liability Coverage
- Reporting an Accident / Filing a Claim
- Links to Insurance Request Forms
- Filing Insurance Request Forms (troubleshooting)
- Exclusions
Cost of Insurance
- Thesis $175
- Non-thesis & Directing IV $100
- 8-12s $25
- Exercises $25
- Workers Compensation $8 per person (non-students)
The Office of Risk Management accepts MasterCard and Visa only (no checks or cash). Students will incur a $35 penalty fee and the immediate cancellation of requested coverage
if payment is denied for any reason, including insufficient funds.
It is the student's responsibility to contact Risk Management to make payment. Interest and penalties may accrue if payment is not paid in timely fashion; moreover, your ability to secure future insurance will be jeopardized. Please make sure you pay for your production 1-2 business days before shooting begins (usually after final Workers Compensation has been submitted).
Location Insurance
General Liability insurance provides $1 million of coverage for locations (not owned by Columbia University) used by students for their film production. General Liability insurance covers accidental bodily injury and property damages caused to a third party. Students must fill out a separate Request for Location form for each individual location.
There is no general liability coverage for certain locations. The primary residences and properties of the film's director, producer(s), cast, and crew (whether volunteering or paid) are not insurable. These locations should still be reported to Risk Management if you are renting equipment. In cases where Risk Management does not extend coverage, the occupant's renter's insurance or homeowner's insurance will be the primary coverage.
General Liability insurance offered by the Risk Management does not cover liability arising from animals, fires, pyrotechnics, stunts, motorized vehicle, knives, guns, or weapons. It is the responsibility of the Producer(s)/Director to ensure that all necessary coverage is in place to safeguard the production. The Risk Management Department reviews the risk potential associated with each student film production and reserves the right to deny general liability coverage if such exposure exceeds the established underwriting limitations.
Equipment Rental Insurance
Property insurance covers damage or loss to equipment that is rented or borrowed from a Rental House (business) or Third Party (individual). A student must fill out a separate request for each entity (Rental Houses and Third Parties) s/he is renting equipment from. Property insurance issued by Risk Management will not cover personal property of the Director and/or Producer. The property insurance issued by Risk Management will not cover equipment that is being operated by its owner, nor will equipment insurance be extended to third parties who will have access to their own equipment during production (i.e. be on the set).
Below are categories of property that are NOT COVERED:
- No prop guns or firing weapons
- No bows & arrows, blades, knifes or other weapons
- No pyrotechnics, stunts or fight scenes
- No motorized vehicles (cars, trucks, vans, trailers, motorcycles, mopeds, etc)
- No boats or aircraft
- No owner-operated equipment
- No animals
If your production involves one or more of these elements, you may schedule an appointment with Risk Management to discuss. In certain instances, these restrictions can be waived.
It is important to note that Risk Management only offers Property Damage insurance for rented equipment. General Liability insurance will not be extended to equipment rental houses under any circumstances. Risk Management recommends not working with rental houses that require insurance naming the rental house as an additional insured on a liability policy. If you do work with such a rental house, you must purchase liability insurance privately--it will not be provided by the University under any circumstances.
Workers Compensation
The Risk Management Department provides Workers Compensation for students with hired or volunteer cast or crew; the charge is $8 per person. If a combination of students and non-students are working on the film, both should be reported; however, there is no charge to insure students. Columbia requires students to carry comprehensive medical insurance as a condition of enrollment. This private health insurance would cover all expenses in the event of an accident or injury. (Example: your production has ten actors and three crew who are non-students and two crew who are students; you will pay $8 x 13 = $104 for Workers Compensation.
Students must complete the enrollment application available online in the Finance Division Forms Library and file the form with the Risk Management Department no later than one business day before film production begins. You do not need to report a student's SSN. Otherwise, all fields must be filled in.
Motor Vehicle Insurance / Auto Liability Coverage
The Risk Management Department can provide motor vehicle medical liability insurance to student film productions. This insurance will only cover bodily injury--it will not cover physical damage to the rented vehicle or third party property. Coverage is extended only to vehicles whose rental is necessitated by the student's production. It will not cover motor vehicles operated on the set (as part of the action) or to the personal vehicle of any cast, crew, or production team.
Students are required to have comprehensive insurance--including physical damage and third party property damage--on all vehicles involved in a production, including personal vehicles and rented vehicles. No additional motor vehicle insurance can be obtained through Risk Management. If you are securing coverage specifically for a film production that is part of your degree program, Columbia University must be listed as an additional insured on the policy.
Reporting an Accident / Filing a Claim
Any accident or injury that occurs during a student film production must immediately be reported to Columbia University Human Resources. You must call and email Shawn Kinkaid at (212) 851-0645 and sk2398@columbia.edu.
All accidents or losses (property damage) that occur during a student film production must be reported to the Risk Management immediately at RiskManagement@columbia.edu and jrc2110@columbia.edu. You may also call Jessi Rose Cuthbert-Payne at (212) 854-1063 for advice on how to proceed in the immediate aftermath of a loss or potential loss.
Students that elected to participate in the master insurance program will be given instructions on proper loss documentation, administration processes, and associated reimbursement parameters. Property damage claims from rental houses have a $1,500 deductible ($3,000 for equipment valued at greater than $250,000). There is a $1,500 deductible for allowable locations covered by liability insurance. There is no deductible or loss sharing associated with the accident/medical expense reimbursement aspects of the insurance program.
Links to Insurance Request Forms
http://finance.columbia.edu/forms/index.html#risk_management
Filing Insurance Request Forms
Please note that this electronically based system is still being tested and refined. Do not save form templates to your computer—you should always use the latest version that is published in the Forms Library. No handwritten forms will be accepted under any circumstances. Because these forms are somewhat sophisticated Adobe documents, you must use the latest version of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader. All forms are PC and MAC compatible. If you cannot type into the document or cannot use the pull-down menus (there are pull-downs on every form) , consider the following troubleshooting ideas:
- Old / Outdated version of Adobe
--> Solution: free download of current software at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2_allversions.html - Mozilla-Firefox, Safari, or other “new” web browser
--> Solution: free download of Adobe .pdf patch at website homepage:
For example - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browse/type:7, https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/recommended, http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/internet_utilities/adobereader.html, etc. - Submit by Email button on forms
--> Solution: to “submit by email” your email program must automatically open a new message pre-addressed to RiskManagementRequest@columbia.edu with an .xml attachment that contains the data you entered into the form. If your email program does not produce a pre-addressed message with attachment when you click the “submit by email” button, then you must submit a hard copy (either print --> scan --> email, or print --> fax). The "submit by email" function will not work with cubmail, gmail, hotmail, etc.; it will work with Outlook and LotusNotes. - Electronic data not received
--> Solution: always print hardcopy of each request so that you can fax to Risk Mgmt if necessary. - Other technical issues in sending request
--> Solution: file request from a campus computer, which has the appropriate software and capabilities.
Only non-Columbia students are covered, but students and non-students must be reported. Columbia University students and employees are not covered by their own personal health care insurance, which would pay for any incurred medical costs. SAG actors and other union members in your production must be enrolled! All cast, crew and volunteers are eligible for Workers Compensation. If there is a minor involved in the production, it is advisable to insure the minor and the minor's parent, chaperone, or guardian.
You must complete all the fields for each individual you enroll, including the pull-down menus. If you would like to enroll a person with no social security number or tax ID number, you must provide Risk Mgmt a copy of the individual's passport or another comparable document.
The form will not allow you to enter zeros at the beginning of a number sequence. If you are entering a SSN sequence that begins with zero, enter the digits that you can and leave the other boxes blank. Next to the person's name, include the four digit sequence in parentheses. For example, you would type "Jessi Rose (0123)" in the name field and "123" in the SSN field (boxes). The same would go for SSNs that begin with two zeros.
There is no insurance comparable to Workers Compensation available for students who shoot internationally; only productions in the United States, Puerto Rico, or U.S. territories are eligible.
Columbia University reserves the right to deny reimbursement if injuries are deemed to have resulted from careless or negligent actions on the part of the student. Risk Mgmt must be notified IMMEDIATELY if there is an injury on your set.
Be very specific when you site the address of the location you are requesting to insure. Details like the city and zip code are very important, and requests may not be processed without complete and correct information.
On the Filming Location Insurance Request form, the "Location Name" is not a descriptive field to explain the setting. For example, you should not label Location #1 "Hero's home." The location name must be a proper title. In the previous example, the proper title would most often be the home/apartment owner's name, such as: " Henry Hardenbergh " at "1 W. 72nd Street, Apt 3D" in "New York, NY 10023" or "Schultze Weaver" at "301 Park Avenue" in "New York, NY 10022." It is acceptable for the location name and location contact to be the same. If you are filming on private property, the proper title would be the business' name or the property owner's name. For example, onsite contact "Carols Aguila" at "(212) 870-0290" for location "Karrot Inc." at "304 W. 117th Street" in "New York, NY 10026."
If you are shooting on a public street and require a letter for the Mayor's Office, please list the location using a specific format, as below. Contact information should be for the local authority; in many cases this is the police department, parks authority, or another security service. We ask for this information because it demonstrates that you know exactly who to call if there is an event during your shoot at that particular location.
Location #1 name: W. 116th Street Name of onsite contact: NYPD Precinct 26
Location is: City owned (covered) Contact/Location phone: (212) 678-1311
Location address: Btwn Riverside Dr. & Morningside Dr.
City, ST Zip: New York, NY 10025 Scenes will be shot: Exterior
All locations much be reported to Risk Management. If you are shooting the majority of your project at two different city-owned locations and shooting one scene on campus, all three must be included on your Filming Location Insurance Request form. If a location is not properly reported to Risk Management, you may be denied coverage and become personally liable for any claims arising from activities at that location--including equipment and accident/medical claims. "Not properly reported to Risk Management" includes--but is not limited to--not reporting a location at all, not reporting a location within a reasonable time period (as determined by Risk Management), misrepresenting a location, misclassification of a location (i.e. reporting the director's home as insurable), and not having the proper authority to conduct activities at that location (i.e. no signed location agreement, no shooting permit, etc.). Again, all locations for student productions must be reported to Risk Management in order to be in compliance with the insurance policies.
If you are shooting at a location that requests a certificate of insurance be supplied to an address that is not the location you are shooting at, please email Risk Management at the time you send in the request and give the details. For instance, you wish to shoot at the Nasdaq offices in Trumbull, Connecticut, and the building manager requests the certificate of insurance be addressed to the Risk Management Department at their New York City headquarters. You can either fill in the headquarters information on the location form and send an email to Risk Management explaining that you will actually be filming in Trumbull etc., or you can fill in the Trumbull address and onsite contact details on the request form and email Risk Management asking that the COI be addressed to corporate headquarters at such and such address. You could also fill in both addresses on a location request form and send an email to Risk Management that location "x" is the corporate headquarters of location "y," location "y" has requested a COI be addressed to location "x."
There are other instances of locations that do not conform to the request form. If your location does not seem to "fit" the form, please fill in some information and email Risk Management with the specifics. It is important that these notes be sent via email so there is a "paper trail," so to speak. Risk Management will email you to confirm receipt of the special instructions and/or for more information to clarify your special instructions. If you do not have an email from Risk Management within two business days of your special request, please re-send and call to confirm receipt.
No equipment will be insured without proper documentation. To request insurance for rented equipment, you must submit a request form and provide an itemized list of what you will be renting and what it would cost to replace those items. Back-up documentation should be emailed to RiskManagementRequest@columbia.edu or faxed to Risk Management at (212) 854-9709.
If you are renting equipment from an established business (a "rental house"), you should ask for replacement value documentation at the same time you ask for a rental cost quote. The rental cost quote tells you what you what equipment you will be renting (name & model number), the quantity of equipment, and the grand total cost of replacing all equipment. Risk Mgmt must receive the rental house's itemized rental sheet with total replacement value on company letterhead before equipment insurance requests will be processed.
If you are renting or borrowing equipment from a private party or an individual (such as fellow film student), there is a slightly different procedure. First, Columbia University will not insure owner-operated equipment. This means that if Jane will be filming on your set using her own camera, it is not insurable. If Joe is filming on your set using Mara's camera, it may be insurable. As long as Mara will not have any contact with the equipment during the term of the rental (i.e. not on involved in filming, not on set, etc.), her camera may be insured. If Jose is filming on your set using Mara's camera and returning it to Mara each evening over a three day shoot, her equipment is not insurable. If Jose is filming on your set using Mara's camera and does not return it to Mara until the shoot is over, it may be insured.
To insure an appropriate rental from a private party, the owner of the equipment must provide a replacement value sheet that includes her/his name, address, and phone number; the name & model number of the equipment you will be renting, quantity of equipment, serial numbers for each piece of equipment, the price to replace each piece of equipment, and the grand total cost of replacing all equipment. This document should also include, the director and/or producer's names, the film production title, and the dates of rental. In order to insure a private party's equipment, you must also provide Risk Management with photos of the equipment you are renting from this individual. These photos document the condition of the equipment when you take possession and are a safeguard against fraudulent claims of damage while the property is in your hands. (Stock photos of equipment will not be accepted--photos must be of exact equipment to be rented/borrowed.)
Exclusions
Film students who are not currently enrolled and in good standing at Columbia University's School of the Arts are not eligible to participate in Columbia University's insurance program; this includes students on leaves of absence. In these cases, students must secure private insurance for all their endeavors. Film students who form limited partnerships or incorporate their filming activities are also barred from participating in Columbia University's insurance program. Equipment rentals and location agreements must bear the student's name and be declared as student productions. Location agreements and equipment rentals under the name of a production company will not be covered by Columbia University's insurance--even if the only employee of the production company is a Columbia University student.
Film students who produce film projects to be counted towards their degree without Columbia University's insurance must secure insurance privately. This insurance policy must include the following text:
"Columbia University in the City of New York and its agents are
included as additional insured as their interests may appear."
Without such indemnity for the University, students may be denied future insurance coverage from Columbia University, may be denied credit for the project in question, and face the possibility of more serious academic consequences. If you have questions about this policy, please contact Risk Management to discuss
