The biggest risk in this job usually isn't a trip hazard. It's a hard drive.
Photography and videography involve real on-site risk, cables, lighting, moving through someone else's venue, but the claim that actually costs a photographer the most is usually about the images themselves: lost, leaked, or used somewhere they shouldn't have been. Cover that answers for both.
Where a photographer or videographer actually gets exposed
The on-site risk is real but ordinary. The bigger and less obvious exposure is professional: the images themselves, and everything that can go wrong with capturing, storing, and delivering them.
The lost wedding photos
A hard drive fails or is corrupted before a wedding's photos are backed up and delivered, and the once-only event can't be recreated for the couple.
The unauthorised use of an image
A photo taken during a commercial shoot is used or published in a way the client never approved, or ends up attributed to someone else entirely.
The equipment that caused an accident on location
Lighting stands and cables set up for a shoot at a client's venue create a trip hazard, and a guest is injured stepping over equipment during an event.
What this actually covers
Public liability and professional indemnity for photographers
Public liability protects you if:
- Someone is injured by your equipment or cables on location
- You damage a client's property while handling goods during a shoot (care, custody and control)
Professional indemnity protects you if:
- Images or footage are lost or corrupted
- A photo or video is used or published without proper permission
- Material is sent to the wrong party
Who's going to ask you for it
Commercial clients ask more often than wedding clients
Requirements scale with the type of work:
- Commercial and advertising clients commonly require both public liability and professional indemnity before a shoot.
- Venues for weddings and events sometimes require proof of public liability before allowing a photographer on-site.
- Corporate clients handling sensitive product shoots may set their own minimum cover requirements.
Common questions
I lost a client's only copies of their wedding photos. Is that covered?
If professional indemnity is part of your cover, this is exactly the kind of claim it's meant to answer, distinct from general public liability.
A commercial client handed me an expensive product to photograph and it was damaged. Am I covered?
This is a care, custody and control exposure, which is worth confirming specifically if you regularly handle client goods or products during shoots.
Isn't public liability enough for a photographer?
It covers the on-site accident risk, but the bigger and more distinctive exposure for this occupation, lost images and copyright issues, needs professional indemnity as well.
A venue asked for a certificate of currency before my shoot. Is that normal?
Yes, particularly for wedding and event venues, and it's a routine request your policy should be able to satisfy quickly.
I only do family portraits, not commercial work. Do I still need professional indemnity?
It's still worth considering, since the risk of lost or corrupted images applies to any paid photography work, regardless of the type of client.