(a) By accepting a permit, a permittee agrees to protect all persons and property from damage, loss, or injury (including death) arising from any of the operations performed by or on behalf of the permittee, and to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the City, including its officials and employees, to the fullest extent permitted by law, from all claims, losses, and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, that may result therefrom.
(b) Every holder of a permit must maintain, during the entire course of its operations, commercial general liability insurance with a limit of at least one million dollars ($1,000,000) per occurrence with coverage at least as broad as provided by the most recently issued Insurance Services Office (ISO) form CG 00 01. Such insurance must be occurrence based (not claims-made) and must include a policy provision or endorsement covering the City of New York, including its officials and employees, as an additional insured with coverage at least as broad as provided by ISO form CG 20 26 or ISO form CG 20 12. Such insurance must be issued by a company that may lawfully issue the policy and has an A.M. Best rating of at least A-/VII, a Standard and Poor’s rating of at least A, a Moody’s Investors Service rating of at least A3, a Fitch Ratings rating of at least A-, or a similar rating by any other nationally recognized statistical organization acceptable to the City. The applicant must provide proof of such insurance prior to the issuance of the permit by submitting a Certificate of Insurance in a form acceptable to the Commissioner certifying compliance with the foregoing requirements, accompanied by a duly executed Certification by Broker or Agent in the form required by the New York City Law Department and the specific endorsement or policy language by which the City of New York, including its officials and employees, has been made an Additional Insured. Acceptance by the Commissioner of any purported proof of insurance shall not be deemed to constitute a waiver of the permittee’s obligation to ensure that insurance fully consistent with these requirements is secured and maintained, and the permittee shall be liable to the City of New York, including its officials and employees, for any failure to do so. For currently enrolled film students, proof of insurance through their school and the student’s current attendance shall satisfy this requirement.
(c) If the Film Office determines, in light of the activity for which a permit is sought, that such activity may increase the potential for injury to individuals and/or damage to property, and that the minimum limit of insurance should be higher than one million dollars ($1,000,000) per occurrence or additional type of coverage is necessary to cover the risks arising from the activity, the Film Office shall determine what higher minimum limit or type of coverage is to be required and inform the applicant of such higher limit or type of coverage. Factors to be considered by the Film Office may include, but shall not be limited to, the number of people involved, the location of the activity, the nature of the activity, and risks arising from the activity that may not be covered by a commercial general liability insurance policy. The applicant must thereafter provide proof of such insurance in accordance with subdivision (b) of this section. If the Film Office determines in writing that a higher minimum limit or an additional type of coverage is required, the applicant may appeal such determination by written request filed with the Film Office appeals officer who may reverse, affirm, or modify the determination and provide a written explanation of his or her finding.
(d) The Film Office shall have the authority to waive or modify the insurance required by subdivision (b) of this section where the applicant is able to demonstrate that such insurance cannot be obtained without imposing an unreasonable hardship on the applicant. Any request for a waiver or modification of the insurance required by subdivision (b) of this section must be included by the applicant in the application submitted to the Film Office under 43 RCNY § 9-02. The burden of demonstrating unreasonable hardship shall be on the applicant, and may be demonstrated by a showing, for example, that the cost of obtaining insurance for the permitted activity exceeds twenty-five percent (25%) of the applicant’s budget for such activity that is the subject of the application. The Film Office shall take into consideration the applicant’s projections of budget as well as the budget projections for comparable productions of similar size and duration in determining whether the cost of obtaining insurance exceeds twenty-five percent (25%) of the budget. The Film Office may also take into consideration its determination that the permitted activity may increase the potential for injury to individuals and/or damage to property. If the Film Office denies a waiver or modification of the insurance requirement, the applicant may thereafter respond to the denial and appeal such denial pursuant to the provisions of 43 RCNY § 9-02.
(Amended City Record 12/1/2023, eff. 12/31/2023)