Business Insurance for Photographers

Do You Need Photography Insurance?

Researching photography insurance isn’t as fun as planning out your next wedding shoot, or offering new parents the chance to capture their infant’s cozy first weeks at home professionally, but it is necessary if you’re a professional photographer. 

With all the weddings, newborns, family photos, and other events that occur daily, your expertise as a professional photographer is needed. As a photographer or videographer, you are trusted with capturing images from important occasions that visually tell a story or record an event. A loss of your equipment would not just be expensive, it would put your photography business on hold. And if you don't have enough money to replace your loss, you could be out of business for a while.

You may already have a basic photography insurance plan in place or you might be starting a new business. If you’re trying to figure out exactly what you need and how much it’s going to cost—we want to help you. So what do you need for insurance coverage? 

Who Needs Photography Insurance?

Do you run a photography company? Or are you a freelancer? Either way, you need to protect your business with insurance coverage. Here are some other examples of professionals who should consider photographers insurance: 

• Wedding photographers
• Newborn photographers
• Portrait photographers
• Commercial photography
• Drone photographers
• Real estate photographers
• Videographers

If you shoot a camera professionally in any capacity, consider properly insuring your business and your photography equipment. 

Photographer Insurance: Coverage to Consider

What insurance should a photography business consider to protect their business? Here's what we recommend:

General Liability Insurance

General liability coverage is a policy an insurance company offers that protects photographers from claims of third party bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury: 

• Bodily Injury: Photographers often use expensive lighting equipment, tripods, and other photography equipment that can be trip hazards. If a client trips and injures themselves on your equipment, do you have coverage? General liability can help cover third party medical expenses and other associated costs.
• Property Damage: Anytime you work in a client’s home or outside of your studio, you are at risk of damaging their property. One misstep and you may accidentally break something of value. General liability can help cover the cost to repair or replace a costly mistake. 
• Personal Injury/Libel: If you’re shooting at a charity event with multiple celebrities in attendance and accidentally leak information about the event you could be held liable. This liability coverage can cover the costs of legal defense or settlement if you’re sued for defamation or libel. 

Professional Liability Insurance for Your Photography Business

Professional liability insurance—often referred to as Errors and Omissions Insurance (E&O Insurance) is another coverage photographers should consider. Professional liability insurance can cover you if you are accused of professional negligence, missed deadlines, and undelivered services. 

Example #1: You outline the exact shots you’ll get during your client’s wedding in your contract. However, on the day of the event, you miss some of the key shots—which can never be taken again. A professional liability policy can't erase the problem, but it can compensate the client if they sue you for undelivered services.

Example #2: While working on editing photos of a client’s wedding reception you find out one of your memory cards has been corrupted, resulting in the complete loss of the photos. While your 2nd shooter obtained some similar shots, there will be some missing photos. If your client accuses you of professional negligence, a professional liability policy can help cover costs if sued. 

Why Photographers Should Consider a Business Owner’s Policy

Some insurance companies—such as Hiscox—that provide insurance for photographers offer comprehensive business owner’s policies (BOP) that include coverage for equipment, general liability, business property insurance, and business interruption coverage. 

Camera Equipment Insurance: This insurance can cover your camera body(s), lenses, tripods, lighting equipment, and more. Protecting the equipment that costs you thousands of dollars should be your priority. If you drop a lens or your camera body is damaged, this coverage can help cover repair or replacement costs. 

Business Interruption Insurance: Often referred to as business income insurance, this would compensate videographers or photographers for loss of income if your photography business has to close due to property damage.

How Much Does Photography Insurance Cost? 

The cost of insurance for photographers varies depending on the risks you face, including:

• Type of photography. Are you simply shooting weddings? Contracting with magazines? Going to clients’ homes? Your photography insurance is based on the type of photography you’re doing.
• Additional services. Do you offer videography? Drone photography? Do you provide lighting? Editing?
• Business property: Mobile or Studio? If you have a physical studio, your photography insurance can cover the property.
• Insurance company: Costs and coverage limits will vary from one insurance company to the next.

Some insurance companies offer general liability insurance as low as $99 a year for basic coverage. As you add on additional necessary coverage your cost will increase. The best way to get an accurate quote on the cost is to speak with a knowledgeable agent. 

Get a Free Photography Insurance Quote

If you’ve been in operation for a while, and have a current photography insurance policy, you may want to investigate other options and get a few quotes to see if you can economize. It’s always good business to make sure you’re maximizing your profits, but the best business is making sure that unplanned events don’t derail your dream. When you look at your existing photographer insurance, examine the types of risks it covers, and ask yourself if you need to expand it, rather than try and whittle it down.

Photography is rewarding, but it’s also quite a carrier for risk. Whether it’s props and lighting, in a studio or on location, or the possibility of damages while in a client’s home due to negligence or simple accidents, you don’t want to lose the unique opportunity you have because an unforeseen risk wasn’t covered by an available photography insurance policy or add-on. You can protect your business with the right policies with the right insurance company.

Call today to speak with one of our insurance professionals at 1-877-907-5267 to see what kind of photography insurance is right for your business. Or, complete the form at the top of the page to start the process for getting your quick, free, competitive quote.