Florida Film & Entertainment Advisory Council

Hurricane Task Force Committee Teleconference

August 11, 2006

Time: 9:30A.M. – 10:54A.M.

Hurricane Insurance Task Force Committee Members Present
Carol A. Bressi-Cilona (Film Florida) CHAIR
Leslie Ann Bartlett

David Goodman (volunteer)

Melissa Gruver (Film Florida)

John Hillsman (volunteer)

Karen Marshall (Film Florida)
Jeff Peel (Film Florida)
Ed Stamm (Film Florida)

Rebecca O. Townsend

Graham Winick (Film Florida)

Committee Member Not Present
All members were present

Other FFEAC Members Present
Paul Meena
Kathryn Waters
Mark Zubaly

Office of Film & Entertainment
Paul Sirmons, State Film Commissioner

Natalie Recio, Executive Assistant to the Film Commissioner

Susan Simms, Los Angeles Liaison

Other Individuals Present

Sandy Farris

Michelle Martin

Judy McDonald

Richard Morris

Tom Zutell

Paul Sirmons, the Florida State Film Commissioner opens the meeting. He introduces Tom Zutell, Head of Business Development for the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), who joins the conference call to discuss a new plan that Florida Insurance Commissioner McCarty is trying to develop to help with part of the state’s business insurance problem, which could generate more capitol and equal the competitors. There is already statutory authority to form a commercial Joint Underwriting Authority (PCJUA) which would more than likely favor the state acting as a re-insurer.

If they receive a go-ahead vote this week to reactivate the already-existing statute, it is hopeful that the PCJUA could be implemented within 30 days. This will be done if the Governor and his cabinet feel they have sufficient evidence before them to determine that it is an emergency. Tom Zutell continues to explain that a commercial PCJUA’s primary goal will be to make business insurance available. This should lead to affordability for our industry.

The question of who will be funding the plan was brought up by Carol Bressi-Cilona. The answer is that it will be state funded. Paul Sirmons then went on to thank Carol Bressi-Cilona for acting as chair, since she is an entertainment insurance specialist with Tannebaum Harber Insurance Group of Florida, and therefore is already in the know of what the industry needs.

Mark Zubaly states that Florida is leading the nation in disaster recovery. When Florida does face disaster, the state quickly gets everything up and running.

John Goodman brings up the point that the real issue of cost premium is affordability verses availability. You need to do both together. This needs to be addressed because our give backs are not as rich as other states. The Film Task Force needs to contact the cabinet to push this special session and get this legislation passed.

The committee then discusses the need to make the insurance friendly to larger budgeted productions. Sandy Farris states from a claims and deductibles standpoint, that larger productions need to have a strong contingency plan including an alternative location in the event evacuation is needed. The decision would be done on a case by case basis.

The committee then arranges their next teleconferencing meeting and schedules it for Friday August 25, at 9:30am. Their main discussion for the following meeting will be advising the rules of the underwriters, insurance people, commission, and business people.

At the following meeting, they will be discussing the issues that they have separated into four plans to investigate.

• Special Convention-Type Insurance – A film production related version of Visit Florida’s ‘Cover Your Event’ (CYE) hurricane insurance. The committee has contacted the company that wrote that policy, and they think it might work and have come back with questions that the task force is answering.

• A Hurricane Preparedness Plan – This will be in-depth and vetted through the insurance underwriters so that it answers their needs, as well as through producers to be sure they can live up to it. Part of this would be a COOP plan (Continuity Of Operations Plan) which would address how a production would resume if impacted by hurricanes at various levels, including alternate filming locations far enough away to give reasonable certainty that both would not be unshootable in a hurricane’s aftermath. (Much like Louisiana’s plan) The committee will also consider forming a volunteer group of people who can work with each production to help it individualize its preparedness plan. Insurance specialists have told the committee that underwriters would lower the cost of hurricane insurance premiums, perhaps dramatically, if the production has a verifiable hurricane preparedness plan

• Add Hurricane Insurance Premiums as a Qualified Expenditure – Should the committee consider making the added premiums for hurricane insurance a qualified expenditure, whether from a Florida provider or not? Or, should they consider raising the percentage rebated to the production from this added expense higher than the 15% now permitted? Should they let this cost be in addition to the $2,000,000 ceiling, for those productions that reach it?   This would require a statutory change of the incentive next session. 

• Cover Production’s Deductible – Should the committee consider paying the deductibles (or most of it, up to a limit) for any production impacted by a hurricane? As the increased deductibles are one of two insurance reasons driving larger productions from Florida (cost of premiums being the other), it might be wise to consider. It would require statutory authority to fund, meaning it’s a long-term solution that would need legislation next session.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:54A.M.