andyz wrote:
Trying to reopen this discussion as I just started turning my hobby into a little freelance work at the local paper. I have a rider under homeowners for gear but as a freelancer that would not cover a loss now and my company (USAA) would have to send me elsewhere for a gear policy, plus it doesn't even have liability for me. For $48k in gear my policy would be about $1k annually with a referral to another provider and again, no liability included.
I know there is a solution out there and since this is evenings mostly the income isn't significant. Certainly it will cover policy costs, but I'm trying to balance the costs of doing business against minor part time income. Based on some of these costs I need to decide to do more to make it worthwhile or do less and make it a hobby.
I am also trying to determine if taxes will be better or worse as a business. Another part of the equation I need to figure out. ...Show more →
Insurance is not a public service, it is a profit business. They make money insuring low-risk events, and they know the statistical odds better than anyone. Remember that the purpose of insurance is to cover catastrophes--once or twice in a lifetime extinction events--and the purpose of business insurance is to cover business-extinction catastrophes.
You should evaluate whether you need anything other than liability at all. If you don't really have a business to protect--if you can afford to buy another lens or body out of your bank account, or if you can afford do without a lens or body for the time it would take to save and pay for it--then you don't need to insure it.
Never claim anything you can replace out of your own. That's not a the kind of sub-catastrophic loss you're paying insurance to protect you from. Business insurance is for business-extinction events.
A couple of days ago, in response to my complaints, I received a call from and had a long telephone conversation with one of the execs at Hill & Usher. She admitted that they had made an error in my billing, and agreed to correct it. She listened to my issues with their equipment-change system, and agreed to make several changes and to work with me. In the future I will only be charged additional premium for increases in my coverage limits resulting from adding new gear. Changes that I make by adding/removing equipment that net no increase will not be billed. After that call, I regained my confidence with their agency.
Yesterday, I received a revised (smaller) invoice from Hill & Usher that only charged me for the increase in coverage that resulted from my last change of equipment.
Everyone makes mistakes, and misunderstandings occur. I believe Hill & Usher is sincere in making things right.
After a couple more months with Hill & Usher's Package Choice, and a couple more frustrating attempts at equipment-list changes as well as another incorrect bill for those changes, I have decided to go back to the NANPA plan with Chubb. I initially changed insurers to save some money. Now, I have decided that the all the grief just isn't worth that difference in premium. Over the years, my experience with the Rand Insurance agency that handles the NANPA plan has been consistently excellent! I just never had appreciated how good they were until after I left.
Thankfully, I never had a claim during my time with Hill & Usher. I can only imagine how they would deal with that claim.
In fact I was down to reviewing TCP and HIll & Usher and hope to settle with a company next week. TCP is a couple hundred more than Hill & Usher on the annual cost. Adding and deleting gear was one of the questions I was going to ask, although I don't know that I will be doing much of that this year. I didn't get a quote from Chubb.
In order to purchase photographer's insurance from Chubb, one must be a member of North America Nature Photography Association (NANPA.) The dues are $100 per year. I only joined the organization to take advantage of their insurance plan. I considered that $100 per year as part of my insurance cost. I let my membership expire when I moved my insurance to Hill & Usher. When I returned to that NANPA plan, I re-enrolled in NANPA.
Update: Taylor & Taylor will write a poicy that includes worldwide coverage (no limit on the days you are outside North America). They also offer special coverage for ASMP members.
We use Hill&Usher for our studio and haven't had any problems with the updating and deleting gear from the list part. Our policy with them is underwritten by The Hartford. I have always found them to be pretty good and easy to deal with, but I am a product studio, don't go out in the field ever, and make few changes to my inventory every year. So maybe thats an issue.
I will check with Chubb and TCP mentioned on this thread about insuring us just to compare. I think we pay over $2k/yr. so its worth shopping, but in the end, I want my insurance to 1st and foremost understand my business' unique needs, 2nd I want them to be easy to get a hold of to make changes to policy with new equipment and temporary riders, and 3rd I want to be absolutely sure they will pay out quickly and without fuss if I have a legit claim. And then 4th down the list, I want to make sure I am not paying too much.
Good thread and recommendations! I have a different thread about workman's comp going that some of these companies can also address.
I just purchased a policy from R.V. Nuccio & Associates, they were $120 less than Hill&Usher and another quote that I received. Insurance like a couple other items, you don't know what you'll get until you actually try to use it.
