Every insurance company is differrent - I have Erie for homeowners and for an in-home studio insurance is $40 a year. YEAH!
BUT as soon as I work off-site (weddings... or highschool kid in the park, etc) the insurance is null and void and i have NO coverage.
There are 3 kinds of coverage -
- business liability - covers the business against things you might damage (camera scratched the fancy bartop, light stand falls on passerby, etc). $300-600 a year.
- Equipment - covers your camera gear from whatever perils you choose (theft usually). Varies, but $15,000 is the normal minimum that is worth getting ($10,000 costs just as much). You need an itemized list, with serial numbers, of everthing you want covered. Not on the list, then no coverage. $100 and up, but you usually have to get the bus. liablility first. Remeber, that ANY claim will raise your rates, and to keep low rates you might want a $1000 deductable. So drop you 30D and it's probably cheaper just to buy a new one than make a claim.
- workmanship - there are other terms for this, but this explains the best. this is a specialty insurance. PPA or WPPI includes it as membership (i forget which outfit), $300 a year I think incl membership. this protects you from the customer that thinks your pics stink and they want their money back and you say 'so sue me'.
think of it this way - you get your house painted and the painter spills a can of paint on your new lexus. The liability insurance will pay to fix your car. Someone steals his ladders at 2AM - the equipment insurance covers that. the job's all done and it's lousy - runs, spots he missed, etc. That's workmanship and 99% of insurance companies won't cover it (for obvious reasons - good or bad is a matter of opinion isn't it?).
So call EVERY insurance carrier out there and ask a LOT of questions. Be specific - you're paying for insurance in case of a loss - so you have a website and biz cards and on vacation your backpack and all your gear vanishes - so you call your insurance man and he says 'but, umm, you're a pro and it ain't covered' or 'you're in canada on vacation?' or some other reason - the insurance man will find ANY way NOT to pay. that's his job, and most are pretty good at it.
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