Before With Jack I was a freelance photographer.
Many years ago I was chatting with the make-up artist about a job I’d just completed. The job was with a model I photographed at an abandoned building. Photographers love abandoned buildings!
The make-up artist knew of the location I’d photographed. It was well-known around those parts. “It’s a dangerous place to take a model,” she noted, “but you’d be fine as you’ll have public liability insurance.”
Public what?
I froze. I’d never heard of public liability insurance.
As someone fresh to the freelancing scene, I wasn’t aware of what insurance I needed or what was available to me. Public liability, professional indemnity… I had never heard of these terms before.
The make-up artist had planted a seed in my head about insurance. I went from knowing nothing about it to spending £300+ covering my bases. I felt embarrassed I had been operating without it, but once I’d got it sorted I felt a weight off my shoulders.
I bought professional indemnity insurance. This eased my fear of my CF cards flaking on me during an important job. Years later With Jack would help a photographer who was in a similar situation.
I bought public liability insurance. If a rogue camera bag caused a client to trip over and break their leg, I had insurance to cover any claims and pay compensation.
I bought contents insurance. My equipment is my business. Cameras, lenses, laptop… I insured them all in case of damage or theft. My camera bag was later be stolen when my house was burgled.
Now insurance is a no-brainer to me. I wouldn’t consider working with clients without it and I believe every freelancer should be insured.
I believe insurance should be another tool when setting up your business, much like getting an accountant or opening a business bank account. I say that from the perspective of someone who has helped many freelancers through difficult situations, but also as someone who freelanced for years and faced their own share of anxieties.
Briony, one of our customers, agrees. She arranged insurance within a few weeks of going freelance and even said it was “one of the simplest” parts of setting up her business.
Maybe you don’t have insurance. Perhaps you’re here to learn how it applies to your business. I want to plant that seed in your head just like the make-up artist did with me. Or maybe that seed has been planted in the form of a client requesting proof of insurance or seeing another freelancer in a pickle with their client.
Either way, I guarantee you’ll feel the same way I did. Once you get your insurance sorted you’ll feel uncomfortable about ever having run your business without it.
