Alissa Miller Quoted in Screen Daily Article on Pandemic’s Potential Fallout for Independent Film Producers

Akin Gump entertainment partner Alissa Miller has been quoted in the Screen Daily article “US indie sector looks to government for insurance backstop.” The article reports that, with a large backlog of insurance claims that could run into the billions of dollars due to coronavirus-related work stoppages for film productions, independent producers could be among the hardest hit.

According to Screen Daily, a number of film industry professionals are lobbying the federal government and working other back channels to set up a federal insurance backstop. Insurance is still available, the article says, for categories like general liability and workers compensation, but independent producers say pandemic exclusions in new policies would leave them exposed to liability claims from infected cast members.

“The liability issue is what a lot of producers are focusing on right now,” said Miller. “They’re going to have claims. They don’t want the claims, but they’re not trying to restrict cast or crew from making the claims. They just want somebody to cover them like they did pre-COVID.”