Once a policy is purchased, policy changes can be made HERE. These changes will be sent to our help desk and processed manually and will then be reflected on your renewal. Please note, a $25 fee will apply to changes that result in additional premium owing.
Frequently Asked Questions
*Coverage Territory: Limited Worldwide - Property coverage applies anywhere in the world with the exception of any country or jurisdiction which is subject to trade or other economic sanction or embargo by the governments of Canada, the United Kingdom or the United States of America. Commercial General Liability (excluding Non-Owned Automobile Liability, which are Canada/ USA only), applies anywhere in the world with the exception of any country or jurisdiction which is subject to trade or economic sanction or embargo by the governments of Canada, the United Kingdom or the Unites States of America. In jurisdictions where the insurer may be prevented by law from paying damages or defending lawsuits they will indemnify you.
Full coverage for Earthquake & Flood up to policy limits on owned equipment.
$5,000 Office Contents Coverage - office furniture, fixtures, photocopiers, office supplies, including tenant improvements done to the office space. This would be for a home office/studio or small rented office/studio space. Earthquake and Flood are excluded for office contents. Please contact us if higher limits are needed.
$10,000 Rental Reimbursement - If any Equipment that is insured is lost or damaged by a covered cause of loss, the insurer will reimburse you for the reasonable rental expense you incur to rent substitute property necessary to continue your operations while the insured gear is being repaired or in the process of being replaced.
$5,000. Money & Securities- Coverage for loss of money and securities from within the insured's premises or from the insured's bank or safe depositer
$10,000 Extra Expense Coverage - covers the additional expenses incurred due to a covered loss
An example of this coverage would be: a rented office was damaged in a fire. This would cover the cost to rent a temporary location.
The deductibles are as follows if coverage purchased. A deductible is the amount paid by you if there is an insured claim. Deductible is per claim NOT per item.
Owned Mobile Equipment - $1,000
Owned Fixed Equipment - $1,000
Rented Equipment - $1,000
Lessors' Contingency Coverage - $1,000
Commercial General Liability - $1,000
Tenant's Legal Liability - $500
Once you have purchased coverage, you will have access to Front Row Backstage, our self-service online portal. From Backstage, you can issue certificates to the following parties that are asking to be added as loss payee and/or additional insured:
Equipment rental companies, but only with respect to the maintenance, operation or use of the equipment by the Named Insured.
Note: the coverage under this policy does not extend to filming operations and certificates cannot be issued to filming locations as coverage will not apply.
The owned mobile equipment and rented equipment coverage is included while in your studio/office/home for storage, while in transit to and from your shoots, and while being used away from your premises anywhere subject to the limited worldwide coverage territory*.
The owned fixed equipment and office contents coverage is limited to the declared location address on the policy. Earthquake and Flood coverage does not extend to office contents.
Note that there is no coverage for property while rented, leased or loaned to others.
Locked Vehicle Warranty: This clause does not apply to property which is under the control of a common carrier. Warranted by the Insured that any vehicle in which the property insured is carried is equipped with a fully enclosed metal body or compartment, and the Insurer shall be liable in case of loss by theft from an unattended vehicle only as a direct result of forcible entry (of which there shall be visible evidence) into such body or compartment the doors and windows of which shall have been securely locked.
*Coverage Territory: Equipment is insured anywhere in the world, with the exception of any country or jurisdiction which is subject to trade or other economic sanction or embargo by the government of Canada, the United Kingdom or the United States of America.
The Named Insured has special rights and duties. These rights and duties are explained in the policy wording. The Named Insured should be the owner of the property to be insured, and liability coverage (if purchased) would only apply to the insured operations of the Named Insured. If you are unsure how to complete this section, please contact our office BEFORE purchasing coverage.
Individual
If you are applying as an individual, please list your full legal name in the Named Insured box. ie Jane Susan Doe
Partnership or Joint Venture
If you are applying as a Partnership or Joint Venture, please list you and your partners or co-venturers’ full legal names. Ie Jane Susan Doe and John James Smith
Trade Name/Unincorporated Company
If you are applying as a company that is not incorporated, please list your full legal name and your unincorporated company name by including the acronym dba (doing business as). An example of how to correctly list your name in this scenario is below:
Jane Susan Doe dba ABC Music Company
Corporation
If you are applying as a Corporation, please list the full legal name of your corporation including the company’s designation (Inc. Ltd, Corp. etc) ie ABC Music Company Inc.
This online program is currently only available for Canadian residents and Canadian registered Companies. If you're in the US, you can get a quote for owned gear and rented gear here.
Coverage under the DigiGear program provides coverage for filming equipment. The online photography program provides coverage for still photography with a minimal amount of filming. If you are a still photographer who also shoots video on non-DSLR equipment, please contact us to discuss.
This policy contains an 80% Coinsurance clause.
This is a clause in an insurance policy requiring an insured to carry a certain percentage (usually 80, 90 or 100%) of insurance in relation to the value of the property insured. The insured shares in losses to the extent that he is underinsured at the time of loss. Under the terms of this clause, property must be insured in an amount equal to or exceeding 80% of its insurable value. Failure to do so will result in a penalty in the event of a loss.
The manner in which the 80% co-insurance clause would operate is illustrated in the following hypothetical example
Example:
A) Owned Mobile Equipment is insured on a replacement cost basis for $60,000
B) Actual cost to replace the Owned Mobile Equipment is $100,000.
If your total equipment has an actual replacement cost valued of $100,000 but is only insured for an amount of $60,000, you would be subject to an underreporting penalty in the event of a claim since its insured value is less than 80% of its replacement value.
Minimum amount of insurance required to satisfy the 80% co-insurance clause is $80,000. (80% of B)
D) the amount of loss is $50,000
Application of co-insurance clause formula:
Amount of insurance carried (times) Amount of loss (divided by) Amount of insured required = Recovery
(A) 60,000. X (D) $50,000 / (C) $80,000 = $37,500
This example clearly illustrates the necessity of insurance to value as the insured would only receive $37,500 of the $50,000 loss from the insurance company. Note the amount of recovery never exceeds the amount of insurance carried. For this reason it is important to insure for 100% of the insurable value in order to have enough coverage in the event of a total loss
This coverage is designed to protect the Named Insured against all sums that they shall become legally obligated to pay as compensatory damages resulting from an insured claim for bodily injury, property damage or personal injury to third parties arising out of the operations as a professional equipment operator. It includes the cost of a lawyer to defend you.
This policy excludes liability arising out of the use of motor vehicles, aircraft (including UAV and drones) or watercraft.
Commercial General Liability also includes coverage for Tenants Legal Liability (coverage for your professionally used rented premises) and Employers Liability (Canadian employees only) equal to the Commercial General Liability limits chosen. The Commercial General Liability / Tenants Legal Liability coverages would not apply to personal residence or any activities outside of those of professional equipment operator.
This policy is subject to the Field of Entertainment endorsement.
We do not have monthly payment options for our online policies.
If you choose to purchase your policy on the same day you want the policy to go into effect, the policy begins at the time your confirmation email is received with the policy documents.
If you purchase a policy for a future date, the policy will begin at 12:01am on the date chosen.
Please note that the policy cannot be backdated.
All owned equipment is insured on a replacement cost basis. Rented Equipment is insured based on your legal liability, to a maximum of its replacement cost. Scope of coverage is on a broad form basis (including flood and earthquake) and perils insured include (but are not limited to) fire, theft, and accidental damage/breakage. Specimen wording available for review prior to purchase.
We do not require a schedule of equipment to be on file to bind coverage under the program. It would be the insured's responsibility to maintain proof of ownership for your records. In the event of a claim, the claims adjuster would require the proof of ownership.
How to choose between a DICE Insurance Policy and a DigiGear Policy? This blog post explains it:
DICE: How to choose between a DICE Insurance Policy and a DigiGear Policy?
Lessor’s Contingent Coverage is coverage for equipment owned by you while such equipment is rented or leased to others, provided all of the following conditions are met:
• The owned equipment is covered by your policy
• The equipment is lost or damaged by a covered cause of loss; and
• Lessee signs a standard rental or lease agreement that requires that the lessee to place and maintain insurance coverage on the leased or rented equipment in their care, custody or control for its full replacment value; and
• The lessee fails to place or maintain insurance coverage on the equipment as required by the rental or lease agreement; or
• The insurance coverage placed by the lessee on the equipment is for less than the minimum amount(s) stated in the rental or lease agreement.
Without this coverage, there is no coverage for any equipment while rented, loaned or leased to others. Note: lessor’s contingent coverage would not insure property that is stolen by the lessee.
The following types of operations can be covered under this policy:
Camera Operator (including Steadicam)
Camera Assistant
Director of Photography/Cinematographer
Sound Recordist
Videographer
Digital Imaging Technician
Grip
Data Wrangler
If your operations don’t exclusively fall under the above list, please contact our office. Any operations not listed above will not be covered under this policy.
Mobile Equipment: This is owned equipment that does not stay at one location and moves around.
Fixed Equipment: This is owned equipment that remains at the declared location and does not travel with you.
If you rent equipment or intend to rent equipment from other third parties or a vendor you may want to consider this coverage. Most vendors will require that you carry insurance for equipment that you rent from them. In order for this coverage to apply you need to be shown as legally liable for equipment by way of a valid rental contract.
Please note that mid-term changes to your policy limits are subject to a $25 change fee. If you know that you will be renting equipment during your policy term, we recommend that you include a limit for rented equipment at the inception of your policy.
Replacement Cost: this is the cost to replace or repair the property/equipment with the same or other similar property of comparable material and quality used for the same purpose without deduction for depreciation. Your owned equipment insured under the Front Row program will be valued at replacement cost in the event of an insured claim. You need to use a replacement cost value to insure your equipment.
Please note, replacement cost is the cost to replace it new – not the purchase price.
Because replacement costs can vary, we recommend that you round up the value you choose for your equipment limit (e.g. if you estimate the replacement cost of all your gear as $12,756 CAD, select $13,000 as your equipment limit).
Please note that mid-term changes to your policy limits are subject to a $25 change fee. If you know that you will be acquiring new equipment during your policy term, you may wish to include the value of this equipment in your limit total. The equipment limit represents the maximum amount that the insurance company will pay for any one claim. It limits the amount that you could receive from a paid claim. It should be adequate to cover the replacement costs of every item insured under the policy.
If you have any questions regarding how your equipment will be valued, please contact our office.
Please note: This policy contains an 80% Coinsurance clause.
This is a clause in an insurance policy requiring an insured to carry a certain percentage (usually 80, 90 or 100%) of insurance in relation to the value of the property insured. The insured shares in losses to the extent that they are underinsured at the time of loss. Under the terms of this clause, property must be insured in an amount equal to or exceeding 80% of its insurable value. Failure to do so will result in a penalty in the event of a loss.
The manner in which the 80% co-insurance clause would operate is illustrated in the following hypothetical example
Example:
A) Owned Mobile Equipment is insured on a replacement cost basis for $60,000
B) Actual cost to replace the Owned Mobile Equipment is $100,000.
If your total equipment has an actual replacement cost valued of $100,000 but is only insured for an amount of $60,000, you would be subject to an underreporting penalty in the event of a claim since its insured value is less than 80% of its replacement value.
Minimum amount of insurance required to satisfy the 80% co-insurance clause is $80,000. (80% of B)
D) the amount of loss is $50,000
Application of co-insurance clause formula:
Amount of insurance carried (times) Amount of loss (divided by) Amount of insured required = Recovery
(A) 60,000. X (D) $50,000 / (C) $80,000 = $37,500
This example clearly illustrates the necessity of insurance to value as the insured would only receive $37,500 of the $50,000 loss from the insurance company. Note the amount of recovery never exceeds the amount of insurance carried. For this reason it is important to insure for 100% of the insurable value in order to have enough coverage in the event of a total loss
We often get the question, “Where do I upload my photos/list of my insured equipment?” …actually, we do not require an equipment list for our files, but it is a requirement that insurance clients have an equipment list that can be supplied to the insurer in the event of a claim.
How should this equipment list be assembled? There is no one “official” or “proper” way of doing it. Simply create a spreadsheet and document all the information you feel necessary to keep track of your gear.
Read more: Organizing Your Camera Gear