FilmTVRisk

Hurrican Felicia - Hawaii

Hurricane Felicia drops to Cat 2, moves towards Hawaii.  Felicia is losing strength and should affect the Hawaiian islands as a tropical storm or tropcial depression Monday-Wednesday.  Looks like mostly a rain event.  Clients with interests in Hawaii, especially the big island, Maui, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Molokai and Oahu, should monitor Felicia's progress.  NOAA Hurricane Center

Production Insurance and Hurricanes

In recent years, many producers have been told they cannot be covered for losses due to hurricanes under their Production Insurance.  And with almost all entertainment insurance brokers, that is true.  Underwriters are often wary of the large potential losses if a hurricane hits the area where a film or television show is shooting.

But over the last fifteen years, I have been able to secure hurricane and wind coverage for my clients, on very favorable terms.

I have the most experience with identifying and controlling the risks to production involved with hurricanes and other natural disasters of any broker/risk control consultant in the industry.  I have provided hurricane advice to feature, reality and episodic productions in such diverse locations as Mexico, Saint Maarten, Puerto Rico, Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii, Texas, North Carolina, Australia, Tahiti, and the Solomon Islands.  My contingency plans help you define:

• Timelines and checklists for each stage of an approaching hurricane/cyclone - including phases for shutdown, evacuation, sheltering and resumption
• Identification of evacuation and storage sites
• Notification and communication for staff and interested parties
• Equipment and supplies for evacuation/sheltering
• Steps to mitigate damage and downtime

• How to document for the insurance claim

I offer onsite consultation to advise on location vulnerability, help identify safe evacuation sites and establish and implement the contingency plan.  On many occassions I have even been onsite to advise clients through the shutdown, evacuation and resumption of production.

If you are considering shooting anywhere in hurricane or cyclone country, shouldn't you be with a broker that has 'been there' and can guide you through the process?  To learn more, contact me at +1 818 224 6142 or by email

Profile

A risk and insurance professional for more than twenty years, Chris is a recognized authority on international film and television risk.  He was director of risk control for Aon/Albert G. Ruben for twelve years.

He has provided risk control consultation on more than 900 film and television productions including Sahara, Titanic, X Men, Flyboys, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Behind Enemy Lines and Windtalkers.  He managed production safety and was a risk management consultant to MGM/United Artists for five years.  He was safety/risk management consultant for all HBO productions from eleven years and advised studio and independent productions for Fox, Disney, Miramax and Hallmark Entertainment.

 

A pioneer in reality television safety, he was the on-set safety and risk management consultant for the first three seasons of Fear Factor.  Other reality television projects include American Idol, American Inventor, America’s Got Talent, Big Brother, MTV Video Music Awards.

As a member of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers Industry Labor-Management Safety Committee, he helped draft many of the industry safety bulletins.

Chris is the author of the CMM World Risk Guide, which measures the risks facing filmmakers in every country in the world.  A constituent member of the U.S. State Department Overseas Security Advisory Council, he provides clients with international production exposures with up to date security and threat assessment information, advises on risk protection measures including security measures for crime, kidnap and ransom, extortion, terrorism, evacuation and crisis management.

Chris has taught film and television production safety at the Directors Guild of America, American Film Institute, and UCLA Film School.  He has been a featured speaker at many industry events including International Film Finance Summit, RIMS Entertainment section, Mexican American Chamber of Commerce, and the Morrison/Foerster ‘Managing Risk in Reality Television’ seminar.

By identifying and controlling risk and helping the underwriters understand the nature of your production, Chris helps obtain more favorable terms from the insurance underwriters.  Many difficult-to-insure productions have been cleared through this process.  He also assists clients with hurricane contingency planning, security and medical evacuation plans, accident investigation, claims advocacy, injury and illness prevention plans and government agency liaison.

He has been featured in dozens of articles for publications including Variety, Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, Daily Telegraph (UK), Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Business Journal.  He has also been a guest on National Public Radio programs  “The Business” and “GeoQuiz”.

Hurricanes and production

Hurricane season is in full swing.   Although June and early July are usually quiet in terms of major storms.  If your production activities will take you into 'hurricane country' during the season, now is the time to make sure you are prepared.

As Director of Risk Services at CMM Entertainment, my job is to help our clients identify, control and manage risk.  One of my specialties is dealing with the potential effects of hurricanes. Oover the last 19 years, I have helped many clients deal with this risk and have overseen evacuations of film and tv productions in the paths of hurricanes in places like Cancun, New Orleans, and Sea Island,Georgia.

The first thing to consider is how likely is it that a hurricane could affect your shoot? The coastal United States from Texas to Maine is theoretically at risk from hurricanes during the season - June through October.  Hurricanes can and have occurred outside these months but are pretty rare prior to June or after October.  It is also unusual to have major hurricanes impact coastal areas north of Virginia, though some historic storms have impacted Long Island and points north.

In terms of likelihood and severity, the main areas of concern are the Gulf Coast from Texas through Florida and the Atlantic coast from Florida to North Carolina.  The more active months are August and September, especially for the Gulf and southern Atlantic coast areas.

Vulnerability of the area:  It is important to remember that most deaths in hurricanes are from storm surge, not from wind.  So if your location is a barrier island that is only a few feet above sea level, the risk is much greater than it would be on the mainland with greater elevation.  Are you directly on the oceanfront or in a more protected back bay area?  Can your hotel withstand high winds and storm surge?

Access:  How easy or difficult will it be toevacuate in the event of a hurricane watch or warning?  This is an important consideration in your planning as it will help determine your time-line for beginning the evacuation process.  A major film client of mine was filming on Jekyll Island, Georgia a number of years ago.  There is one bridge between the island and the mainland.  As part of the hurricane contingency plan I prepared, I talked with the local emergency management people about evacuation protocols.  They told us that our trucks would have to be off the island 36-48 hours before projected landfall as the bridge would only be used to evacuate people in the last 48 hours and our equipment trucks would have to be left behind if they were not off the island by that time.

Having a Plan: The key components in your plan are - protecting your people, protecting your equipment, evacuation and return and resumption of filming.  My article Hurricane Contingency Planning for Film and TV Production (available to clients) outlines in detail how to prepare a plan and manage resumption of operations but here are a few highlights:

• Prepare and maintain a list of all personnel including name, phone numbers, hotel information, emergency contacts and vehicle details.
• Set evacuation parameters.  My rule of thumb is you CAN ride out Category 1 and 2 storms if the location can withstand the surge and accommodations are strong enough to withstand those wind forces.  Category 3 and above you run from.  Determine how far ahead of landfall you need to begin evacuation - this will be affected by the quality/capacity of roads and the population in the area.  When setting the time-line for beginning evacuation remember that you do NOT want to get caught by the storm along the evacuation route.  Talk to locals about the time it will take to reach your evacuation site and remember that it might take 8 to 12 hours to go 100 miles...
• Identify inland evacuation sites.  How far inland you have to go depends on the size/strength of the storm and other factors such as elevation.  For example, if low-lying land/swamps continue inland for a significant distance, you may have to travel further to escape storm surge and flooding.  This is especially true in areas of Louisiana, Georgia and Florida.
• Establish a point person outside the hurricane area to handle inquiries from family members and provide updates on the evacuation status. 
• Identify where your vehicles will go.  For larger productions with lots of vehicles, you may need a large lot.  Locate and secure lots at your inland evacuation site.

• Make contingent reservations for accommodations inland.  By the time an evacuation is ordered or even appears likely, rooms far inland are usually booked solid.  Pick your inland hotel, let them know how many rooms you will need and you can often get them to give you first shot at holding the rooms in an emergency by giving them a small deposit.

• Resumption. When you return will be affected by many factors - clearing roads, restoration of utilities, etc. 

The Right Adviser: Having the right advice makes all the difference.  CMM understands the business of production and will be your insurance advocate and help manage your risks.  To learn more, contact me at +1 818 224 6142.