Experiential Fabrication Insurance · Nationwide
Specialized commercial insurance for experiential marketing fabricators, set and scenery builders, and brand activation companies — nationwide. We don't just place policies. We correct misclassification, build underwriting narratives, and make your business more insurable year over year.
Most fabrication shops are misclassified as construction — and overpay significantly as a result. Wrong class codes mean inflated premiums, coverage exclusions that don't belong in your policy, and carriers who decline your account before they've read a word about what you actually do. We fix that.
Industries We Serve
If your shop designs and builds physical things that create brand experiences — we've built a practice around you. That means we understand your operations, your contracts, and the risks that come with the territory.
Design-and-build shops producing custom physical activations, installations, and branded environments for marketing clients.
Scenic fabricators producing custom set elements for live events, touring productions, retail environments, and branded experiences.
Agencies and production companies executing large-scale experiential activations for consumer and B2B brands.
Shops handling on-site installation and removal of custom builds — where property-at-work exposure and install risk live.
Custom prop houses and specialty fabricators serving experiential, retail, film, and entertainment clients.
Studios integrating AV, technology, and physical fabrication to build immersive brand environments and interactive experiences.
The Classification Problem
The single most expensive insurance mistake a fabrication shop can make is letting a broker code their operations as construction. We spend more time getting the story right than most brokers spend on the entire account.
Our Approach
We don't shop a GL/WC quote and call it done. We build an insurance platform that matches how your company operates today and grows to fit where you're going.
We start with a detailed understanding of your operations — what you build, how you build it, where you install it, and who your clients are. That story becomes your underwriting narrative: a precise, high-fidelity document that tells carriers what your risk actually looks like and why it's controlled. This is where we find premium.
We place each line with carriers who have real appetite for fabrication risk — not carriers who'll take it at inflated rates because they don't know the difference. Workers' comp, GL, auto, inland marine, installation floater, umbrella: each line is placed with the right market, at the right limits, with the right terms for your contracts.
We help install the safety infrastructure that makes your loss history better: shop controls, a designated safety leader, PPE compliance, return-to-work programs, fleet telematics and driver coaching. At renewal, we don't just re-market — we show carriers what improved and why. Year over year, you become a better risk.
Coverage
Every line positioned specifically for fabrication and experiential operations — not boilerplate packages built for other industries.
Often the biggest premium driver for fabrication shops. We fight for correct classification codes across all job functions and build a documented safety program that gives carriers confidence.
// Biggest premium leverPlaced with careful attention to how your operations are described — fabrication vs. construction framing matters enormously for both pricing and carrier appetite.
Trucks, vans, and transport vehicles — paired with driver-centered controls including dash cams, telematics, driver coaching, and progressive discipline programs.
// Fleet controls reduce premiumsYour shop, tools, equipment, raw materials, and work-in-progress inventory. Structured for fabrication environments where equipment values are high and stock fluctuates by project.
Coverage for tools and movable equipment whether they're in your shop, in transit, or on a job site anywhere in the country.
Protects custom-built property from the moment it leaves your shop through delivery, installation, and client acceptance — essential for high-value builds.
// Critical for install exposureMajor brand clients and venues routinely require $5M or more. We structure umbrella limits that satisfy contract requirements without overpaying for limits you don't need.
COIs, Additional Insured status, waivers of subrogation, and venue requirements handled as a core competency — not an afterthought. We've built training around Named vs. Additional Insured mechanics.
// Operational friction, solvedWhy ISSI
Correct classification and a precise operations narrative means fewer construction penalties, better carrier fit, and more stable pricing.
These companies live and die by certificates and contract language. We treat risk transfer mechanics — AI wording, claims scenarios, venue requirements — as a core skill.
We help install durable controls — safety leadership, return-to-work, fleet accountability — that reduce frequency and severity and build a track record carriers trust.
Detailed narratives with the specifics underwriters actually use: operations breakdown, control documentation, enforcement accountability, and renewal improvement story.
Proactive renewal timelines, structured account development, and hands-on service. Our average client retention exceeds 15 years.
ISSI specializes in insuring experiential marketing, scenic, and set fabrication companies by translating complex, misunderstood operations into clear underwriting narratives — and pairing coverage placement with practical risk management. We focus on correct operational classification, contract-driven insurance requirements, and loss-driven improvements. Our clients don't just buy insurance — they become more insurable, more competitive, and more stable year over year.
Client Results
Real outcomes for experiential fabrication and set building companies that came to us misclassified, underserved, or overpaying.
Sets & Effects came to ISSI with unexplained premium increases, difficult audits, and a broker who told them they had no other options. A full coverage review revealed serious gaps that would have left them exposed to major uninsured losses.
ISSI petitioned the NYCIRB to correct misclassified Workers' Comp codes — resulting in a 47% WC premium reduction — and connected them with a service to recover retroactive refunds from prior policy years.
Production Theory had been with the same carrier for years — renewals arriving late, premiums rising with no explanation, and an umbrella limit their carrier couldn't increase. It was creating a hard ceiling on the business they could pursue.
ISSI uncovered strong risk controls that had never been presented to underwriters. That narrative gave carriers a reason to compete — delivering a 39% premium reduction and umbrella limits that finally matched their client requirements.
Our Service Model
We don't chase new accounts and move on. We build long-term insurance platforms that grow with you as your builds get bigger, your clients get more demanding, and your contracts get tighter.
Place the right coverage with the right carriers at the right terms — starting with a clean, accurate underwriting narrative.
Add lines, improve limits, implement risk controls, and develop the full insurance platform your growing operation needs.
Proactive service, structured renewals, and a long-game partnership — our average client relationship exceeds 15 years.
Get Started
Tell us about your shop, your clients, and your typical project scope. We'll start with the story — and build the program from there.
[email protected] · A division of Insurance Solutions & Services Inc. (ISSI) · issi-nj.com