Do photographers need insurance?

Lots can go wrong in the photography biz. Clients can kick off, gear can go missing, people can get hurt. And Murphy's Law is bound to kick in sooner or later.

In a nutshell, it’s likely you need at least some insurance to protect your business. Nearly all photographers do.

Google ‘Do photographers need insurance?’ however, and you'll get lots of people wanting to sell you stuff, with very little info on what you're actually buying. And that's no good for anyone.

What you're really after is people who want to tell you stuff. So, here’s our no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is guide to insurance for photographers.

Why do photographers need insurance?

This might seem a little unfair but the fact that you’re a professional person puts you at risk by default. Your clients pay you money to do something they can’t (or won’t) do themselves. And because of that, they’re within their rights (both morally and legally) to sue you if something goes wrong – even if they just think something’s gone wrong.

Worst-case scenario, you could be liable for the cost of reshooting an unhappy couple's happy day, compensating a client because you accidentally wiped their images, or fending off accusations you've copied someone else's work.

These things are all covered by photographers’ professional indemnity insurance. If you’re in dispute with a client, the policy pays for the cost of defending any allegations against you. And stumps up for damages or compensation if you’re liable.

Other reasons photographers need insurance:

Insurance for damaging people and/or their property

Shooting on location and taking equipment out and about are both fairly obvious risks to you, but they can spell trouble for others too.

Tripods can topple, lights can explode, bags can be tripped over, cars can get scratched, carpets can be permanently stained.

Owners of property or body parts damaged by you or your equipment – either in your studio or on location – will hold you liable. That usually means a claim against you for the cost of fixing what’s broken or to compensate them for their injury.

Photography public liability insurance covers the legal costs of a claim, and any other payments made to the unlucky finger-pointer (assuming they still have a finger to point with).

It's worth pointing out too, that some venues will require you to have public liability insurance before they let you work on their premises. So, make sure you've checked before you turn up.

Insurance for your kit

Have you totted up how much you’ve spent on your equipment? All of it, mind...from your computer or laptop right down to the last lens-cleaning cloth.

A lot isn’t it? Now imagine if you had to replace it all in one go.

Yes, we know it’s unlikely to happen, but the point is your livelihood is tied up in the tools of your trade. Losing them is inconvenient and replacing them is expensive.

So insuring them is a no-brainer. All you need to know is what sort of insurance covers it all.

Photography equipment insurance covers all your kit. Whether you're out and about, in a studio, or travelling to a job. It'll pay to replace or repair anything that's lost, stolen, or damaged.

There are a few limitations to equipment insurance, though. If your kit is stolen, you’ll only be covered if it was securely locked away and out of sight. Or if it was snatched while under your personal supervision (in insurers' terms, that means you were close enough to it to be able to keep an eye on it).

You should also be extra careful about leaving your kit with people while you’re doing a job. If you need to leave your equipment with someone, make sure it’s someone you trust. And ask them to show you where and how it will be stored so you can make sure it ticks your insurer's boxes.

Insurance for photography studios

Whether you have a full-on photography studio or just a little office where you keep all of your equipment, it makes sense to protect it. Where would you be without it after all?

Imagine you have lots of families booked in to have portraits taken in your studio. A flash flood hits and causes carnage. The studio and your equipment are underwater and you can’t get in.

If you own the building, you’ll need commercial property and contents insurance to repair all the damage. To keep your business running and avoid letting down your customers, you can get business interruption insurance too. It’ll pay to set you up in a temporary studio and hire out any kit you need to see you through.

And worst case, if your income is affected by this kind of disaster, business interruption can help bridge the gap.

Insurance for cyber-attacks and data disasters

The internet’s brilliant isn’t it? And email. That’s brilliant too.

But before we get too carried away, let’s remind ourselves that viruses, hackers, and data theft aren't brilliant. Not at all. In fact, they’re a real problem for any business that uses technology (which is pretty much all businesses).

It’s likely you store most of your clients’ photos on a separate hard drive or server. It’s also likely some of those photos are of special significance to your clients and the last thing they want is for them to become public property. Or be wiped out completely.

If you’re the victim of a cyber-attack, cyber insurance covers your direct losses, e.g. the cost of repairing systems or your website, and/or the compensation you might have to pay to clients if you’re sued for unauthorised data collection.

Insurance for the people you work with 

If you employ someone, you probably already know that your photography business insurance should include employers’ liability insurance. By law.

As an employer, your staff’s welfare is your responsibility. If they’re injured or become ill while working for you, and it’s your fault, your insurance picks up the tab if they sue you.

But, what you really need to know is that it’s not just permanent, full-time employees that have to be covered. The Health and Safety Executive’s definition of an ‘employee’ is broad and includes part-timers, volunteers, work experience kids, temporary summer workers, secondees, apprentices, and labour-only subcontractors.

That makes a difference if you’re a sole trader and you occasionally use an extra pair of hands on a shoot, for example.

The HSE hands out fines to those who should have employers’ liability insurance but don’t. So the best way to avoid trouble is to read its guide for employers and make sure you’re within the law.

Insurance for legal disputes

Running a business is fraught with problems. There’s a huge amount of legislation to keep up with, accompanied by an equal number of legal pitfalls for the unprepared.

Tax, property, and employment disputes are the most common and require time, effort, and money to resolve. You can employ a solicitor to help you, of course, and we all know how cheap they are…

Or you can add commercial legal expenses insurance to your policy instead. It helps with your legal costs and provides expertise and invaluable advice when you need it most: when you don’t know what to do with that official-looking letter, basically.

Focused protection

The thing is, you can insure almost anything these days and where you draw the line is up to you. At least now you know where the line starts.

You can read up some more on photographers' insurance and get a quote. Or if you need help deciding what's best, call us on 0345 222 5391.

Image used under license from Shutterstock.