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Insuring your wedding photography business

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If you are starting out as a wedding photographer, it's important to ensure that you have adequate business insurance so that your business is protected against a range of potential legal issues. Here are some of the insurance policies that you will need.

Workers compensation

If you hurt yourself in the process of taking wedding photography, then workers compensation will pay both your normal wages and medical expenses when recovering from the injury. Common issues can include trips and falls (including those pesky lighting cords), car accidents (while heading between venues) and sprains (from lifting all that heavy equipment.

If you currently pay yourself on a casual basis (or any other casual second photographers), then workers compensation will pay out an average of the wages received. If you don't pay yourself wages, but pay yourself out of owner's equity, then workers compensation insurance will not cover wages, and instead, you need to get personal income protection insurance.

Public liability

If you are photographing in certain venues such as old houses and churches or function centres, you may be required to hold public liability insurance, and not having it may then limit the jobs that you can take on. Having this insurance is a good idea, as it protects you against claims of someone injuring themselves as you go about your work, including pesky issues such as car accidents or tripping over cords.

Theft and accidental damage

As a photographer, you have a lot of funds tied up in your tools of trade, including your camera equipment, lighting and computing equipment. Unfortunately, this equipment is both extremely delicate and relatively small and easy to steal. This means that it is very important to have insurance that covers the cost of your photography equipment and that you get this amount regularly updated to reflect any new software or lenses you purchase. You don't want to find that you are underinsured and cannot replace the items you need to do your job after an accident.

If you also use your car for your business, you should ensure that this is insured as well, so you don't need to catch public transport to all of your jobs if something happens to your car. 

Having adequate business insurance helps ensure that your business can operate no matter what happens. If you are not sure which insurance best meets your needs as a wedding photographer, you should meet with an insurance broker who can assess the policies and find a package that suits you.


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