Your camera package is reserved, the crew is booked, and pickup is on the calendar. Give the rental agreement and insurance requirements the same attention as the equipment list. A useful preparation step is to put them in one review packet before pickup day.
The checklist below is a way to organize that conversation. The rental company's requirements and the policy actually issued determine what is needed for your production.
Gather the rental details
Ask the rental house for its current written insurance requirements and certificate instructions. Keep those with:
- The production company's legal name and the rental agreement.
- An itemized equipment list and the values the rental house requires you to insure.
- Pickup, transit, shooting, storage and return dates.
- The locations and countries where the equipment will be used.
- A description of any unusual use, including work around water, vehicles or aircraft.
These are preparation prompts. Ask the reviewing agent which details and documents are needed for your particular policy.
Ask about equipment damage separately from liability
Have the agent identify the policy section that would respond to covered damage to the rented equipment. Ask about the applicable limit, deductible, valuation basis, territory and exclusions. Also ask whether a covered equipment loss could create a separate production-delay or extra-expense issue.
The California Department of Insurance's commercial guide discusses property insurance, inland marine, business interruption and extra expense as distinct subjects. Use those distinctions to ask how your production's equipment and potential interruption expenses are addressed. The guide does not establish that a particular film production policy covers your rental.
Match the certificate request to the policy
A certificate can summarize existing insurance. It does not change the policy. The ACORD liability certificate explains that certificate-holder status does not itself confer policy rights and that additional-insured status requires applicable policy provisions or an endorsement.
Give the agent the rental house's wording rather than typing a requested promise into a certificate yourself. Ask which certificate and policy provisions are appropriate for the equipment arrangement, including any requested loss-payee or additional-insured status. Keep the rental house's written acceptance with your records.
Make the final check before pickup
Confirm that the named business, equipment values and coverage dates match the agreed arrangement. Revisit the review if you extend the rental, add equipment or change how it will be used. Ask how to report a loss and whom to contact if a requirement changes.
For related preparation, read our guide to film-permit certificate wording.
Sources
- ACORD 25 (2025/12), liability certificate published by New York DFS, checked November 3, 2026
- California Department of Insurance, Commercial Insurance Guide, checked November 3, 2026