Do photographers need professional indemnity insurance?

Article by Aaduki Multimedia Insurance

As with any profession that deals directly with clients, the risk of making a mistake and running into legal trouble is always a possibility. For this reason, it’s important that photographers ensure that they are covered by the right insurance policy.

This article will guide you through the ins and outs of professional indemnity insurance, what it is and why it’s worth the investment.

What is professional indemnity insurance?

Professional indemnity insurance is a policy that covers professionals in circumstances where they are being held legally responsible for any negligence in their work. Individuals who have this cover will be protected from paying the full price of any legal fees and legal advice that may be involved in defending a negligence allegation.

Professional indemnity insurance is mainly taken out by businesses or professionals who sell their expertise; this includes creatives who sell their skills to clients.

This is especially important if you work in a sector that involves photographing lots of different people, particularly wedding photography and other event-based work where timing is critical and tensions can run high due to emotional investment.

The financial protection provided includes legal defence costs and compensation payments. For small businesses, this takes the pressure away of hiring a legal team, which could be cripplingly expensive.

With the help of professional indemnity insurance, businesses and professionals can access all the legal services they need to fight a negligence claim. Without it, running into legal trouble would mean funding legal advice and services themselves.

The task of handling legal claims yourself can be overwhelming and stressful, as well as a huge distraction from business. Professional indemnity insurance ensures that you and your business have a legal team to support you if any claims are made.

Photographers work with a range of clients each day when selling their services. This direct contact with people means there’s always a risk of running into legal problems, whether the client is simply unhappy with the work or a genuine mistake is made.

Professional indemnity insurance will help to build financial resilience against these problems and will ensure that your reputation and the outcome of your work are protected financially.

Without professional indemnity insurance, you may not be able to afford the legal services required to fight a negligence claim, which could put your business and professional reputation at risk.

As well as facing claims from clients, your photography business may be at risk of receiving claims from third parties. For example, another photographer may make a claim against you for breaching copyright.

Professional indemnity insurance will cover any costs involved with these claims, providing you with a high level of protection against the risks involved with your profession as a photographer.

What claims could be made against photographers?

While negligence claims are rare within the photography industry, they still occur every now and then for a variety of reasons. Knowing the types of claims that could be made against you could help you to actively manage your risks and highlights the importance of having an appropriate professional indemnity insurance policy.

As a photographer, claims could be made against you for:
Breaching copyright
Failing to obtain written consent/clearance
Losing or misplacing images
Failing to conduct safe photography practices
Missing a deadline
Breaching a contract – including poor quality work
The above are just a handful of claims that could be made against photographers.

I’ve never faced a claim before, why do I need professional indemnity insurance?

Specialist photography insurance agencies deal with a number of claims each day. Whilst negligence claims occur less often than other types of claims, they do still occur, and often when the photographer is not expecting it.

The fact is, you can never be one-hundred per cent sure that you are safe from negligence claims.

This is partly because every client will have a different opinion on what classes as negligence, so an issue one client easily brushes off as an innocent mistake could land you in legal trouble with another client.

It is always better to be prepared by taking out a policy that’s designed around your activities and needs.

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