Aon Map Gives Filmmakers The Risk Picture

In an online press conference yesterday, Chris Palmer, director of risk control, and Brian Kingman, senior vice president for Aon/Albert G. Ruben, said the map gives the filmmakers a snapshot and quick guide to locations.

"[Filmmakers] have been asking for this information for decades," Mr. Palmer added. The brokerage already produces Aon's Political and Economic Risk Map that rates the risk of business investment in countries around the world from the perspective of national stability. Both are units of the Chicago-based Aon Corp.

The filmmaking map includes such factors as criminal elements, government corruption, kidnapping, disease and medical care. Mr. Palmer noted that such issues can disrupt a movie schedule or inflate production costs.

It was pointed out that production could be disrupted if equipment is stolen, extortion demands are made to prevent interruption of filming or the company needs its own medical staff because there are insufficient facilities in the host nation.

"Filmmakers use this information as a point of reference," Mr. Palmer said. "This is not the final word, but it at least gives them an idea of what they would be up against [in a shooting location]."

The executives said that when asked, Aon/Albert G. Ruben goes out and does detailed research to update the risk condition. It also sends bulletins on the subject to clients who sign up for it. The firm handles 70 percent of the world's film production market, Mr. Kingman claimed.

Mr. Kingman noted that the film backers, especially banks, who demand completion guarantee bonds, want to understand the risks in picking shooting locations.

The map features a section on terrorism risk, listing the top 10 nations where that risk is most prevalent. Terrorism risk is factored into the map's ratings but not detailed in all nations.

More information on that subject is available at www.terrorism.co.uk, assembled by Aon's Crisis Management Team.

Additional information about the 2005 Risks in Global Filmmaking map is available at www.aon.com/globalriskmap. Registration for risk updates is available by signing up at www.aon.com/albertgruben.