Insurance policies for a reality television show require a special brand of expertise, a broker for the sector said in the wake of news that the stars of "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" were divorcing late last month.
Lorrie McNaught, vice president of Aon/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services, said the split of Jon and Kate Gosselin, who had been raising their five-year-old sextuplets and eight-year-old twins under the eye of TLC network cameras, could mean the show's production company, Figure Eight Films, might need to invoke a variety of coverage.
She said that, theoretically, the pair could hold the production company liable for their divorce and take legal action.
"They could sue. If they did, the production company would want protection," Ms. McNaught said.
Insurance policies for a reality television show, though, are dissimilar from any other kind of policy, Ms. McNaught explained.
"Reality TV is a little different. There are specific needs, different from a normal series. Coverages needed are really specialized. You need a broker with reality TV experience."
The cost of these policies fluctuates from show to show, with the prices varying based on the type of show, the show's budget and the number of episodes per season, she explained.
"The price depends on the type of show," Ms. McNaught said. "Jon and Kate" is less expensive than a show like "Fear Factor" or "Wipeout" that can involve its participants in strenuous physical stunts, she noted.
Ms. McNaught said there was a range for the cost of a policy, based on the standard season length of a reality show.
"On a series of twelve episodes, it could easily cost $60,000 for insurance." For more action-oriented shows, she said the price "could go past $1 million."
Although insurance for shows like "Fear Factor" and "Wipeout" is more expensive, the actual show is easy to create, according to Ms. McNaught.
But emotion-based shows like "John and Kate Plus Eight" are "a little harder to plan for," Ms. McNaught said.
She explained that the producers of "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" would likely want either a general liability policy or an errors and omission policy.
She stressed the advantages of the errors and omissions policy over the general liability policy, as general liability only covers emotional stress caused by something physical.
The errors and omissions policy would cover things like libel, slander and emotional stress, she noted.
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