The photography industry is full of excitement.
One day you’re capturing sweet moments at a wedding and the next you’re photographing an energetic young family for portraits. Your job is constantly changing and the risk of an accident happening during a photo shoot is always present.
This is why it’s important to shop around for the best insurance for photographers to make sure you’re covered during every shoot. Furthermore, you are being proactive by protecting what you’ve built. The time, money, and networking is more than enough to consider gaining coverage.
A simple Google search will show you the vast number of photography insurance options available and every insurance company offers different types of coverage at different prices.
Finding the best photography insurance plan on your own can be difficult, so to help you out, we wanted to share some information on a few coverages and perks your policy should offer.
The Best Insurance For Photographers Will Offer…
Camera Equipment Insurance
We bet protecting the tools of your trade is at the forefront of your mind. Just think of the hundreds to thousands of dollars you’ve spent on camera lenses and lighting equipment. Wouldn’t it be great to not have to constantly stress about what could happen to your gear?
While you shop around for the best insurance for photographers, you’ll want to consider going with an insurance company that offers both photography and camera equipment coverage. The last thing you want to do is keep track of two separate insurance policies on top of your car, health, and home insurance.
We offer our annual policyholders an option to purchase camera equipment insurance for a small additional cost. With us, you never have to worry about overpaying for camera gear coverage because our plan offers tiered options from $1,000 per item to $15,000 per item.
Pick the coverage amount that works best for you! Plus, we can even cover camera equipment that you rent! Hooray for convenience. If you decide to skip out on camera equipment insurance when you first get your policy, you can always add it later on or increase your insurance limits if you need more coverage.
General Liability Insurance
Because you work so closely with other people, the best insurance for photographers will offer you general liability. Whoever you choose to go with, the minimum you should carry is general liability insurance. It’s a safety net every photographer should have and we’ll explain why below.
This type of coverage is designed to respond to legal actions arising from:
- Injuries
- Accidents
- Other claims that occur during business operations
According to the American Bar Association (ABA), the average attorney charges between $343 and $727 per hour. If your business is named in a lawsuit, your attorney fees could cost you upward of $10,000 or more.
While looking for a policy, you want to make sure the limit amount is substantial and can help you out in the case of a lawsuit. Our general liability limit is $2 million dollars and may help ease the financial strain caused by a lawsuit. Many small business owners can’t handle the substantial expenses and having general liability can ease any stress.
Additional Insureds
The best insurance for photographers should offer an option to add additional insureds to the policy.
An additional insured is a person or organization (not an employee or a friend) that can be added to your insurance policy by endorsement. Your policy may protect that additional insured from claims arising out of your negligence.
Here’s an example of when it could help: say you’re taking pictures at a wedding and the flower girl trips over an equipment cord while walking down the aisle. The girl gets injured and her family decides to pursue legal action against you. In their lawsuit, the family names the venue owner as well as you. Because you likely added the venue owner as an additional insured on your Full Frame policy and because they weren’t responsible for the accident, they should be protected with your insurance.
By choosing photography insurance that offers the option to include additional insureds, you can boost your professionalism and come prepared. This also can make it easy for you to do your job at a moment’s notice. There are times a fellow photographer can’t make it to a shoot or someone needs an extra photographer for a large event. It is so common for venue owners to require an additional insured endorsement and you want to be prepared. The best insurance for photographers makes the process easy!
You can add additional insureds to any Full Frame event policy or annual policy through your online dashboard. Event policyholders can add unlimited additional insureds for $5 and annual policyholders can add one additional insured for $15 and unlimited insureds for $30.
Rented Property Coverage
Shooting outdoors can bring unwanted variables, such as bad weather, random bystanders, and unexpected noise. Like most photogs do, it’s common to rent out a controlled setting like a studio for shoots.
That being said, you may have taken photographs in several studios throughout your career without incident. And if this is your first time shooting in that type of setting, you should be aware of the possibility of dealing with property damage if you’re not careful.
What would you do if faulty wiring from your lighting equipment caused a small fire in the studio? Could you pay for the damage on your own? Many business owners aren’t able to handle the unexpected expense and it can cause a huge financial headache. Instead of investing money back into your business, you are covering losses and ruining your bottom line.
On your best insurance for photographers search, you should look for rented property coverage that can respond to property damage. Our limit is $300,000 and may respond to a covered claim, such as damage by fire to the rented premises.
Medical Expense Coverage
It’s common practice to direct your client’s poses to capture the right look. But did you know if your client accidentally injures themselves in the process, the blame can automatically be put on you?
While we do live in a litigious society and lawsuits in the photography industry occur, not every accident will lead to a lawsuit.
To keep tension from running high, you can offer to pay their medical bill if the situation arises. This professional gesture could keep the client from taking any legal action against you. And because every Full Frame insurance policy includes a medical expense limit of $5,000, you can have peace of mind you won’t pay out of pocket.
As Easy Application
We know you don’t have all the time in the world and doubt you want to spend the spare time you do have driving to an insurance agent’s office to fill out paperwork. In some cases, the process of applying for insurance and waiting for get a quote could take a few days. Who wants to wait around for that?
The best insurance for photographers should work on your own time and schedule. We framed insurance to fit your lifestyle and give you the convenience of building your own quote. Add what you need, take away what you don’t, and see what coverages work for you. Your personalized quote will automatically show up. With us, you can easily purchase photography insurance online—in 10 minutes or less—add additional insureds, print proof of coverage, file a claim, and so much more.
If you ever have additional questions about your coverage, you can quickly and easily contact one of our licensed agents by phone or email. No driving required!
Now That You Know What The Best Insurance For Photographers Should Offer…
Let’s recap.
The best insurance for photographers should offer you:
- Camera equipment insurance
- General liability insurance
- Additional insureds
- Rented property coverage
- Medical expense coverage
- An easy application
We hope we could be of assistance while you search for the best insurance for photographers.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for photography insurance. Our event policy starts at $59 and our annual policy starts at $99.
The cost will vary if you decide to add additional insureds or camera equipment coverage. Keep in mind that camera gear insurance is only available for those who purchase annual policies.
We pride ourselves on being able to offer affordable coverage framed for photographers like you!
You’ve worked hard to build your business and deserve to have insurance coverage that works with your lifestyle. Don’t leave your business at risk any longer. With our easy online process and proof of insurance immediately after purchase—hooray for zero wait time—you can purchase a Full Frame policy any time.
