Film Locations Glossary
Indemnification
What is indemnification?
Also called indemnity.
Indemnification is the contractual promise to cover another party's losses, and in a location agreement it is normally the production indemnifying the owner against claims arising from filming.
It is the legal backbone of the deal, working alongside insurance rather than instead of it. Mutual indemnities, caps, and carve-outs for the owner's own negligence are the points that get negotiated.
Example
The production indemnifies the owner for claims arising from filming; the owner's lawyer asks for it to be mutual and uncapped. It settles as mutual, capped at the policy limit, and excluding the owner's own negligence.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Negotiated in the location agreement, working alongside insurance rather than instead of it.
Common mistake
Reading indemnity as boilerplate. Its scope, its cap, and whether it excludes the owner's own negligence are the terms an owner's lawyer will actually negotiate.
Related questions
- Who indemnifies whom in a location agreement?
- Normally the production indemnifies the owner for claims arising from filming. Owners increasingly ask for it to be mutual, with each side covering its own negligence.
- Should indemnity be capped?
- From the production's side, ideally at the liability policy limit, so the obligation matches the insurance actually standing behind it.