Mr. Sheen, son of actor Martin Sheen, is known for his legendary partying, which has escalated in recent months. He has made the news in the wake of trashed hotel rooms, charges of drug and alcohol abuse, and spousal abuse.

On Tuesday Mr. Sheen was stripped of custody of his twin sons, age two. He was also ordered to stay 100 yards from his ex-wife, Brook Mueller.

His rants against his boss on talk shows have led to cancellation of the hit show “Two and a Half Men.”

Mr. Sheen's salary, he has said, was $1.5 million per episode.

“Two and a Half Men,” which began in 2003, has received nominations for two Golden Globes, was nominated for and won three Emmy Awards, was nominated twice for the Excellence in Production Design Award for the Arts Director Guild, and won the BMI TV Music Award in 2004 and 2005.

Ms. McNaught said that as a broker, “you have to be able to present terms to the underwriters that they're willing to take.” She explained that it's up to the brokers to work with producers when insuring the more volatile actors. “Depending on the particular issues with whoever the individual is, it's up to the broker to be creative and figure out ways to present it to the marketplace and get it covered.”

She added, “In my experience, everything can be covered. There are terms and pricing, but that's our job as a broker, to get it done.”

While insuring Charlie Sheen may seem like a major challenge, she observed, “We'll see. In my experience, just about every actor or athlete or anybody that's being covered has their own set of issues. They all have issues. We deal with it all day, every day.”

The difference, she said, is that many actors' problems aren't publicized the way Mr. Sheen's have been. It's when an actor is under scrutiny in the public eye that everyone starts wondering. “A lot of [actors] get into trouble and have issues with drugs, alcohol or pregnancies. They're human beings at the end of the day,” Ms. McNaught added.

While many of the problems are dealt with internally by insurers, she said, some actors, like Mr. Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, Robert Downey Jr., Christian Slater, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, “go through very public displays of their outbursts or whatever they are going through.”

In a case like Mr. Sheen's, she said, where a show has been cancelled, the networks and distributors will lose money. Whether the show is insured depends on the policies of the company that believes it must cancel the series because a cast member is unable to continue.

“That's what cast insurance is for,” she said, noting that aspects of cast insurance extend to things like an actor being sick or injured and unable to complete the show. There is also coverage that protects in the case of an act by an individual that is “so disgraceful that the production just can't continue.”

Ms. McNaught observed that while Mr. Sheen is making the circuit, giving news-creating interviews, “all he's really doing is just creating publicity, and they say there's no such thing as bad publicity.” While some may wonder about him, she said, “it's creating a stir, it's creating a buzz. Whether he actually has issues that need to be dealt with remain to be seen.”

While many assumptions are currently being made about Mr. Sheen, she said, “when you actually see a medical exam, then you really know what you're dealing with, whether this person has issues that have to be dealt with, or whether they're just out creating a buzz.”

Ms. McNaught said that actual medical exams of actors in a show are usually dealt with up front. “Before you go in to a series or a film you see the medicals of all the cast members that are being covered.”

Then when a loss happens, she said, “you already know whether it's going to be covered or not, based on what's been negotiated up front, based on the results of the cast's medical.”

Sometimes there are other issues to deal with, such as an actor with a history of showing up late to the set or having problems with alcohol, she said.

“For instance, I've insured David Hasselhoff on several productions lately,” she said. David Hasselhoff—best known as Michael Knight in the 1980s TV show “Knight Rider” and as a lifeguard on the 1990s TV show “Baywatch”—made the news when a video of his falling-down drunken behavior, taken by his daughter, went viral.

Related: Read more on entertainment insurance in the article “Lights, Cameras, Insurance.”

The big questions insurers have, Ms. McNaught said, are “is he sober, will he be held accountable, and will he show up for work.” Those issues are dealt with and “sometimes you have to go back and deal with production and the individual you're talking about and come to an agreement.”

As a result, the coverage might be written with a higher deductible or contain particular terms and conditions. “But you can always get them covered,” Ms. McNaught said. And when insurers balk, she added, “that's when you get a hold of the cast's medical, look at the actual issues according to a doctor and go from there.”

She said, “As brokers, we find ways to get that done so production can actually hire that person, do their production and the networks will know their money is safe.”

Ms. McNaught said there also are times when production of a TV show or movie depends on casting a certain actor. If that actor has had issues, however, it can create a challenge.

What it always comes down to, she said, is “pricing and deductibles and the flexibility of the production company to really make the changes they might need to make.”

What's more, she said, “they all make their comeback.” They have their troubles, they make it back and “it's really a forgiving industry.” She said people also like watching a comeback story. Once an actor does come back and makes it through a production with no issues, she said, “they can be insured at a normal rate.”