Wedding Photography Insurance

[davidtorralva]

How much does it cost? What are the differences?

[coreypolis]

all depends on what you are insuring.

Call Tom Piackard's Group insure to get a quote

www.groupinsure.com

Hill and Ushire are good too, these 2 are 2 of the best out there. If you belong to an organization like ASMP, NPPA etc, they often have discounted rates as well.

My quote was for around $500/yr for full business and equipment insurance and liability coverage.

It was about $200 a yr just to insure my gear, so thats only another 300 to protect yourself fully.

[PixelChick78]

if your business is out of your home, you can usually add it to the home policy. Mine cost $200 CDN and cover my equipment at $20,000 cdn and liability at $2million.

[SuzyView]

I covered for about that and it's worth it. $500 covers gear, loss of work time, liability, etc. Good policies should cover it all if you are serious about the business. I couldn't shoot anywhere in DC without it.

[coreypolis]

Originally Posted by PixelChick78

if your business is out of your home, you can usually add it to the home policy. Mine cost $200 CDN and cover my equipment at $20,000 cdn and liability at $2million.

i wouldn't do that. you don't want a theft of a camera to raise or cancel your homeowners policy

[picturecrazy]

Originally Posted by PixelChick78

if your business is out of your home, you can usually add it to the home policy. Mine cost $200 CDN and cover my equipment at $20,000 cdn and liability at $2million.

Wow, all the companies I asked said if it's a business, even a home-based business, you cannot put your camera gear as a rider on your home insurance. What company are you with?
As soon as you make money with your camera gear, it qualifies under commercial/business insurance. Unless your company is unique in that way...

[islandphoto]

I really need equipment insurance!!! I had a few quotes. AIG told me there was a $1000 deductable, the policy doesn't cover me while I'm traveling out of the country and all this other BS that really irritated me. If I break a lens what good is a $1000 deductable going to do? I need to find a good company. Any suggestions?

[coreypolis]

Originally Posted by islandphoto

I really need equipment insurance!!! I had a few quotes. AIG told me there was a $1000 deductable, the policy doesn't cover me while I'm traveling out of the country and all this other BS that really irritated me. If I break a lens what good is a $1000 deductable going to do? I need to find a good company. Any suggestions?

business insurance + gear insurance through www.groupinsure.com or Hill and Ushire.

just gear insurance through your local places. I used state farm for a while. 0 deductible, but they didn't cover outside the usa. whcih they didn't tell me, I found out after I traveled abroad, and told them I was insuring it for that reason. ALWAYS Read the fine print.

[ssim]

Originally Posted by islandphoto

I really need equipment insurance!!! I had a few quotes. AIG told me there was a $1000 deductable, the policy doesn't cover me while I'm traveling out of the country and all this other BS that really irritated me. If I break a lens what good is a $1000 deductable going to do? I need to find a good company. Any suggestions?

Most insurance companies will offer a lower deductable for a higher premium though.

The key here is the difference between getting this coverage as a business vs coverage on top of your home policy. The latter is usally way more cost effective but it only covers your gear. when I got covergae for my business it covered a number of different things such as liability if someone gets bonked in the head with one of my lights, my lights start a fire somewhere,loss of business coverage, etc.

If you are a business or trying to be one, the insurance companies are going to treat you like one. You can't have it both ways. Some of my gear is stricly for my personal enjoyment and I have that covered under my home owners policy while the rest is covered under the business.

I don't want to start the whole debate about charges but this is where the weekend warrior photographers fail to factor in the cost of doing business. They treat it more like a little more extra cash to support their gear purchases while feeling that they are being market friendly by charging less. If all these kind of costs are factored in then it becomes much harder to charge these rock bottom prices and actually show a profitable entity.

I agree with you that 1000.00 deductible is a bit steep if you happen to damage one lens. It looks a whole lot more inviting if you happen to have a bag with a couple of bodies, a couple of lenses and a flash stolen. I know from talking with an insurance company they feel that a higher deductible is more acceptable to a company than it is an individual. A 1k charge for a company is not all that much in the grander scheme of things.

[PixelChick78]

Originally Posted by picturecrazy

Wow, all the companies I asked said if it's a business, even a home-based business, you cannot put your camera gear as a rider on your home insurance. What company are you with?
As soon as you make money with your camera gear, it qualifies under commercial/business insurance. Unless your company is unique in that way...

I haven't added the camera as a rider, I have added a home based business rider. The policy is with Traders General Insurance. They are part of the Aviva group. I believe they do business all over the world so you might be able to find a broker that can write you a home policy with that company where you live.

You are correct about not being able to add the camera as a rider because it is a business camera so I added a business rider for the photography business and that cover more the just the camera- it will cover my computer, my software, my equipment and my a** if i get sued, plus they provide you with a lawyer and cover all defense costs.

In response to the post by corypolis... I have a $1000 deductible (to save me 10% /yr in premium) and if I have 1 claim my rates will go up by 20% for 3 years due to the loss of my claims free discount. That would be an increase of about $120/yr for 3 years . Not bad really. But I won't be making any claims that are not worth the hike in premium. I don't worry about someone steeling my $1200 camera, I worry about someone sueing me for a lot more or a fire in my home destryoing all my equipment!

i'm and insurance broker so I know where to look in Ontario Canada if anyone needs more info PM me.