{"id":1965,"date":"2019-05-15T09:57:16","date_gmt":"2019-05-15T13:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecopyrightzone.com\/?p=1965"},"modified":"2019-05-15T09:57:16","modified_gmt":"2019-05-15T13:57:16","slug":"have-you-heard-the-one-about-the-vase-and-the-photographer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecopyrightzone.com\/?p=1965","title":{"rendered":"Have You Heard The One About The Vase and The Photographer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A photographer accidentally knocks over and breaks a client\u2019s vase in their home. The homeowner screams, \u201cThat\u2019s\u2019 a 600 year old vase!\u201d The photographer replies, \u201cThanks goodness for that! I thought it was a new one.\u201d<\/p>\n

While most people think of photography as a \u201cglamour\u201d business, most of the aspects of running a photography business are as mundane and boring as in just about any other business or profession. Want to see everyone\u2019s eyes roll back in their heads? Just start discussing insurance.\u00a0 The theme of a successful\u00a0Esurance ad campaign starts with Dennis Quaid’s intro, “Let<\/em>\u2032s be honest. No one likes dealing with insurance. It<\/em>\u2032s confusing. It<\/em>\u2032s a hassle.”<\/em>\u00a0 It\u2018s an effective intro because it\u2019s\u00a0so, so true.<\/p>\n

We have emphasized countless times and will continue to do so, that having the proper insurance tailored to your business needs as a photographer is essential. If you can’t afford to pay for insurance you ought not be in business for yourself. The risk of having your life savings, home, and future earnings lost forever is simply\u00a0too great a risk to run.<\/p>\n

To fully protect you, your family, and your business, as a photographer you must have both property releases AND location agreements on your shoots. They are\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0the same.\u00a0 Read our articles “Location Booby Prize”\u00a0<\/a>and “Stay out of my Territory” (Breaking Bad)<\/a>. One of our articles on insurance coverage caused some sleepless nights for some of our readers,\u00a0is subtitled “A Drone Insurance Case….”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Insurance coverage is often sold by people who are aware that their potential customers anticipate a snooze-fest upon first meeting.\u00a0 Most insurance sales people try valiantly to sell you the most insurance coverage you can afford which always increases their commissions and only\u00a0might<\/em>\u00a0help you out in a major disaster.<\/p>\n

One high profile incident that has had much media coverage in NYC is about a\u00a0massive fire that destroyed the upstate New York set of a new HBO series starring Mark Ruffalo and Rosie O\u2019Donnell.\u00a0 They were filming a “period piece” at a used car dealership in Ellenville a small town in the Catskill Mountains just outside of NYC.<\/p>\n

A Road & Track story about this car tragedy is linked here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing left,\u201d said general manager Chris Busby to the press. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge loss for us and HBO. They are just as heartbroken over this as we are.\u201d\u00a0 No one was injured, but about a dozen production vehicles for the show \u2014 which had filmed there all day Wednesday \u2014 were destroyed, Busby said.<\/p>\n

As owner\/drivers of cars both over 50 years old, both of us took this really hard. Some might say, \u201cThey are just old cars\u201d. They don\u2019t understand the lost caused by this calamity is heartbreaking. Some of the collector cars were destroyed and still others considered “vintage” (a\/k\/a “more expensive”) are gone forever. The existing building was destroyed as were the custom built sets made by HBO.<\/p>\n

In the series based on a 1998 bestselling novel by Wally Lamb, Mark Ruffalo stars as twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey.\u00a0 HBO calls the six-part series \u201ca family saga that follows the parallel lives of identical twin brothers in a story of betrayal, sacrifice and forgiveness set against the backdrop of 20th-century America.\u201d Yeah, that old story.<\/p>\n

In order to evoke a past time in history, what can “date” a scene better than seeing the cars of that era.\u00a0 When Ed’s 1968 Cougar is offered or sought out for use as a prop for\u00a0commercials, videos and so on, Ed insists (as anyone should) that the ad agency\/production company etc. must insure the car for more money than it would be worth on the open market.\u00a0 Collectible cars, boats, jewelry, antiques and so on have more than “market value” to their owners if stolen or destroyed in connection with a photo shoot.<\/p>\n

Is it likely that HBO and\/or the production companies involved in the shoot obtained suitable insurance coverage given the nature of the props\/cars they were building\/renting? Yes. It wouldn\u2019t surprise any attorney or insurance adjuster however, if they did not have adequate insurance. Might there be litigation concerning who is at fault and what the amount of the damages are? Sure, very likely.\u00a0 Is it possible that the location agreement leaves certain issues in dispute? Very likely.<\/p>\n

Insurance coverage provides payment if you are found to be at fault AND it pays for your attorney to defend your interests.\u00a0 With the proper insurance, you do not pay your attorney a dime in 98 out of 100 cases.\u00a0 A specific,\u00a0well drafted location agreement gives you added protection against being held at fault in the event of certain catastrophes whether or not you have insurance coverage.\u00a0\u00a0In other words, it\u2019s CYA.<\/p>\n

Note that production of the series had to be stopped.\u00a0 Statistically there are about 1,000 fires per day in America.\u00a0 Most don’t involve collectible cars or custom-made movie sets.\u00a0 Even stranger things than a fire can happen on set however and many of you out there have witnessed accidents and folks getting hurt on set in situations more unusual\u00a0than a fire.<\/p>\n

Insurance commonly termed “business interruption insurance” can be purchased to prevent losses caused by a business being shut down.\u00a0 When Katrina hit NOLA some casino\/hotels had such insurance and were able to pay their employees, taxes and on going expenses in addition to paying to repair the physical damage.\u00a0 One casino had enough coverage to make up for 95% of its daily gross. Good insurance. And photographers who did not have such insurance, which we assume was most, were left high and dry after the storm (so to speak). They not only lost their photo equipment, their offices, business records, they also lost their client base. If they had business interruption insurance, they would have been made whole fairly quickly.<\/p>\n

If you do location shoots, use large crews, engage in aerial photography, film dangerous events, are using celebrities, rich folks, filming in expensive homes and so on you can’t have enough or too much insurance.\u00a0 So to keep things affordable ask your insurance broker about obtaining an “umbrella policy”.\u00a0 In plain English, an\u00a0umbrella insurance policy\u00a0is extra liability and\/or indemnification\u00a0insurance coverage\u00a0that goes\u00a0beyond<\/em>\u00a0the limits of your existing home, auto or business\u00a0insurance limits.\u00a0It provides an additional layer of security to those who are at risk for being sued for damages to other people’s property or injuries caused to others in an accident of virtually any type.<\/p>\n

Many photographers who hire producers to produce big jobs, rely on the producer having (and charging for) such liability and indemnification insurance. If you suddenly have a big shoot and do not have these types of insurance, hiring it out to a producer is a great and easy way to go.<\/p>\n

Depending on how your business is structured, it\u2019s always best to contact a professional, in this case an insurance broker, to advise you about insurance. They can explain the different insurance types, such as Workman\u2019s Comp (a \u201cmust have\u201d), and the difference between liability and indemnification insurance. Just drink lots of coffee or other stimulating beverages to prevent your eyes rolling back into your head.<\/p>\n

So, after all that we leave you with this question. What do hospital gowns and insurance policies have in common? You’re never covered as much as you think you are.<\/p>\n

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A photographer accidentally knocks over and breaks a client\u2019s vase in their home. The homeowner screams, \u201cThat\u2019s\u2019 a 600 year old vase!\u201d The photographer replies, \u201cThanks goodness for that! I thought it was a new one.\u201d While most people think of photography as a \u201cglamour\u201d business, most of the aspects of running a photography business […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,100,743,15,5,4,20],"tags":[746,722,745,747,311,748,744,749],"class_list":["post-1965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-be-aware","category-in-the-news","category-insurance","category-legal","category-paperwork","category-releases","category-stuff-you-should-know","tag-business-interruption-insurance","tag-drone-insurance","tag-ellenville-hbo-fire","tag-indemnification-insurance","tag-insurance","tag-liability","tag-property-insurance","tag-umbrella-policy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecopyrightzone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecopyrightzone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecopyrightzone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecopyrightzone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecopyrightzone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1965"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thecopyrightzone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1967,"href":"https:\/\/thecopyrightzone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1965\/revisions\/1967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecopyrightzone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecopyrightzone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecopyrightzone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}