Jess runs a wedding and portrait photography business in Spokane with a small studio downtown and a second shooter she hires for big weekends. Her cameras, lenses, lighting, and drones are worth around $40,000, and on a typical Saturday, most of it is in a bag at a venue two hours away.
She came to us after a friend in the business had a lens bag stolen from a reception hall and discovered her insurance did not cover it.
What she asked for
Confirmation that her own business owners policy covered her gear wherever she used it.
What the review found
Her gear was covered at the studio, and barely anywhere else. The BOP's business personal property coverage applied at the insured location. Property away from the premises was covered only under a small off-premises extension with a limit that would not replace a single camera body and two lenses.
No coverage while in transit. Equipment in her car between shoots fell into the same gap.
The drone was excluded outright. Many BOP forms exclude aircraft, and her policy's definition swept in her drone.
Her contracts promised outcomes her insurance did not back. Her wedding contract said she would "deliver a complete gallery." A corrupted memory card, a missed first kiss, or a failed hard drive could lead to a claim from a couple for the cost of a reshoot or more. That is a professional liability claim, which a BOP excludes.
What we put in place
We kept the BOP for the studio: the space, her furniture and backdrops, general liability for clients who visit, and business income if the studio is damaged.
For the gear, we added an inland marine equipment floater, the part of commercial property coverage designed for property that moves. It covers her cameras, lenses, lighting, and computers anywhere, including in her car and at venues, scheduled at replacement cost. We added the drone by endorsement along with the drone liability coverage many venues now ask about.
Then we added a small professional liability policy for photographers, and suggested a change to her contract: a clear limitation clause for lost or corrupted images. Carriers reward that clause, and it helps any claim start from a reasonable place.
Why it mattered
A few months later, a second shooter's bag, carrying Jess's backup body and two lenses, was taken from an unlocked prep room at a vineyard venue. Under the old program, that would have been an off-premises loss capped at a few thousand dollars. Under the floater, it was a covered loss at replacement cost, and she had replacement gear before the next weekend.
If you run a photography or video business
- Ask where your equipment is covered, not just whether it is covered
- Put gear that travels on an inland marine floater
- Check your policy's aircraft exclusion if you fly a drone
- Match your client contract to your insurance, especially on lost images
A free policy review takes one short call and a copy of your declarations pages.