LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ProSight Specialty Insurance (“ProSight”) member insurer, a global specialty insurance carrier in the film and live events industries, and PLASA, the professional association for businesses that supply technologies and services to the event, entertainment and installation industries, today officially released Entertaining Safety: The Entertainment Technology Professional’s Guide to Insurance and Risk Management, a comprehensive reference guide that covers the intricacies of insurance policies and general occupational safety, tailored specifically to the needs of entertainment technology companies. Entertaining Safety was unveiled at PLASA’s annual awards ceremony held in advance of LDI 2013. Attendees of LDI can peruse the guidebook at PLASA’s booth #2251 this weekend. The free industry resource is also available for download at plasa.prosightspecialty.com/handbook.
Entertaining Safety is a product of ProSight and PLASA’s alliance, formed in April, which aims to enhance technical standards and to promote safety in the entertainment industry. Over the course of this year, the two organizations leveraged ProSight’s extensive insurance and risk management expertise and PLASA’s specialized entertainment industry knowledge to develop this simple, straightforward guide that will help entertainment technology business owners protect their livelihood and maintain a safe environment for their workers as well as the people who enjoy the events they produce.
Filling a Significant Industry Need
In recent years, safety has been a hot topic in the industry, often for the wrong reasons. In addition, business owners in this industry are finding themselves battling liability issues on many other fronts; it is not uncommon for even a well-intentioned company to discover that its insurance did not cover a natural disaster, or find itself legally responsible for a situation it thought it had adequately addressed because its protocols did not meet the industry’s highest standards. Insurance and workplace safety issues of this nature go hand in hand. Both are all about protection—of property, assets and people—and Entertaining Safety assists entertainment technology organizations in safeguarding their business.
“This book not only accomplishes the goals of our alliance with ProSight, it will also serve as a tremendous benefit for our membership,” said Eddie Raymond, Chair, North America Regional Board, PLASA. “We strive to provide multifaceted resources and support to our members so that they can run their companies as safely, efficiently and effectively as possible. We are confident Entertaining Safety will help them address one of the most complex facets of their business.”
Entertaining Safety is broken into three sections:
- Insurance for the Entertainment Technology Professional: What You Really Need to Know About Insurance—But Never Knew Who to Ask
- A Creative Approach to Safety: How Entertainment Technology Professionals Manage and Avoid Risk
- What to Do When Bad Things Happen to Good Entertainment Technology Professionals.
The Fundamentals of Insurance for the Entertainment Technology Business
The first section of Entertaining Safety walks readers through the insurance buying process by summarizing what carriers are looking for, the main policy types that could apply to an entertainment technology company’s affairs, what business owners should insure, the risks of underinsuring assets and coverage limitations and exclusions. The section then examines how to find the right agent for your business and summarizes the difference between generalist and specialist insurers. This is followed by “war stories” that illustrate what specialized expert agents and brokers can accomplish on behalf of organizations in the entertainment industry. The section closes with a synopsis of the renewal process and the finer points of transferring and sharing risk contractually with other stakeholders of an event.
Risk Management Is Fun
Section 2 opens with one of Entertaining Safety’s main takeaways:
“Creativity is the heart and soul of the entertainment business. Making sure the success of the show is unblemished by accidents, injury and property damage also requires a creative approach.”
As the section unfolds, it provides guidance on how to reduce risk: 1) at your facility, 2) in transit and 3) on the job site. The next subsection drives home the critical point that adhering to legal standards will not necessarily protect you from liability. Links to the Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards are included as part of this discussion. Section 2 finishes with a look at how to devise and implement a comprehensive risk assessment and planning process—specifically, W. Edwards Deming’s Plan, Do, Check, Act methodology—a subsection on ETCP certification and examples of what can happen when things go wrong.
Handling an Incident
The final section examines the particulars of what to do when disaster strikes, starting with an outline of the steps that can be taken to mitigate the effects of a catastrophe beforehand, including:
- Updating inventory and asset lists
- The role ETCP certification plays in risk reduction
- Disaster preparedness measures
- Establishing a chain of command
The majority of section 3 is dedicated to what to do when an accident occurs. It covers when to call 9-1-1, who to call next, how to work with claims personnel, what not to do during an investigation, necessary documentation and pertinent information to collect and coping with the aftermath, including what you can do to prepare for lawsuits. The section closes with an overview of the claims process itself.
“Although it isn’t considered a core competency for business owners, insurance and risk management is still a critical component of effectively managing an organization in this industry,” said Kevin Topper, Vice President of Entertainment Programs, ProSight Specialty Insurance. “Entertaining Safety will help demystify this complicated subject and prove that buying insurance and maintaining a safe workplace isn’t rocket science, and is something that every business owner in the entertainment technology industry can manage.”
PLASA and ProSight will utilize print and digital advertising campaigns, social media channels and their dedicated co-branded website plasa.prosightspecialty.com to promote Entertaining Safety.
About ProSight Specialty Insurance
ProSight Specialty Insurance Group was founded by CEO Joseph Beneducci in 2009 and is backed by affiliates of TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners. ProSight Specialty Insurance focuses on niche markets where it has differentiated underwriting and claims expertise and partners exclusively with specialist distributors who have a deep understanding of their customers. For more information, please visit www.prosightspecialty.com.
About PLASA
PLASA is the leading international trade association for those who supply technologies and services to the event, entertainment and installation industries. Operating from offices in Europe and North America, the Association provides business support services to its growing worldwide membership, writes industry standards, leads the development of qualifications with the Entertainment Technician Certification Program in North America and the National Rigging Certificate in Europe and focuses on improving the business practices adopted by the industry. With over 1200 members worldwide, it represents one of the largest member networks in the industry. For more information, please visit www.plasa.org.