Photographer Insurance
Sutherland Insurance places photographer insurance for Ontario photographers, covering camera and lighting equipment on location, general liability at a venue, professional liability, and studio contents. It is an independent brokerage that has brokered insurance in Guelph, Ontario since 1870 and is licensed by the Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario.
- Line
- Commercial insurance
- Area served
- All of Ontario
- Claims support
- In-house claims representative available to every client on a claim
Who needs photographer insurance?
Photographer insurance applies to working photographers and studios, including wedding and event photographers, commercial and product photographers, portrait studios with employees and premises, and photographers who travel to shoot on location.
Two exposures dominate. The first is equipment: camera bodies, lenses and lighting represent most of the capital in the business, and they spend their working life away from any fixed premises, which is why cover is written to follow the equipment rather than the address. The second is the venue: wedding and event venues routinely require a certificate of insurance naming them as an additional insured before a photographer is allowed to work on site.
What can an Ontario photographer insurance policy cover?
What a policy can cover
- Inland marine: specialist equipment in transit or at a temporary site
- Commercial general liability: third-party bodily injury and property damage arising from operations
- Professional liability: allegations of negligence in professional advice or services
- Commercial property: the building where it is owned, plus fixtures, stock and contents
- Cyber liability: breach response, ransomware and business interruption following a cyber event
- Hired and non-owned auto: liability arising from vehicles the business does not own but directs
Commonly excluded under standard Ontario photographer insurance wordings
- Wear, tear and gradual deterioration
- Workplace injury to the business’s own employees, which falls to WSIB coverage in Ontario
- Intentional or fraudulent acts by the insured
- Liquidated damages or penalties accepted under contract
- Personal property unconnected with the business
Exclusions vary by insurer and by policy form; the issued policy governs.
Frequently asked questions
Is camera equipment covered away from the studio?
Equipment cover for photographers is written on an inland marine basis, which follows the equipment wherever it is used rather than insuring it at one address. Items are scheduled individually above a set value, and travel outside Canada is declared when the policy is written.
Why do venues ask for a certificate of insurance?
Venues require proof that a supplier working on their premises carries liability cover, and ask to be named as an additional insured so the photographer’s policy responds to a claim arising from the photographer’s presence. Sutherland Insurance issues certificates for clients it places.
What does professional liability cover for a photographer?
Professional liability responds to allegations of professional failure: images lost to a card or drive failure, a shoot missed, or a deliverable not supplied as contracted. It is distinct from general liability, which answers injury and property damage at a venue or to equipment.
Get a photographer insurance quote
A licensed Sutherland Insurance broker compares the available markets on every quote request.
Get a photographer insurance quote Call 519-822-0160
A real person answers, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.