Most professional photographers have already had their experiences with this: During the mayhem of a photoshoot, a very expensive lense receives a scratch or someone drops the camera bag. Broken equipment sucks, but repairing it, or – even worse – acquiring brand new gear can easily result in a four, or even five figure purchase. You’re lucky if you have a camera insurance!
Homeowners insurance doesn’t cover to the same extent
Even if you guard the life out of your precious photo gear, things happen: water damage, theft, or cracks. But so you don’t have to learn from your mistakes, a camera insurance can be of great value for you because it will cover the damage, especially when you’re transporting your equipment from location to location, domestically or internationally.
Forums and blogs often praise homeowners insurance; however, watch out: If you’re generating more than 50 % of your annual income with your camera, homeowners insurance won’t cover it. Therefore, for hobby photographers, homeowners insurance may be a solid option – just make sure you talk to your agent about the extent to which your gear is covered. Professional photographers are advised to purchase specific camera insurance.
Comprehensive protection thanks to a photographer insurance
Camera insurance covers a lot more than homeowners insurance – and that’s why camera insurance is recommended to professional photographers. The more services and benefits a camera insurance includes, the more it costs obviously. The payments also vary depending on whether or not you choose a deductible. A decent camera insurance averages around $20 per month.
Most importantly, you should analyze your professional situation beforehand: Do you travel a lot with your photo equipment, maybe even to crisis areas? Do you transport your gear in a vehicle and sometimes leave it behind where you’re unable to observe it? Do you frequent hotels or perhaps sleep in a tent in the wilderness from time to time? During photoshoots, does your gear come into contact with water, sand, or heat, which could be damaging? All these question will help a camera insurance agent to determine what your monthly rate will amount to.
Are you renting any photo equipment? If your rental contract doesn’t mention any rules, you should also let your photography insurance agent know about that, so that you won’t have to pay out of your own pocket in case of damage.
Just like most other insurance policies, photography insurances have a duration of one year. Some of them will renew automatically. There are short term insurance options, i.e. for a trip abroad; however, a long-term camera insurance is much recommended for expensive photo gear.
Choose a camera insurance that matches your standards
So that you’re not pouring money down the drain when it comes to your camera insurance and so you can take advantage of everything your coverage offers, do not fall for flat fees. Because every photographer uses different gear and works with varying conditions, flat fee recommendations cannot include all your needs. Let your agent draft a quote for your camera insurance, which suits your demands. This is the only way your camera insurance covers all contingencies and you can expect fast and all-inclusive support in case of any damage or loss. To your advantage, the market for camera insurance is relatively unsaturated; therefore, you can ask several camera insurance companies for a quote and compare.
LAPIXA protects your image rights
While we don’t offer any photography insurance, you can trust us with your image and copyrights. LAPIXA helps you to monitor the distribution of your images online, no matter if you publish your images under a Creative Common License or individually decide about how your images are being used. We expose copyright infringements for you for free and enforce your legal rights. Find more information test-website.lapixa.com/photographers/
