Guide · Agencies & Production

How agencies insure freelancers without an employer of record.

Many agencies route freelancers through an employer of record to close an insurance gap, and pay a markup on the freelancer's pay to do it. When the freelancer holds a policy in their own name for the project, the insurance gap is closed without converting them to W-2.

Start with who is 1099 →See it in a freelancer workflow
Who is usually 1099Three ways to engageWhat to requireJack Morton
Step 1

Start with the freelancers who are usually engaged as 1099.

Agency and production work mixes independent specialists with crew who are typically employees. The approach in this guide applies to the independent specialists.

Creative specialists

Designers, editors, photographers, copywriters, art directors and creative directors engaged for a project or a campaign.

Production leadership

Producers, production managers and tour managers who run a shoot, an activation or an event.

Consultants and strategists

Strategists, researchers and other advisors engaged for a defined piece of work with their own methods and tools.

Union crew are a different case. Stagehands, riggers, AV technicians and lighting technicians are typically W-2, through payroll or a union signatory company. Vendor companies such as staging, AV or catering firms carry their own insurance and send a certificate. Neither group is the subject of this guide.

Step 2

Compare the three ways to engage an independent freelancer.

Each option answers the same questions differently: who holds the contract, who pays the freelancer, and whose insurance responds when something goes wrong.

Employer of record

The freelancer becomes a W-2 employee of the EOR, which runs payroll and carries workers' comp. The agency pays a markup on the freelancer's pay, and the freelancer is no longer independent for that engagement.

Agent of record

The AOR holds the contract with the freelancer, pays them, files the 1099s and keeps the compliance record. The freelancer stays independent. Insurance is still a separate requirement. Agent of record guide

Direct engagement with required coverage

The agency contracts with the freelancer directly and requires workers' comp, general liability or media liability for the project, in the freelancer's own name. The agency keeps the certificate with the deal memo.

Compare the cost per engagement. An EOR markup applies to every dollar of the freelancer's pay. A per-project policy is priced to the work, the state and the pay for that project. Run the comparison

Step 3

Write the insurance requirement into the deal memo for each project.

Business affairs already writes a deal memo for each freelancer and each project. The insurance requirement belongs there, next to rate, usage and dates, so it is agreed before the freelancer is booked.

Workers' compensation for anyone doing physical work on set, on site or at a venue. General liability for work at a venue or a client's premises; venue contracts often require the agency, and sometimes the client, as additional insured. Media liability for freelancers who create content the client will publish. Professional liability for strategy and creative deliverables.

Freelancers who already carry coverage send a certificate, which COI Review checks against the requirement. Freelancers who don't can apply for a policy for that project, in their own name, during onboarding.

Deal memo · Insurance[ REQUIRED // PER PROJECT ]
Onboarding · Coverage[ VERIFY // OR ENROLL ]
Call sheet · Status[ COVERED // BEFORE CALL TIME ]
In practice

More than 2,000 Jack Morton freelancers a year buy their own project coverage inside Worksuite.

Jack Morton, the brand-experience agency, runs its freelance network on Worksuite with 1099Policy in the same intake. Freelancers pick up workers' comp and general liability for the specific project, in their own name, in the step that captures their tax forms and deal memo.

  1. Before: spreadsheets and a time-pressure trade-off
    "We've had to ... accept what would be less than a minimum requirement instead of insisting that the vendor provide something up to snuff." Mandy Johnson, Production Services Director
  2. After: certificates issued through 1099Policy need no review
    "If people get their policies through 1099Policy, we don't review it. We don't even have to look at it." The dates and the additional-insured fields come out right.
  3. 80+ hours a week returned to the production team
    By Mandy Johnson's count, after onboarding, contracts and per-project insurance moved into one workflow.
Read the Jack Morton and Worksuite story →

A note on classification. Requiring coverage is an insurance control. Whether a freelancer is independent depends on how the work is directed and paid. In New Jersey, from October 1, 2026, required coverage is not evidence of independent contractor status. What changes in New Jersey

FAQ

Questions agency business affairs teams ask.

No. An EOR is one way to close the insurance gap, by making the freelancer a W-2 employee of the EOR. Agencies that engage freelancers as independent contractors can instead require coverage in the freelancer's own name for each project.

An agent of record holds the contract, pays the freelancer and files the 1099s. It does not by itself put insurance in place. Agencies that use an AOR still need a coverage requirement, and the verify-or-enroll step works the same way with an AOR as with direct engagement.

Workers' compensation for physical work on set, on site or at a venue; general liability for work at a venue or a client's premises; media liability for content the client will publish; and professional liability for strategy and creative deliverables. Venue and client contracts often add additional-insured requirements.

Usually not. Those crew are typically W-2, through payroll or a union signatory company. Vendor companies such as staging or AV firms carry their own insurance and send a certificate.

An EOR markup applies to every dollar of the freelancer's pay. A per-project policy is priced to the work, the state where it is performed and the freelancer's pay for that project. The EOR alternative page runs the comparison for your numbers.

Yes. A freelancer who already carries coverage sends a certificate, and COI Review checks it against the requirement for the project. Only freelancers without coverage need to apply for a policy.

Coverage is underwritten by a Fortune 500 carrier rated A+ (Superior) by AM Best. 1099Policy is licensed in every state, and each freelancer takes out the policy in their own name. 1099Policy binds it. Workers' compensation is available in 46 states and DC.

Call to action section for 1099Policy

Book freelancers with coverage settled before call time.

See how per-project coverage fits into the onboarding your business affairs team already runs.

Book a walkthrough →Agent of record guide
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