Skeptical about buying photography business insurance? These small business legality stats from The Zebra may change your mind:
- Every year 36% to 53% of small businesses are sued
- At least 43% of all small businesses are threatened with a lawsuit every year
- 90% of all businesses experience a lawsuit at some point in their lifespan
If you’re like a lot of freelance photographers just starting a business, you might be thinking, “I’m small potatoes. Why do I need insurance? Who’s coming after me?”
Think again!
5 Great Reasons Your Startup Photography Business Needs Insurance
If you do get sued, the legal defense costs alone can put you out of business — even if you’re not liable. Insurance can step in so you can preserve your good reputation, keep building your career, and leave your savings unscathed.
Insurance Protects Your Equipment
Your photography equipment is precious to you and it’s the means by which you became an entrepreneur. You probably love how the buttons feel under your fingertips and the rush of putting that camera strap over your neck before a photo shoot.
If something were to happen to your valuable cameras, lenses, or other gear, consider this: Do you have enough for replacements or repairs? If not, you need camera equipment insurance.
Without your equipment, you can’t make money through your startup photography business. Do the math: no equipment = no business = no money. Always have equipment insurance.
Let’s say, for example, you’re flying to do landscape photography in Miami, Florida for a high-end client. You have a luggage bag with all of your equipment. When you arrive, you can’t find your bag in baggage claim and think someone stole it. You file a police report for stolen luggage with gear that costs thousands of dollars or more.
Or, you put all of your photography gear in your car in preparation for a shoot at an important art gala. Just before you leave, you get carjacked and a thief drives away with all your equipment. After calling 911 and completing a police report, you can submit a claim for stolen equipment to get help replacing things like your camera, work phone, laptop, lenses, lighting, and more.
It Saves Your Startup From All-Too-Common Risks
People are awkward, clumsy creatures, and accidents happen. Unfortunately, hospital bills happen, too. You could be on the hook for medical expenses if that accident is your fault. Somebody could trip over your camera bag or equipment, hurt themselves during your shoot, or cut themselves on your light stand.
For example, you may be working with another photographer for a magazine shoot. You bring over extra light stands and tripods. Unfortunately, a light stand isn’t set up properly and hits the other photographer in the head, giving them a concussion.
Another example could be shooting in a client’s home, and breaking a priceless item like artwork, a vase, or an urn with their loved one’s ashes. They could sue you for property damage.
You may take every precaution in the book, but crazy things are known to occur. Having insurance is a smart move in this klutzy world we all share.
Insurance Gets Your Startup Photography Business More Gigs
What do schools, wedding venues, festivals, and state and national parks all have in common? They love it so much when you show them a Certificate of Insurance (COI) for potential photo sessions that most require it. A COI shows your professionalism and commitment to safety should something go wrong during your shoot.
Also, these and other venues may ask you to add them as additional insureds to your policy. No problem. Adding a venue or event as an additional insured shows that you’re willing to collaborate and meet their obligations, building a trusting environment.
Adding venues as additional insureds offers positive vibes for several reasons, such as:
- Fulfilling legal requirements: Some venues or events have legal orders to be added as additional insureds to insurance policies.
- Processing claims: If a mishap occurs during one of your photoshoots, your insurance can protect you and the venue from pricey claims and lawsuits.
- Maintaining an ideal client reputation: When a venue is an additional insured on your policy it shows their clients that they care about hiring professionals and are serious about managing risks.
It Shields You From Mishaps and Mistakes
Professional liability (we call it failure to deliver) coverage can protect you from mistakes you make and things that you can’t even foresee, control, or prevent. This insurance is also called Errors and Omissions – it’s designed to cover you from claims arising out of mistakes you make or things you fail to do on your end.
Let’s say you’re hired to photograph a bar mitzvah. However, before removing your memory card you format the card and it erases all of the photos you took! The clients can sue you for losing their precious memories. After all, a boy only turns 13 once.
Or, a client misinterprets a contract you set about a studio shoot, and when you deliver the finished photos, they’re unsatisfied with your work because they thought you were going to “pull out all the stops.” They could sue you for a contract breach.
Cyber liability, aka data breach insurance protects you from cyberattacks and data privacy breaches. So if you store client photos or information like credit card numbers and other payment methods, contact information, process payments online, or collect data through your website, it’s a key coverage for your startup photography business to have.
For example, someone can hack into your website and grab your client’s personal and payment information, and a client could sue you for mishandling their data. Cyber liability insurance can protect you from claims like these and more.
Insurance Preserves and Promotes Your Reputation
Business insurance for photographers not only protects you from risks and huge expenses, but it also establishes a positive reputation with events, venues, and your customers. It shows that you’re a credible professional who takes their work and the best interests of their clients seriously.
After getting coverage from Full Frame Insurance (FFI), why not show it off a bit? You can display your Full Frame insurance badge on contracts, proposals, and marketing materials like your website, email signatures, social media ads, business cards, brochures, and flyers.
Your FFI general liability insurance also protects you from personal and advertising injury claims like false advertising, copyright infringement, defamation, wrongful detainment, false arrest, invasion of privacy, and more.
Let’s say you’re marketing yourself as a landscape photographer. However, you use someone else’s photos of the Grand Canyon in your marketing materials. That original photographer could sue you for copyright infringement for using their work as your own or without permission.
Or, you use a client’s photo for commercial purposes — such as ads or local billboards to sell beauty products — without their permission. They could sue you for misappropriation of likeness.
How to Choose the Right Coverage for Your Startup Photography Business
Event vs Annual Insurance for Startup Photography Businesses
Not sure if you want FFI’s Event, Annual, or Annual+ plans? We’ll give you a quick rundown of what each covers.
Event
- Starts at $59 per 1-3 day events
- General liability coverage
- Medical injuries
- Personal advertising and injury
- Damage to premises rented to you
- Unlimited additional insureds for $5
Annual+ (most popular – camera equipment coverage included!)
- Starts at $23.83/month or $271/year
- General liability coverage
- Medical injuries
- Personal advertising and injury
- Damage to premises rented to you
- Camera equipment coverage (with optional upgrade tiers)
- Optional add-ons
- Professional liability aka failure to deliver coverage
- Cyber liability aka data breach coverage
- Unlimited additional insureds for $30 or $15 for one
Annual (no camera equipment coverage included)
- Starts at $12/month or $129/year
- General liability coverage
- Medical injuries
- Personal advertising and injury
- Damage to premises rented to you
- Optional add-ons
- Camera equipment coverage and upgrade tiers
- Professional liability aka failure to deliver coverage
- Cyber liability aka data breach coverage
- Unlimited additional insureds for $30 or $15 for one
How to Bundle Coverage and Tailor Your Plan With Add-Ons
Check out our comprehensive table below to see how you can tailor your policy with optional add-on coverages.
| FFI Coverage Options | Annual+ | Annual | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Starting Price
|
$23.83 Monthly Pricing OR $271 Annually |
$12 Monthly Pricing OR $129 Annually |
$59 Per 1-3 Day Events |
|
Instant Coverage or Select Start Date |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
|
General Liability (Medical Injury, Personal Advertising and Injury, Property Damage, etc.) |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
|
Products – Completed Operations |
✅ |
✅ |
❌ |
|
Camera Equipment |
Base tier included |
Add-on |
❌ |
|
Add Cyber Liability |
✅ |
✅ |
❌ |
|
Add Failure To Deliver (Professional Liability) |
✅ |
✅ |
❌ |
|
Add Additional Insureds |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
Annual+
Starting Price: $23.83 Monthly Pricing OR
$271 Annually
Instant Coverage or Select Start Date: ✅
General Liability (Medical Injury, Personal Advertising and Injury, Property Damage, etc.): ✅
Products – Completed Operations: ✅
Camera Equipment: Base tier included
Add Cyber Liability: ✅
Add Failure To Deliver (Professional Liability): ✅
Add Additional Insureds: ✅
Annual
Starting Price: $12 Monthly Pricing OR
$129 Annually
Instant Coverage or Select Start Date: ✅
General Liability (Medical Injury, Personal Advertising and Injury, Property Damage, etc.): ✅
Products – Completed Operations: ✅
Camera Equipment: Add-on
Add Cyber Liability: ✅
Add Failure To Deliver (Professional Liability): ✅
Add Additional Insureds: ✅
Event
Starting Price: $59 Per 1-3 Day Events
Instant Coverage or Select Start Date: ✅
General Liability (Medical Injury, Personal Advertising and Injury, Property Damage, etc.): ✅
Products – Completed Operations: 🅧
Camera Equipment: 🅧
Add Cyber Liability: 🅧
Add Failure To Deliver (Professional Liability): 🅧
Add Additional Insureds: ✅
Need a little more direction? Submit a query on our Contact Us page and a licensed, non-commissioned agent will reach out with answers.
FAQs About Startup Photography Business Insurance
What Kind of Insurance Do I Need to Start My Photography Business?
At a minimum, your startup photography business needs general liability insurance. It’s designed to protect you from common third-party bodily injury and property damage claims for potential mishaps that can occur. To protect your camera and expensive gear, you should also add Camera Equipment Insurance to your policy.
What Is a COI for Photography?
A COI, which stands for Certificate of Insurance, is a document proving that you have photographer’s insurance. Most venue owners and event organizers require photographers like you to show them your COI in order to work with them.
How Much Will a Freelance Photographer Pay for Insurance the First Year?
Insurance for freelance photographers only costs as little as $129 annually or $12 a month. Costs vary on additional coverages you include in your policy, your income, and how many additional insureds you need for specific events or venues.
What Is Professional Liability Insurance for Photographers?
Professional liability insurance, aka failure to deliver or (E&O) errors and omissions insurance, protects photographers from mistakes or things they failed to do. This coverage can also protect you from things you can’t prevent, foresee, or control.
Some examples include not showing up for a photo session and failing to hire a replacement, or breaching a contract you established with a client.
