A lot more goes into running a photography business than taking great pictures and editing with Adobe Photoshop. You need to invest in photographer equipment insurance to protect your camera and other important photography gear.
You never can tell; someone could bump into you and cause your camera to fall off your hands. Other forms of photography equipment damage include loss of your camera and theft of your photography equipment.
What is Photographer Equipment Insurance?
It is a broad term for the different insurance policies for photographers. As a photographer, you want to protect your equipment, including your camera and tripod.
Incidental damages, such as tripping over your laptop, dropping your camera, or misplacing the same can cost you money to replace the items. With the best photographer equipment insurance,your camera and other important photography gear will be fully protected.
What Insurance Do You Need as a Photographer?
You need almost the same type of insurance policies as traditional businesses. General liability and professional liability insurance are some of the insurance coverages you need.
Below is a detailed explanation of the different types of photo equipment insurance you need for your photography business:
1. Equipment Insurance
You need equipment insurance as the first type of photographer equipment insurance for your business. This is primarily for protecting your camera and other gear you need when going out for a photography job.
Some of the items covered with the equipment insurance are:
- Cameras
- Laptops/computers
- Lenses
2. Commercial Property Insurance
This type of photographer equipment insurance is ideal for photographers who have a physical location. This could either be a rented apartment or a studio. It could also be your home, assuming you are running the photography business from home.
It is worth noting that specific coverages are relevant to this type of insurance policy. For example, your commercial property insurance protects your photography office or studio from:
- Vandalism
- Theft of photography items
- Theft of office furniture
3. General Liability Insurance for Photographer Equipment Protection
General liability insurance is a “wholesome insurance policy” that protects your studio or office from accidents or personal injury. It comes in handy when someone gets injured while on your property. You can also make a general liability insurance claim if legal actions are instituted against your business.
4. Life Insurance
This is not as common as the other types of photographer equipment insurance but it is relevant too. Life insurance is generally an insurance policy that protects the life of the policyholder.
Upon passing away, the loved ones (who must have been named as beneficiaries) will get what is called a death benefit. It is a specific amount of money paid to the beneficiaries once the policyholder passes away.
You can purchase a life insurance policy for your photography business. That way, your loved ones will have some money to last them for a while after you pass away.
5. Worker’s Compensation Insurance
Are you a solopreneur? If so, you don’t necessarily need to purchase the worker’s compensation insurance. However, it is a must if you have other photographers working for you.
A worker’s compensation insurance covers the payment of your employees in the event of getting injured while working for your photography business.
6. Commercial Vehicle Insurance
Your photography business needs this insurance if it has a vehicle. The coverage is for a company vehicle that gets into an accident or gets someone else injured.
The coverage is only activated if the vehicle is used when carrying out business activities. This could be when conveying photography equipment to a photoshoot site, transporting the employees, or going on an official business assignment.
Photography commercial auto insurance also covers the medical bills of persons injured with the business vehicle. It also covers your photography business if it is sued in the law court.
7. Errors and Omissions Insurance
Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance is also known as professional liability insurance. The coverage is triggered when your photography business fails to meet the client’s expectations.
For example, if your client isn’t satisfied with the effects or picture editing, he can request a refund. In severe cases, the client mayfile a lawsuit against your business.
Having professional liability insurance helps protect your business from such lawsuits and associated claims.
With it, you can cover the legal fees if the client filed a lawsuit, refund the client or cover the costs of redoing the job to the client’s satisfaction.
8. Disability Insurance for Photographers
Photographers are kind of “superhumans.” They can transform or edit a picture to take a different form entirely.
But what most photographers don’t have control over is their health. As a photographer, you may fall sick, lose a finger or in a worst-case scenario, become disabled.
How would your photography business thrive if you are not there to keep it operating optimally?
Having disability insurance is a smart move to curtail the likely financial downturn of your business if you become disabled.
The insurance covers the income you could have earned if you weren’t disabled.
What Additional Coverage Comes with Photographer Equipment Insurance?
Camera insurance typically covers your camera and its lenses. However, coverage options include your laptop, computer, or Mac.
You may be able to claim the covered items if they are stolen, damaged, lost, or unable to function again.
In addition to protecting the camera, the policy can also cover your darkroom equipment, tripods, and bags.
How Much Does It Cost to Purchase Photography Insurance Cost?
The best way to determine the cost of photographer equipment insurance is by calculating either the Actual Cost Value or Replacement Cost.
Actual Cost Value (ACV) is the depreciated amount of the photography equipment you insured. If you bought a Nikon camera for $4,000 in 2018, your photographer equipment insurance provider may pay only $2,000. This is after factoring in the depreciation of the camera in the last 4 years.
Actual Cost Value is ideal for photographers who want to pay lower premiums. However, you must understand that the cash value you get may be insufficient to replace the lost or damaged photography items.
On the other hand, there is the Replacement Cost which pays the exact cost of purchasing the lost or damaged items. Say you bought a camera for $4,000 you will get the same amount back.
With Replacement Cost coverage, you can replace the photography equipment faster, provided the cost is within the same price range as when it was originally bought.
The only downside to the Replacement Cost coverage is that you will pay a higher premium to keep it active.
Final Thoughts: Protect Your Photography Business with Photographer Equipment Insurance
Your photography studio, camera, lenses, and laptops need to be covered with photographer equipment insurance. That way, you would be able to replace or repair any of those items if they get damaged, stolen, or lost in the course of using them.
