Booked months ahead, paid only on the day
Wedding and event photographers sell dates a year or more in advance. If you break a wrist in May, you face either finding a second shooter or returning deposits, just when the bulk of your annual income should arrive. Portrait and commercial photographers feel it too, as clients book whoever is free.
The editing that follows a shoot also needs you. A long illness or a serious eye problem can leave galleries undelivered and invoices unpaid. Income protection gives you a steady sum to live on while you recover.
Carrying two camera bodies, lenses, flashes and a tripod for a full wedding day puts real load on your back and shoulders. Kneeling for low angles and climbing onto chairs for group shots adds to it. Over years, those small strains are what wear photographers down.
Seasonal profits and how insurers average them
Insurers do not look at your best month. For a sole trader, they take net profit from your tax return, usually over the last two or three years, and allow a benefit up to a share of that figure. Camera bodies, lenses and software reduce profit, so heavy investment years can make your income look smaller than it felt.
If you run a limited company, insurers count salary and dividends instead. We will ask which way you trade before comparing quotes.
Second shooting, teaching workshops and selling prints or presets can all sit on your tax return. Insurers generally count earned income, though money from sales that carries on without you may be treated differently. We explain this for each insurer before you pick one.
- Have your recent tax calculations or company accounts to hand
- Explain any year with unusual kit spending or time off
- Tell us about second shooting or teaching income too
Not all photography carries the same risk
A studio product photographer and a drone operator filming from cliff edges do not look alike to an underwriter. Insurers place occupations into risk classes, and some ask about working at height, overseas travel or press work in unsafe places. These answers can change the price or lead to an exclusion.
The class also affects which incapacity definition you can have. Own occupation cover pays if you cannot work as a photographer, which matters for a job that relies on your eyes, hands and the ability to carry kit for ten hours.
Waiting periods, life cover and the people at home
If you keep a cash reserve from the busy season, a longer deferred period such as thirteen weeks can keep the premium down. If you live month to month, a shorter wait gives quicker support.
Life insurance pays a lump sum if you die during the term. Many photographers take a policy to match the mortgage, or family income benefit to give a partner a monthly sum. Placing it in trust keeps the payout outside your estate for inheritance tax in most cases.
Working with Hi Tomorrow
We describe your type of photography to each insurer so you are rated fairly. We explain how each one will treat your seasonal income, compare definitions side by side and help with the application. If you need to claim, we help you pull together the accounts and medical evidence the insurer asks for.