Real Estate Photographers Insurance – Cost and Types Of Policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, real estate photographers insurance must be near the top of the list because you can’t always know exactly what is going to happen in the future.

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With the protection provided by general insurance and all the other types of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unwanted happens.

Like any business owner, for your real estate photographers enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

Business Insurance for real estate photographers

If your real estate photographers business runs without proper insurance, you are taking an enormous chance not just of losing some money but of a final wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the upshots of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for startup businesses to outline what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where available, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your real estate photographers business?

What this means, for any real estate photographers business owner, is that if some customer claims that your business caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your real estate photographers business is not sheltered by laws in the same way as states are, where laws can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Montana, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount a court can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the duty of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a plaintiff more than they have claimed.

When you are running your real estate photographers operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the consequences of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent beforehand the money necessary to have your business running as a corporation, all of that liability belongs to you as an individual.

What does real estate photographers insurance protect you from?

For your real estate photographers business, the most important sorts of insurance are meant to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

As well there are some mandatory kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will explain the most important points any real estate photographers business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main categories of insurance for your real estate photographers businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any real estate photographers business is dealing directly with other people, and that means you usually have the danger that some accident can happen to them bodily or else something of theirs can be spoiled.

In such a case, they can demand compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your real estate photographers business protects you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.

It protects your real estate photographers business from the claims themselves and also to any resulting court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it will even help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts demand proper liability insurance.

The average level of general liability insurance for your real estate photographers business would be with a boundary of $1 million for a single submission and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your real estate photographers insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your real estate photographers business

In the event where a buyer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your real estate photographers business for them, you can quickly have to fight a court case.

Even if the lawsuit against you is decided in your favor, the cost of defense can be high, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Almost all small real estate photographers business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a once-off claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of real estate photographers insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your real estate photographers operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that customers may claim that what they received didn’t meet your description of function, or that your guidance was basically incorrect.

You need to be aware of the explicit laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held liable for damages caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for real estate photographers

Only you can know exactly how much insurance you should get.

Best advice is to contact experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for guidance.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your real estate photographers business

Beware! – most policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any happening like theft or accidental damage when the van is being used for business purposes.

The right way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a direct commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial van policies insure the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

In addition, in case of any accident, the car itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is insured if your van is involved in a collision.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, insist on this type of insurance.

The necessary value of the insurance is calculated on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your declared level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your real estate photographers business needs unique and dedicated equipment, you know how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The gear may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unpredicted acts.

In addition, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can destroy your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specialized gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy whatever needed to keep your real estate photographers business running.

It is difficult to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s essentially dependent on how much you have invested in your real estate photographers business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any real estate photographers business that owns or rents space in a building needs a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the space, you certainly have a substantial capital investment, as well as a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Every physical building location should carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against natural occurrences like fire and storms, and against man-made damages like theft and vandalism.

If your real estate photographers business deals in areas of high risk, like Texas or North Carolina, extra coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Rhode Island, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of real estate photographers business premises, there is a need for more extra cover than in warmer climes.

Because the level of cover depends mainly on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of real estate photographers insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your real estate photographers business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your real estate photographers business

Is your real estate photographers business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business seasonal?

Using short-term insurance makes excellent sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for real estate photographers – are special policies where you can cover a specific period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having less premiums but still having adequate risk cover.

The essential feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase the cover for a defined period – a designated date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of better business activity, get the existing cover raised.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your real estate photographers business

You have the option to combine most of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP combines commercial property and public liability insurance by amalgamating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will cover you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized real estate photographers businesses, such as yours.

There are a few limits that will determine whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs will not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle cover.

Also, the size of your business will dictate whether you are eligible to take out BOP cover.

The usual business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have no more than one hundred employees, and not more than five million dollars in annual sales.

Plus, you must separately take out the necessary worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your real estate photographers business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your real estate photographers business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the operation against any costs that arise if an employee experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits cover medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s regulations in this regard can leave you as the employer having to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only authorize coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you may not take out your workers compensation obligations from private insurance corporations.

Workers compensation rates are calculated based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must refer to the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every real estate photographers insurance requirement is unique, there are enough examples of usual quotes from insurance companies for us to give approximate guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with a broker what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have gathered for the main types of insurance your real estate photographers businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Public liability insurance $305 – $570
General liability insurance $675 – $1280
Equipment insurance $320 – $1315
Commercial vehicle insurance $1500 – $2515
Product liability insurance $290 – $695
Commercial insurance $910 – $2850

Cost of insurance for your real estate photographers operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small freelance real estate photographers businesses.

In larger states like Texas, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, but in smaller states like New Mexico, they can be about 20%-30% lower.

The location and size and type of your real estate photographers business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should consult with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

As well you can let the internet do the work for you by enquiring about insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another reliable source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your city.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for real estate photographers operations?

This is a general term used to describe basic insurance policies designed to protect real estate photographers business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my real estate photographers business have to have insurance?

Some of the kinds of insurance are not mandatory for you to run your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Several other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small real estate photographers business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides insurance against lawsuits or claims filed by a client for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The specific cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the recommended policies for real estate photographers insurance.

How much will real estate photographers business insurance cost?

On top of the size of the business, some other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

You can search for more information insurance for real estate photographers, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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