From extreme heat and wildfires shutting down film shoots to torrential rains flooding music festivals, extreme weather is a stark reality.
As the entertainment industry relies heavily on favourable weather conditions, extreme weather events have forced production houses to reevaluate their strategies. No longer can they simply hope for clear skies; studios and event managers must conduct thorough research to assess the filming conditions and potential safety implications of their chosen options, considering the growing risk of extreme weather events.
The challenges of filming under the sky
- In 2024, insured damage in Canada caused by extreme weather events surpassed $8 billion for the first time, including flooding, wildfires, storms and a deep freeze.1
- In Edmonton, the final day of a festival in August 2024 was cancelled for safety reasons after an overnight storm caused extensive damage to tents and other infrastructure.2
- Employers in the film and television industry in British Columbia have been urged to take preventive action, as hazards related to extreme heat threaten workers in their industry more than most.3
Delays and schedule disruptions
Bad weather often results in delays, particularly for scenes shot outdoors, making filming impractical or even impossible. It can also disrupt logistics and the transportation of equipment and personnel to production locations, potentially causing delays and financial repercussions.
Severe weather at any location can raise a project's average daily costs, causing delays that can last days to months. It can put a significant financial strain on production and complicate coordination involving cast, locations, artistic vision and equipment.
Risk to personnel
Weather influences cast and crew in many ways, from restricting movement to injury. With production schedules focused and limited, severe weather such as strong winds, heavy rain and high temperatures all impact the production activities and can cause harm. In 2023, for example, a tornado caused the roof of a theater in Belvidere, Illinois, to collapse during a metal band concert, killing one person and injuring around 50 others.4
From wind blowing equipment around to lightning strikes resulting in injury, even a standard day can be challenging. Add in the element of a high-daily-cost shoot — particularly those involving pyrotechnics, falls, aircraft, watercraft or high-speed chases — and extreme weather can pose serious safety risks.
Location changes
Extreme weather often forces event managers and filmmakers to shift their schedules and possibly find new locations, which means more time and money is spent outside of the initially projected cast burn. Some projects need specific visual and physical outdoor settings, so when bad weather hits, coordinating company moves with the focus on continuity results in spending more time searching, waiting and procuring — all the while incurring higher production costs.
Equipment damage and loss of footage
Today's cameras and other production equipment have become increasingly capable, intricate and valuable. With each new technological leap, we find the equipment is susceptible to damage with even the slightest exposure to unusual or unforeseen weather.
The elements can cause equipment to malfunction, which can damage the equipment itself and lead to one of the most severe consequences of weather-related equipment damage: loss of data and risking hours of captured footage and valuable content.
How can Gallagher help?
At Gallagher, we offer specialized insurance coverage and risk management advice tailored to the unique needs of the entertainment industry.
- Wind/hurricane insurance: Our parametric and contingency products provide coverage for large-scale production companies to mitigate risks associated with unpredictable weather, ensuring that projects stay on track without facing significant financial setbacks.
- Equipment and property insurance: We offer comprehensive insurance solutions to safeguard production assets, including filming equipment and essential property. This coverage ensures that production companies can quickly recover and continue their operations with minimal disruption.
- Liability insurance: Our liability insurance covers production companies from legal issues caused by weather-related accidents, letting filmmakers focus on creating without worrying about legal problems.