Skipped Equipment Insurance for 18 Months and Paid for It Completely

Saving money on photojournalism equipment feels logical when income is inconsistent. Insurance looks like an optional expense until a camera body is stolen from a car during an assignment, which is precisely what happened after 18 months of skipping cover to save approximately €22 per month.

The actual cost of going uninsured

A Canon body stolen from a locked vehicle during a local council meeting cost €780 to replace with a comparable used model. Eighteen months of avoided insurance premiums totalled €396. The net loss from the decision was €384, not counting three missed assignments during the replacement period.

Affordable insurance options worth examining

• Photoguard in the UK and Ireland offers freelance equipment cover from around €8 per month for gear valued up to €3,000.
• Adding equipment as a named item to home contents insurance often costs less than €15 per month.
• Some press card organisations include limited equipment cover in membership fees.

Any working news information portal photographer covering outdoor or public events faces genuine theft and damage risk. Courts, protests, and public transport are high-risk environments for visible equipment. The maths of skipping insurance only works if nothing goes wrong, and that is not a reliable assumption across an 18-month period in active freelance work.

Check whether your home policy covers professional equipment before purchasing separate cover. Many do not, but the call takes four minutes.