What insurance do contractors need working in the media industry?

The media and creative industry is huge, spanning so many different contractor and freelancer roles. You might be a social media executive, a film director, a broadcast engineer, a TV editor, a graphic designer … This list is practically endless. A couple of things all of those different roles have in common, though, is high levels of visibility and accountability, and expensive equipment.

For this reason, contractors working in the media industry need to make sure they have sufficient business insurance to cover them should anything go wrong. Kingsbridge’s contractor insurance package is ideal for those working in the media and creative industry as it incorporates the main insurance products that a media industry contractor will need to protect themselves financially.

Contractor insurance for media professionals

But what does media contractor insurance actually include? Here’s the lowdown on the Kingsbridge package.

Professional indemnity – £1,000,000 any one claim

This covers you for mistakes you might make during the course of your work. Imagine you are a camera operator and you accidentally wipe footage from the day’s filming, setting the production back. The producers make a claim against you for the additional costs incurred and this is where your professional indemnity cover steps in to pay the compensation.

Public liability – £5,000,000 any one claim

This provides cover should a third party suffer injury or their property be damaged due to your work activities. For instance, if an event manager were to leave their kit bag on the floor and someone else on the crew tripped on it and injured themselves, the public liability insurance would cover this.

Employers’ liability – £10,000,000 any one claim

Required by law for limited company contractors, employers’ liability protects any employees you may have. This could include a spouse or partner who carries out an admin role for you, an assistant who works with you, or a substitute you employ to carry out work instead of you. Should they be injured carrying out their work for you and you are held liable, you’re covered.

Directors’ and officers’ liability – £100,000 any one claim and in the aggregate

If you’re operating as the director of your own limited company, this cover protects you should you be accused of breaching rules or committing wrongful acts. This includes things such as health and safety breaches and financial mismanagement.

Occupational personal accident cover – weekly benefit and lump sum

Occupational personal accident cover is essential for protecting your income should you be injured while carrying out your work. It covers you for a weekly sum of up to £500 per week for up to 52 weeks. There are also lump sum pay-outs for death and permanent disablement.

Equipment cover

As a media and creative professional, the chances are that you use high-value equipment in order to carry out your work. This could be an expensive DSLR, a state of the art MacBook Pro for film editing, or perhaps sound mixing equipment. Could you afford to replace it suddenly and without notice?

Our media insurance has optional cover for equipment to protect it against theft, loss or damage so that you can get your business back up and running again as quickly as possible, with the right tools for the job.

IR35 insurance

As a limited company contractor, you’ve probably heard enough about IR35 legislation to last a lifetime, but did you know you can protect yourself from the costs of an IR35 investigation by HMRC, including taxes, interest and penalties?

IR35 Protect from Kingsbridge protects you from all of this, while also flexing to cover whoever holds the tax liability in the contractor supply chain, whether that’s your end client, your fee payer, or yourself. If you choose the Premium option, then it also comes with unlimited access to the Kingsbridge IR35 Status Tool to make it easier for you or your end-client to determine your IR35 status quickly and accurately. An outside determination via the Tool will also meet prospects of success under the policy, meaning it will step in and defend you if HMRC disagree.

Many media contractors find themselves working on lots of short term contracts for multiple clients throughout the year. Some of these may be inside IR35 while others are outside, so having that protection is vital in case HMRC does not agree with your determinations.

While media and creative contractors have the same needs in terms of insurance as contractors from most other sectors, these can be heightened due to the expensive equipment involved and the immediacy and high visibility of many of the roles. Having the right insurance in place can give creatives real peace of mind, allowing them to carry out their work without worry.

For more information on any of our insurance products for media professionals, you can contact our friendly team of experts today, or visit our website to answer some quick questions and get a quote.