Source: asiainsurancereview.com

A government-backed COVID-19 insurance scheme for the UK television and film sector was formally launched last Friday following state aid approval from the European Union.

Named the ‘Film and TV Production Restart Scheme’, this insurance scheme is worth GBP500m ($648m) and provides compensation for future coronavirus-related losses including filming delays from illness among cast and crew. The scheme will support over 40,000 jobs across the film and television sector, with a total cap on claims per production of GBP5m.

Funding from the scheme is available to all productions made by companies where at least half of the production budget is spent in the UK and proving that they are unable to return to work due to a lack of insurance. Productions will also need to purchase other, more standard insurance to cover non-coronavirus risks to ensure their production is adequately insured.

When the scheme was first announced, the deadline for registration and start of production was originally 31 December but now it has been extended to 28 February next year. The extension is intended to “help even more productions access the scheme, reflecting ongoing uncertainty and the continued inability of productions to secure private insurance for coronavirus-related risks,” said a statement from the government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.