‘Mission: Impossible 7’ insurance lawsuit settled by Paramount

The production delay of “Mission: Impossible 7” caused by COVID-19 was resolved confidentially by Paramount and Chubb, its insurer. Studio sued the insurer in August 2021, claiming $1 million was all the insurer would pay for its losses. According to Paramount, the cancellation of COVID-19 should have triggered cast insurance coverage without a limit exceeding $100 million.

Mediation between the two sides was scheduled to begin on Thursday. On Wednesday, they filed a notice in federal court notifying the court they had reached an agreement. In a formal written settlement agreement, the parties stated that they have been drafted and are currently in the process of commenting on and finalizing. A written settlement agreement is expected to be signed by August 5, 2022.

The release date of July 14, 2023, has been set for “Impossible 7”, two years behind its original release date. A pandemic began spreading around the globe in February 2020, as production began. There were seven times when production had to be halted.

As a result of the first shutdown, Chubb paid $5 million in cast insurance. Later shutdowns, however, were considered by the insurer to have been unrelated to the cast insurance policy, and the policy’s “civil authority” provision limited liability to $1 million.

The director or a star of the film could incur massive costs if he or she becomes ill or dies during production, which is why productions obtain cast insurance. Since the shutdowns were intended to keep the principals from getting sick, Paramount argued that the cast insurance policy should have been triggered.

A civil authority provision, which usually applies to events such as riots or hurricanes, was triggered because the productions were shut down by government orders. Chubb was also accused in the amended complaint of attempting to avoid coverage for “Mission: Impossible 8,” which began filming earlier this year.

The studio was notified by Chubb last October that the policy would no longer be renewed after it expired on Dec. 31, 2021. Despite Chubb’s promise to extend the policy as needed, the studio argued that it had not done so. It was also claimed by Paramount that Chubb offered to extend the policy except that the premiums would be dramatically increased or the coverage would be severely lowered.

Source: Variety

Jahnavi