You need photographer Insurance, and in this article, you will learn example of which insurance to get and why you should get it.

Photography is one of the most exciting creative outlets. Going on shoots, capturing exceptional photos, and processing them is all part of a typical workday.

However, it isn’t as simple as that. 

Photographers have to go above and beyond to cater to their clients’ needs and demands. They sometimes have to wade through marshes, play around with different lenses and equipment, and take pictures in questionable positions — all for the sake of getting that perfect shot!

Know what else this means? Exposure to liability. As a photographer, you need to protect yourself and your equipment with photographer’s insurance.

A Rundown on Photographer Insurance

There’s no denying that cameras and other photography equipment are expensive. As a photographer, you will sometimes find yourself working in conditions beyond your control. 

You’ll often find yourself worrying about your equipment and what a shoot requires you to do. You’ll have to deal with frequent what-ifs, especially when you often find yourself in compromising positions.

Photographers are more susceptible to damages than people in other industries. To protect yourself, getting liability and general insurance is a necessity.

Importance Of Insurance For Photographers

Whether you own a big photography company or are a one-person army, you need to protect yourself from the potential risks that your job entails. Photographer's insurance allows you to take on more assignments with confidence. You will no longer have to pass up on shoots because you consider them too risky.

Thanks to the social media craze, the photography industry has seen massive growth. By default, this has also increased liability and risk. People are no longer satisfied with plain old portrait shots. They want adventurous photos that show off the summits they’ve climbed, the cliffs they casually sit on, and the depths they’ve dared to explore. From skydiving and bungee jumping to underwater swimming and skating, the need to capture it all has heightened people’s expectations.

Photographer Insurance Protects You and Your Clients

Photographer Insurance Protects You and Your Clients

As a photographer, you have to come through for your clients even if it opens you up to more risk. You could cancel or turn down assignments, but that would put you at a competitive disadvantage. 

Photography insurance doesn’t just cover you for damage; it also protects your clients. If your business faces reputational damage through lawsuits, an insurance policy will keep you from going under due to the enormous legal fees that usually come with defamation claims. Unlike other business acquisitions, an insurance policy is not a want. It’s a need.

How To Choose The Right Photographer Insurance

Finding the right photographers’ insurance warrants an in-depth knowledge of the risks involved in your area of expertise. Photographers’ insurance has different types of coverage. Some cover all liabilities, while some only target specific risk factors.

If you thought you were only susceptible to equipment damage, you’re in for a surprise. Photographers’ insurance also protects you from lawsuits and violations. 

Which type of photographers’ insurance do you need? What insurance does your business actually require? Choosing a photographer's insurance can be tricky and confusing. Only you and an insurance agent can analyze the risks and determine the type of coverage needed.

Here are five different kinds of insurance you need as a photographer. You may want to include these to cover you from potential risk and damage.

General Liability Insurance  

General liability insurance, also called business liability insurance or commercial general liability insurance, is what every business needs. General liability insurance protects you from general claims related to bodily injuries and your business from claims involving property damage. 

It can help pay for:

Bodily Injuries

If a customer slips and falls in your photography studio, they can sue you. Since bodily injury is covered by general liability insurance, the insurance agency will pay for all the medical expenses of anyone who is hurt during the course of your business.

Property Damage

Photography requires you to constantly be on the move, visiting different locations for different types of photo sessions, lugging your photography equipment from one place to the next.

When you’re shooting on location, you’re opening yourself up to liabilities. You could accidentally cause property damage in an attempt to get that perfect shot and end up facing a lawsuit. Having general liability insurance in place can help you avoid paying for the damages out of your own pocket. 

The property damage liability coverage of general liability insurance will pay for the repair or replacement costs of any damage your business might have caused.

Reputational Harm

Reputational damage can potentially harm your business. Something you said or did during a photoshoot can be taken as slander or libel, and your customer can sue you for it. If that happens, general liability insurance will cover the legal costs that defending your business will require.

Advertising 

If you use a client's picture to advertise your photography business without consulting the client, you can be sued for copyright infringement.

Liability and general insurance go together like mac and cheese. Without general liability insurance, you’ll have to pay for costly claims that may pop up while operating your business. If you’re freelancing as a photographer or are a small business, you can’t afford to play with these odds.

The costs of a liability claim can mount pretty quickly. If the claim moves forward as a lawsuit, you’ll be out of a large amount of money to defend and settle. When you get general liability insurance, you don’t have to pay for these costs yourself. Your insurance company will take care of them for you.

Remember, general liability insurance does not cover:

  • Auto accidents
  • Employee injuries
  • Workmanship
  • Damage to your equipment

Cyber Insurance

As the name goes, cyber insurance protects your business from liabilities that occur as a result of cyber threats and crimes. Living in an internet-driven world, getting cyber insurance for your business is one of the best things you can do to protect it from liabilities.

With more and more businesses moving online, is it a surprise that the cyber insurance market was worth $7.8 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow to $20.4 billion by 2025?

While the internet has been beneficial for many businesses, it has also made them more susceptible to data breaches and other cybercrimes. Cyber attacks can put you and your clients at risk. This makes acquiring cyber insurance all the more critical.

Protect yourself against cybersecurity threats by looking at cyber insurance that includes:

Electronic Data Processing Insurance

Electronic data processing insurance covers damages related to computers and data. Getting cyber insurance is a wise business decision, especially if you use electronic equipment to run your business.

Intellectual Property Insurance

Intellectual property insurance covers all the damages incurred by IP infringement, theft, and fraud. Additionally, it also covers the legal defense costs levied on policyholders who are accused of these crimes.

As a photographer, you have a responsibility towards your clients. When your client gives you access to sensitive information, you must protect it. Cyber insurance covers any liabilities that may be caused by a data breach that targets your clients’ social security numbers, credit/debit card numbers, etc. 

Cyber insurance covers:

  • Financial losses from fraudulent transactions made using your business account details.
  • Costs incurred from electronic media liability, the insured’s negligence in analyzing and notifying clients on the extent of the damage, etc.
  • Replacing or restoring data lost from software incidents caused by viruses, hacker attacks, denial of service attacks (DoS), etc.
  • Cyber extortion payments to a hacker who breached your data and threatened to damage or release confidential data.
  • Notifying clients whose security has been breached.
  • Crisis management and arranging resources to protect your business’ reputation.

What’s not covered? That’s one of the most critical questions. Knowing what is and isn’t covered by cyber insurance can help you tackle any liabilities that your business may face.

Cyber insurance does not cover:

  • Prior notice exclusion or claims that have been settled by the business’ previous insurance company
  • Willful violation by the insured
  • Bodily injuries, equipment, and property damage
  • Imputing full severability of exclusions
  • Utility failures

While it’s easy to get general liability insurance and call it a day, it's important to remember that general liability insurance does not cover cyber insurance. If your business has an internet presence or stores and sends electronic data, you may be open to risks like fraud, a compromised business email, ransomware attacks, etc. Cyber insurance can protect you and your business from liabilities like these.

Personal Accident and Health Insurance

Personal Accident and Health Insurance

Contrary to popular misconceptions, a health insurance policy does not cover personal accidents. Personal accident insurance and a health insurance policy are different from one another. 

A health insurance policy covers you for medical emergencies. Personal accident insurance, on the other hand, covers only specific situations that involve accidents. 

Health Insurance Policy

Photographers don’t have specific hours. Some locations will have you getting up at 3 in the morning to capture pictures, while some require you to shoot in the rain or under the sweltering heat of the sun. These concessions may seem minor at the time, but they can have adverse effects on your health in the long run. Health insurance is therefore not an option. It’s a necessity.

You can incur a lot of damage to yourself as a photographer. This makes it all the more important to insure yourself against emergencies and accidents. Accidents happen. Nobody ever sees them coming. That’s the bottom line.

Health insurance covers the financial expenses that arise from medical situations. This insurance will reimburse any medical costs you paid for, including but not limited to daycare procedures, tests, OPD (outpatient department) consultations, etc. Some insurance companies will directly pay the hospital, while some will reimburse you after a certain period.

Take, for example, a road accident, health insurance will cover all expenses from the ambulance and emergency services to in-patient hospitalization and post-patient expenses.

Personal Accident Insurance

We love our families, and we will do whatever it takes to keep them safe and healthy. However, some accidents leave us without many options. This is where personal accident insurance helps.

Personal accident insurance covers:

  • Accidental death
  • Permanent total disablement
  • Permanent partial disablement
  • Temporary total disablement

In case of accidental death, your beneficiary can receive up to 100% of your compensation from the insurance company. 

Personal accident insurance is designed to provide relief to the insured and his or her dependents in the event of an accident. It allows you to have a safety net to fall back on in case you find yourself on the receiving end of an untoward event. Plus, it will compensate you for lost income.

General Contractor’s Insurance 

If you run a photography business, you may often have assistants and other people working for you. As their employer, you’re responsible for all the things that can go wrong until an assignment is done.

General contractor's insurance covers:

General Liability

General liability covers a wide range of risks and damages. If someone other than an employee gets hurt or you accidentally damage property, your general contractor’s insurance will protect you.

Individual contractors have the same amount of liability as larger photography businesses. You won’t be exempt from lawsuits and claims just because you work independently. However, general liability covers expensive legal fees which is a huge benefit.

Equipment Protection

When you’re carrying expensive and delicate tools from one place to another, you can’t guarantee that they’ll always be safe. Photography equipment and tools cost thousands of dollars. That’s not an investment you can make on a whim. 

With general contractor’s insurance, your equipment will be protected at all times. In case of damage or liabilities, you can be compensated for and/or have your equipment replaced whether it’s owned or borrowed from someone else. General contractor’s insurance also covers incidental damages to your employees’ tools and clothing. 

Commercial Damage

If you rent or own a studio or office space, you can receive compensation for damages caused by you or your employees. General contractors’ insurance will help pay for lost income and operating expenses. It will also help pay for damaged or stolen property.

Employee Compensation

Workplace injuries are not unheard of. As an employer, you’re responsible for the well-being of your employees while they’re working for you. If employees sustain workplace injuries, general contractors’ insurance will pay for their medical care and lost wages — expenses that you would otherwise have to pay for.

Equipment Breakdown Insurance  

Equipment breakdown insurance is an insurance policy that protects your business from electrical, mechanical, and computer equipment breakdown. If you’re in the photography business, you understand how important it is to have properly functioning equipment.

Equipment insurance covers damages that happen all of a sudden. Here’s what it covers:

Mechanical Equipment

This includes vehicle insurance, insurance benefits for generators, elevators, and specialized manufacturing and production equipment.

Electrical Breakdown

Electrical breakdown coverage includes transformers, cables, electrical panels, and everything qualified as an electric component specified by your equipment breakdown insurance.

Communication Breakdown

You’re covered for all breakdowns of communication systems which includes computer systems, voicemail systems, phone systems, security systems, etc.

Equipment breakdown insurance will not cover:

  • Equipment that gets damaged from wear and tear including rust, corrosion, defects, and deterioration
  • Damages to equipment due to fire from within the machinery

If you already have commercial property insurance, you’ll still have to get equipment breakdown insurance because commercial property insurance only covers damages caused by external factors.  An equipment breakdown insurance covers damages caused by internal factors like power surges, motor burnout, and mechanical breakdowns.

Remember This

Insurances can be very specific. While umbrella insurance is available, it doesn’t really provide full coverage. Depending on the risk factors of your business, a specific insurance policy can provide you with better coverage. Since this means you’re not applying for all-around protection, it can be a more economic option for your business. 

Insurance can be expensive. However, if you’re a business with multiple people on your payroll, you can get a discount plan with personal legal insurance, which effectively makes legal services more affordable.

How To Get The Best Photographer Insurance Policy For Your Business

How To Get The Best Photographer Insurance Policy For Your Business

As a photographer, you need to protect your assets. An insurance policy is crucial to protect your business from risks and damages. Whether it's liability coverage, stolen or damaged equipment, or compensation for your employees, getting the right insurance policy can offer you all types of protection.

How do you find the right insurance policy?

You have a lot of options. It’s quite the task to browse through all of them and find the best photographer insurance policy for your business, but it has to be done. It’s a necessary evil. 

Just like consulting multiple agencies for home insurance, getting quotes, and comparing policies at your disposal, finding the best photographer insurance policy requires the same level of dedication and attention.  

When browsing through the insurance options available, look out for:

  • The reputation of the company
  • Third-party ratings
  • Policy and add-on costs
  • Type of coverage provided
  • Customer reviews and service, etc.

Whether you freelance or operate a photography business, it’s important that you have some sort of insurance policy to back you up in case you encounter liability. Liabilities don’t knock on your door and ask for permission to enter. These issues arise anytime and anywhere unexpectedly.

Choosing the right coverage is one of the most critical business decisions you will make as a photographer. It’s vital to protect your assets, yourself, and your clients. 

As a photographer, you, of all people, know your work is more than just taking creative shots for your clients. You run a business that sometimes requires you to make decisions that could lead to success or leave you high and dry. 

Photographer’s insurance protects your business from taking the brunt of claims and lawsuits, among other things. The photography industry has its fair share of liabilities, and simply put; an insurance policy protects you so you can remain focused on whatever assignment is at hand.

Professional Photographers of America

Get Photographer Insurance

Consider joining Professional Photographers of America for insurance included with your membership and the ability to upgrade insurance as needed.

Go to PPA.com/MyFriend to join. Use a friend's name as a referral and receive $35 off your first year. For example, use Scott Kivowitz (the Chief Community Officer at Imagely)

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