Liability insurance for a self-employed photographer
A photographer stands with tripods and flashguns in someone else's living room, factory unit or wedding venue. The damage that arises there is property damage, and that follows a different policy rule from a job that goes wrong.
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In brief
For a self-employed photographer the risk splits into two streams, each with its own insurance. The AVB covers injury and property damage: a light stand going through a display cabinet, a cable a wedding guest falls over, a melted patch in a table top from a hot daylight lamp. The basis is Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code, and you carry the burden of proof for your side of the story as soon as the client holds you liable.
The second stream is pure financial loss: the bridal couple with no photographs because the card is corrupt, the client who cannot run the campaign because the images are unusable, a claim about using a portrait without consent. Nothing is broken and no one is injured, only money has gone. Those claims belong on professional indemnity insurance for self-employed professionals, not on the AVB.
Your own cameras, lenses and flashguns are not insured under a liability policy either. There is valuables insurance or business equipment cover for that, with express attention to theft from a car. If you work with client data and image libraries online, look at cyber insuranceas well. The general structure of the AVB is set out on the hub page.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
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We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
What to look out for
Four provisions that keep coming back in photography claims.
Drones fall under the aircraft exclusion
Almost every AVB excludes damage caused with or by aircraft, and an unmanned aircraft usually falls within that. If you fly yourself, you need separate drone liability cover matching your EASA category and registration. Do not put this on the application as 'photography' but report it separately; otherwise you are left empty-handed if you crash onto a parked car.
What you borrow or hire falls under care, custody and control
A hired tilt-shift lens, a borrowed Profoto kit or a hired studio space is in your in your care without your being the owner. The care, custody and control exclusion takes damage to it off cover. Hire companies do charge it to you. Ask for a care, custody and control clause or take out the hire cover the rental company offers, and record the condition when you collect it.
Image rights and copyright are not property damage
A claim about publication without consent, about a recognisable person in an image or about a picture from a stock library for which the licence was missing is a claim for money. The AVB is not there for that. Work with written releases and model agreements, and consider whether your professional indemnity cover has a section for intellectual property.
Lost files and the duty to notify
When images are lost, the question almost always follows whether you had reasonable back-up measures in place. Limit your liability in your standard terms and work with dual card slots and immediate back-up. If a claim does arise, report it straight away: Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to notify the insurer as soon as you are reasonably aware of it.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the standard yardstick for a sole trader
- Type of photography: studio portraits weigh differently from industry or building sites
- Working on site: presence in private homes and business premises
- Use of assistants: people you hire in affect the circle of insured persons
- Area of cover: shoots outside Europe call for separate confirmation
- Sum insured and excess: per claim and per insurance year
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| A wedding guest trips over your tripod cable and breaks a wrist | Yes | No |
| A hot daylight lamp burns a mark into the client's table top | Yes | No |
| Your tripod falls over and damages a painting in the client's hallway | Yes | No |
| A product sample you had in your care for the shoot falls and breaks | Provided that | No |
| You deliver in the wrong colour profile and the whole print run has to be done again | No | Yes |
| You fall off a ladder yourself on an outdoor shoot and cannot photograph for weeks | No | No |
If nothing is broken and no one is injured, only the professional indemnity policy remains.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
I knocked over a client's vase during a shoot. Covered?
That is property damage to a third party and falls under the AVB in principle, provided you are liable for it. Watch the care, custody and control exclusion, though: if you had moved the vase yourself or had it in your hands as a prop, the insurer can say the item was entrusted to your care. Items you merely walked past usually do not fall within it.
My card crashed and the bridal couple wants the shoot back.
Refunding the fee and the cost of a new photo shoot are pure financial loss. The AVB does not cover it, because there is no injury or damaged property. Professional indemnity insurance is the cover for this. Limit your liability in your terms as well and set out what effort you undertake to make.
Is my own camera insured if it is dropped?
No, not under this policy. Liability insurance pays only for damage you cause to others. Damage to or theft of your own equipment is arranged with valuables insurance or business equipment insurance. Look carefully at the provision on theft from a vehicle, because it often has strict requirements about leaving bags behind.
I sometimes photograph on a building site. Does that change anything?
Yes. Working on construction sites, in factories or at height changes the risk profile and must be reported when you apply. If you do not, the insurer can rely on Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code on the duty of disclosure when a claim arises. Also ask whether the client will include you under his own construction policy and which safety instructions apply.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
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