Photography insurance coverage is a policy, or combination of policies, that protects your photography or videography business from claims of negligence or damage to your equipment and property. For equipment, inland marine is the most important coverage, and this can cost $200 to $2,500 annually. General liability insurance, the most common insurance policy for a photographer, can range from $200 to $1,020 annually.
Photography Insurance Costs by Policy
Policies | Coverage Limits | Estimated Annual Premium | Deductible |
|---|---|---|---|
General Liability | $1 million per occurrence; $2 million aggregate | $200 to $1,020 | $0 |
Commercial Property | $35,000 (equipment only) | $175 to $700 | $1,000 |
Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) | $18,000 (equipment only) | $530 to $1,546 | $1,000 |
Inland Marine | $15,000 | $200 to $2,500 | $500 to $1,000 |
Professional Liability | $1 million per occurrence; $1 million aggregate | $400 to $1,500 | $500 |
Cyber Liability | $1 million per occurrence; $1 million aggregate | $500 to $1,800 | $2,500 to $5,000 |
When insurers calculate a photographer’s insurance premium, many factors come into play. The most common are:
- Deductibles: A deductible is like co-insurance—the higher you are willing to pay on a claim, the lower your premium may go.
- Limits: The amount of coverage can raise or lower your premium, but a lower limit can also increase your risk exposure.
- Claims history: If you have a history of filing claims, this may lead to a higher premium.
- Type of work: What you photograph or record—such as wild animals, models, aerial shots using drones, or anything in the adult film industry—can lead to a higher premium.
- Storage: How you store and maintain your customers’ prints, negatives, and personal identifying information is factored into your premium.
Photography Insurance Coverage: Which Policies Do You Need?
Every photography business is different, so some may need more photographer insurance than others. The size and scope of your business will heavily impact the type and level of coverage. A solo photographer who does portraits on the side is not going to need a workers’ compensation policy.
The core policies to consider are first-party coverage (also called property coverage) to protect your equipment and liability for any potential claims against your business. The other policies are additional layers of protection you may want or need depending on the size of your business.
Coverage Type | What It Covers |
|---|---|
General Liability | Nonemployee claims of bodily injury, property damage, and reputational harm |
Commercial Property | Damage to business-owned property, including buildings and their contents |
BOP | Combines general liability, commercial property, and usually lost business income |
Inland Marine | Tools and equipment that you take with you to different locations |
Professional Liability | Clients’ accusations of financial losses due to your negligence, mistakes, or omissions |
Cyber Liability | First-party for data breach expenses and third-party claims of negligence |
Workers’ Compensation | Employees’ medical bills and lost wages resulting from a work-related injury |
General liability insurance is the most common policy for photographers—and it is a key policy for every photographer. This protects your business against claims of negligence. There are three areas of coverage:
- Property damage.
- Bodily injury.
- Advertising injury and libel.
For example, you take photos of staged homes for a real estate company, and while working in a home, your tripod falls over and breaks a glass table. This situation would be an example of a property damage claim.
Did you know: If you are a special events photographer, event venues may often request proof of insurance, and this document is commonly called a certificate of insurance (COI). The venue may request to be included as an additional insured. Some insurance companies offer this as a free service, but others will charge anywhere from $15 to $30 to your policy to designate an additional insured.
Commercial property is first-party coverage that protects your owned structures and their contents. Photographers with a studio, showroom, and furniture should consider this type of policy. Typically, these policies have a blanket limit, which means there is one limit for all the owned property at the listed location.
A homeowner’s policy will usually not cover business activities or, if so, have a limit that is less than your business needs. If your photography business is out of your home, you should still look into commercial property.
A BOP is a package that combines liability and property. Its advantage is that it usually costs less than if you buy standalone policies for liability and commercial property. Carriers typically will let you add equipment coverage for your photography equipment.
Sometimes, it can be confusing to hear all the different insurance terms. If you’d like to learn more about the difference between a BOP and general liability, read our comparison of BOP vs general liability insurance.
For photographers, this is one of the more important coverages to consider. This is what you would purchase to insure your equipment. Inland marine insurance is property coverage for your equipment. Unlike commercial property, inland marine follows the equipment and isn’t limited to a specific location. This coverage helps if you accidentally drop and break your camera or someone steals your gear from your car. Discuss whether this is included with a BOP or general liability when shopping for insurance.
Some providers will schedule or list your equipment for this coverage. So when calling for a quote, be prepared to go over what type of equipment you have and its approximate value.
Sometimes referred to as errors and omissions (E&O), this is for situations usually not covered by a liability policy. For instance, your contract promises a couple that you will capture their wedding day perfectly. When the newlyweds receive the pictures, they discover you didn’t take any pictures of family members or key ceremony moments and failed to deliver on your promise. This would be a situation where you could file a claim for professional liability.
Photographers do so much work online today that you should consider cyber liability insurance. This protects your business from data breaches and cyberattacks by helping with the cost of notifying the parties involved, handling ransomware attacks, or ensuring your response complies with the related laws.
Odds are, unless you own a photography studio with multiple employees, workers’ compensation insurance isn’t one you will need to consider. However, since this coverage is required in nearly every state, it is still good to be familiar with what it is. This will help your employees if they get injured while on the job by handling medical and rehabilitation expenses and offering wage replacement.
Where To Buy Photographer’s Insurance
Most small business insurance carriers will offer photography insurance, and you can check out our roundup of the best photography insurance companies. Simply visit a company’s website or contact a local agent to get a quote started.
An alternative route to working with a dedicated business insurance provider, or carrier, is using a broker. A broker works on behalf of the customer to help them find the right insurance for their business by gathering quotes from multiple providers simultaneously. This lets you compare the price and coverage and then purchase a policy.
Whether you go through a provider or a broker, be prepared to answer questions about how many employees you have, your anticipated revenue, the types of work you photograph, and how long you have been in business. For more on this area, read our broker vs carrier comparison to help you decide.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
If you are a photographer or videographer who charges for your work, you need to consider purchasing insurance. If an event space contracts with you to take pictures, don’t assume its coverage extends to you. In fact, should something go wrong, they may first ask for proof of your insurance. If your office and showroom are in your home, odds are your homeowner’s policy won’t cover your videography equipment or any liability from your business.
If you use your photos of others to advertise your business, or print images, then you should consider using a photography release form. When deciding whether you need to use a photography release, consider this question: Will the use of this photo generate revenue for my business? If the answer is yes, then you need to consider utilizing a release. This helps protect your business if, for instance, a past client alleges you profited from their image or likeness using photos you took and then marketed without their permission.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 47,380 persons employed full time as a photographer in the US. California has the highest rate with 5,200 people employed as a photographer.
Prices can vary from $200 to $1,020 annually. Photography liability insurance costs approximately $259 annually from The Hartford—and this quote is for a $1 million limit with $18,000 in equipment coverage. Meanwhile, Next Insurance provided a quote for $16.67 a month for $1 million in coverage, with property coverage being an additional $17 monthly.
Photography insurance can protect your business from various scenarios—depending on the particular policies you include. Here are a few to consider:
- General liability: The officiant trips over your camera tripod and breaks their nose. This is an example of a third-party bodily injury claim.
- Professional liability: Because of the officiant’s broken nose, the wedding is delayed for 3 hours, impacting the couple’s departure for their honeymoon cruise. They decide to sue you. This is an example of a situation where professional liability insurance may step in and help.
- Property: While taking photos at a school dance, a guest knocks the camera out of your hand, causing it to fall and break. This is a claim you could file under your equipment coverage.
Bottom Line
As a professional photographer, people let you into their special moments so that you can capture and preserve those memories. To do that well, you have to invest in equipment, which will cost a hefty sum. Photography insurance can bring you peace of mind—protecting your business, equipment, and employees—so that you and your clients can truly focus on the moment.
The Hartford offers coverage for all sizes and types of photographers, including drone insurance. You can get a quote online in minutes, and once you have the policy, you can count on top-quality customer service available 24/7.
