Photographic Studio Insurance

Are you a Studio based photographer?

For those lucky enough to have their own studio or similar premises to work out of, it does have its advantages. It could be somewhere to showcase your work, as well as somewhere to sit with clients and discuss their needs or show them their photos. It also allows you to develop your own style of photography and be able to get creative in a way that those without a studio probably can’t.

Business Premises - Insurance

However, running a photography studio or similar premises does bring with it a lot more insurance requirements. As well as insuring kit and other items in the premises including office equipment & furniture, should you actually be the owner of the building you will need to have that insured for its REBUILD cost, not what an estate agent thinks it can be sold for! There is a big difference between the two! If you’re not sure what that should be, there are a number of websites that provide calculators to ascertain what that value is. That said, you are always better off using the services of a professional qualified surveyor

If you’re just renting the premises then the need to insure it isn’t yours but where many photographers in rented studios slip up is by not insuring any structural work they may have done to the property. In the event that a premise was destroyed by fire, the landlords insurance will only be obliged to put the building back to what it was when it was rented to you the tenant. So if you rented and empty shop premises that was just 4 walls and a ceiling, and then spent £x putting in stud walls to create designated areas (office, studio, changing room) as well as installing extra items such as a toilet, a kitchen even down to things like fitting air conditioning or laminated flooring, in the event of a fire destroying everything, the landlords insurance will not cover those. You should be insuring them under what is known as Tenants Improvements Insurance.

Many a landlord will also exclude the glass from being covered by them, so if you have a nice big shop window and you have it sign written you need to check who is covering it, and if it isn’t the landlord ensure it’s on your policy. There’s nothing worse than a random act of vandalism leaving you with a bill for a massive piece of glass costing into the thousands all because you didn’t ask who was covering it. Check your Lease agreement or with your landlord. It is common place that the agreement will make you responsible. Not got a lease/rental agreement? Ok, your not on your own, if you haven't have that conversation with your landlord now.

Business Interruption Insurance

Other covers to consider as a studio or premises based photographer include Business Interruption Insurance. Should you not be able to trade from your premises for whatever reason, will you be able to trade elsewhere or will you have to rent alternative premises? If you work from business premises, is that purely down to convenience or neccessity? There are various ways of covering the reduction in turnover to your business, and this can be quite complex. As a simple example, if your premises are used just as an office then chances are Increased Cost of Working cover could be sufficient. Manufacture from your premises? That could be a whole different story, and would need to take professional advice. Whichever method is chosen you need an instant option to cover financial uncertainty whether it be the cost of setting up elsewhere or the loss of revenue through having to shut down.

Public Liability Insurance

Obviously trading from a premise and inviting members of the public into it for whatever reason means that you are going to need Public Liability insurance.  Should anyone visiting your premises sustain an injury through something as simple as tripping over a wire to having a set of lights fall on them, this cover will insure you from legal action. Also, if your premise is adjoining another, you may find something in your premise may be damaging a neighbouring one. The cost to make good any damage will be yours, so again, this cover will do that.

Employers Liability Insurance

With more and more events being added to the remit of an event photographer (prom do’s, corporate events, charity days etc) so the need for a successful event photographer to spread themselves develops. This generally entails the employment of staff either on a full time, part time, casual or one off basis. Whether paid well, or they work for free, they will need to be covered under Employers Liability Insurance as they will be working under your direction.

This is not the costliest of covers (unless you have a large number of staff and are paying over £100,000 in wages) and provides one of the largest levels of cover as decreed by the Government; £10m.
However, trade without it and you could find that all you have worked for gone in the blink of an eye if someone who may have only been working one day for you for £40 had an accident and sued you because you didn’t have the cover. Can you afford to not have it if you do use any sort of help?

To find out more about Insurance for your Photographic Studio, cliik the Get Quote button below, we will call you back if you require.

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