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Do you need photography insurance? Many photographers end up being asked to photograph something for some sort of compensation. The compensation is usually money, but there many types of compensation offered to photographers, especially beginning photographers.
After a while, most beginners figure out that the most proper compensation is usually going to be money, not exposure or discounts or other trades. Discounts and trades can be worthwhile in some circumstances, but exposure rarely is. That’s my Beginner Photographer PSA for this week!
Yes - You Need Photography Insurance If You Get Paid
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Anyways, if you accept a job for payment, you are now entered into a special business relationship. The relationship is between you as a provider and the other person as a client. To protect yourself, you need photography insurance.
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Homeowners or Renters Insurance Won’t Cover You
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Before accepting any work for their photography, a photographer’s equipment could have been covered by their homeowner’s or renter’s policies. Be sure to check directly with your agent, though, as some policies are more limited in what they cover.
But once you cross the compensation threshold, all bets are off. Even something as basic and normally covered such as having your camera stolen from your car won’t be covered by your car insurance if you were on an outing involving photography for payment.
Seriously, the insurance companies base premiums and coverage based on many factors, and what you’re doing with your camera is just one of those considerations. You will need to look at a photography insurance policy that works with your new situation.
Types Of Photography Insurance
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It’s more than camera loss due to theft or accident that needs to be taken care of. But loss of equipment is one of the important things to protect against. Unlike a renters policy, a photographic policy can offer protection from your own clumsiness in addition to theft.
If you trip and drop your camera, breaking the lens… some photography insurance policies will even take care of you for that. It gives you peace of mind, let me tell you!
The basic types of photography insurance include equipment loss, but also needed is liability and errors and omissions types of protection.
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Liability insurance is what protects you from being sued because of something bad happening that may or may not be your fault. The bad things could be related to your work, though, so you should seriously consider liability coverage. Bad things could include breaking an antique chair while shooting on someone’s property or someone tripping over your tripod and busting a tooth.
Errors and omissions is what protects you from increased damages beyond losing your payment due to not being able to fulfill whatever contract you had with the client. In film days, this would have included the lab ruining your exposed film rolls. Now it might also include digital card failure or faulty autofocus. Some companies may call it by other names.
Learn More:
Cost of Photography Insurance
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As seen above, if you don’t have some type of photography insurance, the cost to you can be very high indeed for certain risks involved in working as a photographer. Who wants to get sued for medical expenses or for fixing something very pricy?
The end result of awarded lawsuit damages could include losing your new business all the way up to personal bankruptcy. But, you still want a manageable cost to maximize your profits from the business. That’s where a firm specializing in photography insurance can become your best choice.
How to Get Photography Insurance
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Insurance providers that specialize in photography insurance make it easy to get the coverage and protection you need
Some of them are online, so you don’t even need to talk to an insurance “salesman,” which is often a source of people’s reluctance to look into insurance.
One of the better photography insurance companies is Full Frame Insurance. They have an easy-to-use website where you can get a quote. You are able to purchase the insurance completely online without having to speak to one of those horrible insurance agents! (I kid, these agents are easy to deal with.)
Getting Photography Insurance is Important and Simple To Do
Here’s how simple it can be to get yourself protected by photography insurance. Go to the Full Frame website, use one of the dropdown menus to look for your particular need. Click a couple of more times, fill out the online forms, and submit payment. Before you know it, you have photography insurance.
Trust me, you should get proper coverage if you are engaging in any endeavor for profit. Photography insurance protects you, your equipment, your business, and your clients. This protection from excess risk gives real peace of mind for working photographers.
Learn More:
- Navigating The World Of Photography Insurance With Full Frame
- How To Turn Your Photography Hobby Into A Career