At this point, almost all policies now have some form of a communicable disease exclusion. This is similar to the terrorism exclusions that were added to policies in the wake of 9/11. The expectation is that the communicable disease exclusions will be like the terrorism exclusions; i.e., they will be on all insurance policies for the foreseeable future.
How does this affect photography insurance? Most photographers’ policies have two components: i) property damage and ii) legal liability. For a property damage claim to be triggered, there needs to be direct physical loss or damage to property, and it is hard to understand how a virus could cause direct physical loss to property. Some people are attempting to submit insurance claims, arguing that contaminated surfaces are direct physical damage to property. I believe these arguments are being tested in court. Suffice it to say, this is a contentious issue. But, generally speaking, a communicable disease exclusion won’t have any bearing on a photographers’ property insurance coverage. When photographers ask, “What if I had COVID when I dropped my camera? Can the coverage be excluded?” The answer is no.
When it comes to liability, a lawsuit could conceivably be brought against a photographer for bodily injury and/or property damage. For this to be triggered, a claimant would have to sue the photographer, claiming that a COVID-related injury or death was caused by the photographer’s negligence. How that could be proven in court is hard to imagine when we are in a pandemic and COVID is everywhere. But if someone did try to sue you for getting COVID, the policy would not respond because of the communicable disease exclusion.
In brief, communicable disease exclusions are neither helpful nor harmful to photography insurance policies. They have little impact on coverage one way or the other.
— David McLeish | Account Executive, Front Row Insurance
Clip extracted from Front Row-PPOC webinar, March 2021
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About: Front Row Insurance Brokers Inc. is an independent insurance broker that specializes in the entertainment industry. Front Row works hard to provide insurance protection for a very low cost. Should a claim occur, Front Row works diligently with clients and insurers to expedite the payment. Offices in: Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, NY, and LA.
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