The Cost of Starting and Being in Business - Photography part 4
(This is a reprint of a series of notes I wrote on Facebook in 2009)
In our last episode we discovered our Start up costs for a homebased photography business would be about $2440 with an additional $2151 annual reoccurring costs.
This will be a short episode. So our subject thought they would rent some photography equipment from a local rental company called Redman's to shoot some portfolio stuff with studio lighting. Redman's doesn't have much photography stuff but they have tons of lighting for movies and photography with c-stands backgrounds etc. Our subject calls up Redman's, sets up some of the details; like what equipment and the date of the rental. Then we get down to paperwork, and the first request is "we'll need you to send over a copy of your business insurance showing a minimum of $1 million in general liability insurance."
Our subject is a little taken back by this request, they hadn't even thought that their business should have insurance. The truth is you never know what might happen on a shoot, and it's best to protect your investment. There are two ways to get business insurance for photography. first is to call your insurance agent and see if they offer insurance for businesses, and specifically photography businesses. Two things to note: first, the insurance might only be liability with no equipment coverage. Second, if equipment is covered and you do ever make a claim they will likely fight it and might even file a lawsuit against you over the claim.
What other options do we have? I would recommend an insurance company that works specifically with professional photographers. There are several out there, and I wont endorse any specific company, go do your research and due diligence about the different companies. Better yet contact a national Professional Photography Association and find out who they recommend, but be sure to do your research and due diligence about the different companies.
But for an example I got a quote from one of the big insurance companies that specifically works with photographers; Tom C. Pickard & Co, Inc.
The policy covers general liability and equipment. About $2 million in liability and equipment of $5,000 camera $5,000 rented and $15,000 computer. The annual premium is about $510. This quote is for demonstration purposes and was based off random amounts the quote should not be considered an accurate quote for you nor is this an endorsement for this insurance company. You need to get a quote specific to your business and equipment.
That brings our start up costs to $2950 with an additional $2661 annual reoccurring costs
In our last episode we discovered our Start up costs for a homebased photography business would be about $2440 with an additional $2151 annual reoccurring costs.
This will be a short episode. So our subject thought they would rent some photography equipment from a local rental company called Redman's to shoot some portfolio stuff with studio lighting. Redman's doesn't have much photography stuff but they have tons of lighting for movies and photography with c-stands backgrounds etc. Our subject calls up Redman's, sets up some of the details; like what equipment and the date of the rental. Then we get down to paperwork, and the first request is "we'll need you to send over a copy of your business insurance showing a minimum of $1 million in general liability insurance."
Our subject is a little taken back by this request, they hadn't even thought that their business should have insurance. The truth is you never know what might happen on a shoot, and it's best to protect your investment. There are two ways to get business insurance for photography. first is to call your insurance agent and see if they offer insurance for businesses, and specifically photography businesses. Two things to note: first, the insurance might only be liability with no equipment coverage. Second, if equipment is covered and you do ever make a claim they will likely fight it and might even file a lawsuit against you over the claim.
What other options do we have? I would recommend an insurance company that works specifically with professional photographers. There are several out there, and I wont endorse any specific company, go do your research and due diligence about the different companies. Better yet contact a national Professional Photography Association and find out who they recommend, but be sure to do your research and due diligence about the different companies.
But for an example I got a quote from one of the big insurance companies that specifically works with photographers; Tom C. Pickard & Co, Inc.
The policy covers general liability and equipment. About $2 million in liability and equipment of $5,000 camera $5,000 rented and $15,000 computer. The annual premium is about $510. This quote is for demonstration purposes and was based off random amounts the quote should not be considered an accurate quote for you nor is this an endorsement for this insurance company. You need to get a quote specific to your business and equipment.
That brings our start up costs to $2950 with an additional $2661 annual reoccurring costs
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