In today’s inundated insurance market, it sure can be hard for a photographer to know the best coverage option.
If you’re already a paid photographer or thinking about becoming one, getting your business covered with insurance is essential. Insurance for photographers can be confusing. Weird terms and phrases. Different coverages. Different policies. Different prices.
The challenge is knowing 1) what your small photography business’ insurance needs are, and 2) which specific policies to purchase to sufficiently cover those needs. Luckily, your friends at Full Frame Insurance are here to help you make sense of everything and help you get the best bang for your buck for your insurance coverage.
Today, we’re looking at what insurance for photographers actually is and the different policies you may need to protect your business.
What the Heck is Insurance for Photographers Anyway?
Strangely, when an insurance provider uses the term “photographers insurance,” it isn’t actually referring to a single insurance policy. Rather, it refers to a combination of policies that the provider has gathered together into a single, sometimes-comprehensive-sometimes-not, coverage plan.
As you can imagine, each providers’ insurance for photographers is a little different and can vary both in the amount of coverage they provide and in the cost of said coverage. So how can you find the best deal? If you’ve been following along, the answer might seem a little obvious: you look at the policies in each plan, of course!
By comparing each particular plan and the price you pay per policy provided, you will gain a clearer understanding of 1) which plans meet your business’ coverage needs, and 2) which plans offer you the biggest bang for your buck.
Without any further adieu, let’s look at one of the policies most insurance for photographers should include—general liability—why you might need it, and the amount of coverage you should expect to get for the best deal possible.
General Liability
An absolute essential for any professional photographer, general liability can protect you from paying out of pocket should your business operation injure someone or damage an individual’s property.
For example, let’s say a photographer was hired to shoot at a couple’s wedding reception. Let’s say that, during the reception, the bride’s grandmother trips on your tripod and falls, breaking her hip. On top of that, the tripod also falls, shattering the venue’s window. Unfortunately, because the photographer’s gear was involved in the accident, they could be held liable to pay thousands of dollars both in medical bills for the grandmother and in window repair costs for the venue.
Is this type of accident likely to happen? Maybe not. But it certainly could happen. That’s why insurance for photographers exists, after all. Personal injury and property damage are among the most common third-party insurance claims small businesses face, and if an accident were to involve your business, you would want a way to dodge the bullet of financial stress that an insurance claim could create. By protecting yourself with a good general liability policy, you can create that financial safety net for when you need it the most.
The good news is that general liability is almost always included as the first policy for insurance for photographers, but it’s always good to double check and make sure you are receiving this extremely important protection.
How Much Does General Liability Cover?
Insurance policies often have limits on how much they will cover should your business get involved in an accident. By comparing the amount of coverage a policy provides with its cost, you can find the insurance plan with the best deal. There are two limits to look for when evaluating a policy: the aggregate limit and the occurrence limit.
Aggregate Limit
The aggregate limit for an insurance policy is the amount of total coverage that a policy will provide during the policy duration—usually a year. Aggregate limits can vary per provider, but on average, most general liability insurance for photographers caps at $2 million. Of course, if you think your business needs more coverage, you can always purchase more—but it will increase the overall price you pay for the policy.
Occurrence Limit
Like the name implies, the occurrence limit is how much coverage the policy provides per insurance claim your business receives. Most general liability policies offer coverage up to about $1 million per occurrence, although it can vary based on the nature of the claim. For instance, Full Frame’s general liability insurance for photographers has limits up to $1 million per occurrence, up to $300,000 per claim for property damage and $5,000 per claim for medical expenses (see chart below).
The cost of general liability can vary by provider, but your business’ needs can also impact the price. For example, if you are a photographer who has multiple photoshoots a week, you may have a higher risk—more photoshoots means more chances for accidents—and may need to pay more than a new photographer with fewer weekly appointments might. But if you take the time to compare the cost of the insurance with the amount of coverage it provides, you should find a plan that fits your needs while working within your budget.
Find the Best Coverage With Full Frame Insurance
Hopefully you have learned a bit about insurance for photographers and how you can get your money’s worth when purchasing a policy. That said, if you haven’t already looked into Frame Frame’s photography insurance options, we would love to have you check us out.
We love making insurance as easy as possible by giving you the best coverage available at a low, affordable rate. With Full Frame, it takes less than ten minutes to get covered, so you don’t have to wait to get the protection your business needs.
This article is first in a series dedicated to explaining the policies that constitute insurance for photographers. For more information, stay tuned for future articles or contact Full Frame with your insurance questions today.
