Photographer Insurance - Safeguard Your Photography Business

At first, being a photographer may seem like a reasonably risk-free endeavor. After all, you aren’t investing client’s fortunes in the stock market, taking tourists bungee jumping, or flying passengers in a sketchy antique aircraft. But there are still many risks that you must consider that merit photographer insurance. As a photographer, you carry thousands of dollars in photography equipment and computers. Loss or theft of equipment could cause significant financial hardship and loss of business revenue to professional photographers.

Liability is another important concern. The world is a competitive place, and litigation against service providers and competition is a threat to all small businesses. Imagine accidentally selling a photograph without a property release, tripping and breaking a priceless work of art, or a portrait client falling and getting injured during a photoshoot. These risks may seem unlikely, but even the slightest chance of them happening warrants careful thought and consideration by photography business owners. 

We, therefore, will cover some important photography insurance topics like camera equipment insurance, photography liability insurance, and more. 

Photographer insurance buys peace of mind.What is Photography Insurance?

If things go wrong in your business, photography insurance protects you from having unnecessary liabilities, which may require you to pay a lot of money. The photographer’s insurance can cover the damage to your camera and other photography equipment. It can also protect you from legal actions taken against you by your clients, depending upon the types of photography insurance you take. 

A photographer should note that photography insurance and photography copyright are two different things. Photography insurance will not handle the copyright issues you can face. 

Benefits of Photographer Insurance

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2010, 63 percent of photographers were self-employed. Successful businesses know the risks and threats in their fields of expertise. They weigh the options and balance the reward with the risk. If you are a photographer operating without insurance, you must take fewer risks than photographers that have insurance, and therefore you are at a competitive disadvantage. For portrait and wedding photographers working with clients and booking shooting locations, you may find that some locations want to see proof of your insurance before being allowed to shoot.

The risks for professional photographers come in many different forms. While many of them are unlikely, there are many documented cases of lawsuits filed against professional photographers for various reasons. In one example, a couple sued when their wedding photographer missed capturing their kiss. Photographers have been sued for accidentally breaking valuable artworks and artifacts. One photographer was even sued for missing the last few minutes of a wedding reception. Many years had passed since the wedding had occurred, the photos delivered, and the couple had even gotten divorced!

Many photographers are now becoming drone operators. This new form of photography adds a new level of liability for photography businesses. Unmanned aerial vehicles raise many privacy concerns and safety concerns. The Federal Aviation Administration regulates drones in the United States, and many photographers knowingly or unknowingly violate the many complicated aviation regulations every day. If you operate a drone in your business, government regulation, liable and privacy suits, and property damage are new considerations that should be analyzed carefully and discussed with your insurance company.

Choosing the right professional photographer insurance

To adequately shop for photographer insurance, you are going to have to do some research about what the most likely risk scenarios are for you and your business. Where could you get in trouble, and where would you need help? As with any insurance, you’ll probably also want to shop around, contacting multiple companies and getting multiple quotes. Getting solid numbers will give you a budget idea of what you can afford and what works the best for your business. A balance must be struck that gives you enough coverage to protect yourself for the types of shooting that you do but also does not adversely affect your bottom line.

Types of photographer business insurance:

There are two main types of insurance of interest to photographers: liability and equipment coverage. Depending on your business, you may need one or both types of photography business insurance.

Liability Insurance for Photographers

Liability insurance helps protect you from lawsuits. In general, the insurance company is agreeing to represent you in the unlikely event that you get sued. Liability insurance comes in different forms. It can be to protect you from bodily injury, defamation and libel cases, property damage claims, or dissatisfied clients. Many policies for photographers cover “errors and omissions.” Also known as professional liability insurance, this is a form of coverage specifically to cover groundless lawsuits from unhappy customers. Even frivolous lawsuits can cost a lot of money. General liability coverage is for situations involving bodily injury, defamation and libel cases, or property damage.

When shopping for photographer liability insurance, it’s important to remember that you are not just at risk of being sued by clients or other companies. The primary threat comes from being sued by other insurance companies. Insurance providers are not in the business of paying out claims. They are in the business of indemnifying their customers by getting the money from the responsible parties. If you are involved in a claim from an event or incident that you participated in, the insurance companies are going to want your share of the damages, even if you were not negligent or copiable. For this reason, you need your own insurance company to protect you from the insurance companies. In policies, it is usually referred to as a third-party claim.

Photography Equipment Insurance

The second type of insurance for photographers is to cover their equipment. In the case of theft, loss, or damage, the insurance company will indemnify your loss with cash to buy new equipment. You’ll want to read the binding documents of the policy carefully to fully understand exactly what is covered and how to make a claim. You may need to submit a police report or other documentation, and you may be responsible for certain things like keeping your equipment list with the insurance company updated. 

You can take the camera equipment insurance on stated value or the actual value of the gear. In the stated value insurance, you will get the original value of the equipment you paid if the equipment is lost or damaged. And, in the actual value insurance, the insurance company will only pay the value of your equipment based on its resale value. Due to this, the stated value insurance will cost you more. 

Is my photography equipment covered under the Homeowner’s Insurance policies:

Many people believe their homeowner's policies will cover equipment insurance for photographers, and this is true in some cases. Again, you must carefully study the documents that come with the policy. Many policies do not cover items used for business and will only cover personal items. Additionally, the limits on these policies may be too low to cover expensive professional cameras and gear.

Business Liability Insurance

A business liability insurance comes in handy when you are working with clients, and when you have employees. This photography insurance will protect you and your business when you have a threat to your financial livelihood. Choose a business liability insurance that extends the protection to your employees and clients in some cases. The photographer liability insurance plan will cover the legal costs which you will face when an accident occurs. 

Errors and Omissions Insurance

In the photography business, you will face a lot of situations where your clients may not like your work. And, some will even try to claim financial damages in such a situation, saying that you have provided low quality work. Regardless of the expenses and efforts you have put in your work; you may end up suffering losses. So, it is better if you take precautions before starting a project. 

To know which photographer insurance plans cover the errors and omissions, you can talk to an insurance company agent and tailor the insurance plans according to your business needs. 

Camera Travel Insurance

If you are a travel photographer, you can consider having good camera insurance for travel. This insurance will cover the damages if you are out of your country. And, depending on how much travel photography you do, you can see if renting an insured camera would be beneficial for you or not instead of insuring your camera. 

Property Insurance

If you have a studio or a commercial space that you are using for photography purposes, you need to get that covered too. The photography insurance for your property will cover the damage it may incur from flood, fire, theft, etc. Homeowner's insurance may not always cover business equipment if you own a home photography studio. If you use camera gear and tripods for landscape photography often, these items would need a separate form of insurance on their own.

Photography Tours Insurance

When you are taking your clients to different locations, your business insurance policies may not be enough to cover the liabilities you can have. Making your clients sigh a liability release is helpful, but it is not enough. Check with your insurance agent about this and customize the insurance accordingly. 

Top Insurance Providers of Pro Photographers Insurance

Professional Photographer’s Association (PPA) Photo Care Program

PPA is a professional organization for professional photographers that offers training, certifications, and photography insurance. Their insurance policies are more basic than some of the insurance companies listed below, but they are designed specifically for photographers to meet their needs. Membership in PPA costs $28 per month or $323 per year. For people who are already members, their basic equipment coverage plans start at $175 a year, and their liability coverages begin at just under $230 a year. PPA offers upgraded policies to cover higher limits, and they offer specialty add-ons to include special activities like drone operations and data loss.

TCP & Co. - Photography Insurance

TCP & Co. offers several different options for photography insurance that covers liability and equipment. They have specialized quotes for videographers and drone operators. TCP & Co. offers same-day binding of policies and quick and easy applications. For photographers, their standard liability coverage goes up to $2 million, and equipment coverages are usually $25,000. Higher limits are available on a case-by-case basis. Their policies have many extra options, including coverage of office furniture if you work from a fixed location and even worldwide coverage on laptops, tablets, and smartphones. They also offer short-term policies to cover equipment rentals. Policies start around $500 per year; contact them for a custom quote.

Hill and Usher Package Choice

Hill and Usher’s Package Choice policies are custom suited to each client and are a popular pick with photographers. Deductibles range from $250 to $1000, and plans can cover any type of photography you specialize in. You must contact them for a custom quote to get an exact rate.

Zensurance (Canada)

Zensurance is Canada’s leading digital business insurance brokerage providing small businesses, entrepreneurs, startups, and self-employed professionals with the protection they need. A photography insurance package customized by Zensurance starts at $565 per year. Professional photographers can combine several coverages, including professional and general liability protection, equipment insurance to protect your gear, cyber liability coverage, and drone liability insurance. Photographers can get a free quote quickly and easily by filling out an online application. You can select the deductibles and policy limits you require. Zensurance’s customers typically save up to 35% on their annual premiums versus what the competition provides.

HISCOX

HISCOX has been around for more than 100 years and has some unique policies that cover things like satellite damage, kidnappings, and computer hackings. But they also offer several different types of insurance for photographers. Their liability options include professional liability, general liability, and business owners’ insurance. They have some attractive options like coverage for electronic data loss, which may also be useful. Typical rates begin as low as $400 a year, but you must contact them for a custom quote

Insureon

Insureon offers many different policies to suit every photographer’s situation, from general and photographer liability insurance to many others. They have an online quote system to get you a custom price quickly. You can also download an excellent 46-page ebook from the Insureon website that covers the risks that self-employed photographers face.

APA Business Insurance for Photographers

APA is a not-for-profit organization that provides camera gear insurance, business liability insurance, and workers compensation insurance. The APA specifically caters its services to photographers and, therefore, has a better understanding of the needs of the photographers. 

Imaging Insurance

Based in the UK, Imaging Insurance is also a niche service provider to photographers and other artists. Out of the services, photography insurance is also one of its fortes. The company provides worldwide coverage in its photography insurance and has no limit for single item claims.

Conclusion

It’s easy to focus on the artistic side of photography and forget that as a professional you are first and foremost running a business. Businesses are designed to make money, and they have assets that must be protected. Many locations and customers will assume that as a professional you are covered by at least basic photographer insurance should a problem arise. It is crucial to shop carefully and ensure that you are covered for the types of shooting you intend to do.