What Production Insurance and a Completion Bond Actually Cost

Insurance and bonding are the two line items most first-time producers underestimate, partly because the numbers are rarely published and partly because they are two different products that people talk about as one.

What is the difference between insurance and a completion bond?

Production insurance protects the film against things going wrong — cast unavailability, equipment loss, location damage, shutdown costs, injuries and lawsuits. It is a bundled programme, typically a Producer's Package plus general liability and specialty coverages.

A completion bond is a guarantee to your financiers that the film will be delivered. If the production goes off the rails, the bond company can take over and finish it. Insurance protects the film; the bond protects the money.

What does a completion bond cost?

Bond fees typically run 3% to 5% of budget, though brokers report they have increased to 4.5% to 6% on some independent productions following market restructuring. Bonds are generally required by financiers and bank lenders on mid-budget and studio-tier features, roughly $3M and above.

Crucially, bond providers usually require a full insurance programme to already be in place before they will bond a project — including cover for production and auto accidents, cast, personnel, digital or film print malfunction, fire, theft, weather, flooding and earthquake. You cannot substitute one for the other.

What does production insurance cost?

Brokers writing this business in 2026 quote roughly the following bands. Treat them as orientation, not a quote — actual pricing depends on the schedule, the locations, the stunts and your loss history.

Note how the bond and the insurance interact at the $3M mark: that is roughly where a bond becomes a financier requirement, and it is also where insurance premiums step up sharply. Budget both at once or you will discover the second one after you have committed the first.

What changed in 2026?

Two things, and both are about disclosure.

Generative AI. Underwriters added AI-specific exclusions and underwriting questions. Productions using generative AI must disclose it and document consent consistent with SAG-AFTRA's digital-replica protections. An undisclosed AI workflow is a straightforward route to a denied claim — see the 2026 SAG-AFTRA AI deal for the underlying consent requirements.

Weapons. Coverage for weapons scenes now comes with heightened documentation requirements, higher firearms-related deductibles, and specific armorer credential verification. That tracks the legal position covered in what SB 132 requires — the insurer is verifying what the statute mandates.

When should you start this conversation?

Before you lock the schedule, not after. Insurance requirements shape what you can shoot, where, and with what. A location that is uninsurable, a stunt the underwriter will not take, or a weapons day without a credentialed armorer are all schedule problems if you find them late and budget problems if you find them early.

The practical sequence: build the breakdown first so you know what elements you are actually insuring, then take the shooting schedule to a broker before it is locked.

Do small productions need any of this?

Insurance, yes — almost every location and equipment rental will require proof of it, so the question is answered for you. A completion bond, generally no: below roughly $3M there is usually no lender demanding one, and the fee would be material against the budget.