INSURANCE experts are urging wedding photographers to get adequate insurance as Bridezillas dispute the quality of their wedding photos and sue for damages.
Insurance specialist InFocus has noticed an increase in the number of cases it is dealing with relating to couples unhappy with their wedding photography.
The Guild of Photographers (www.photoguild.co.uk) was recently contacted by a solicitor to conduct an impartial review of photographic work as the bride and groom were unhappy with the results.
The photographer had a signed contract stating their liability was limited to the amount paid by the couple. However, the couple’s legal team is claiming a four figure sum on top of that, for distress and inconvenience.
Guild of Photographers, director Steve Thirsk states:
“It is important for photographers to have a well worded contract but clearly this case demonstrates that no contract is likely to protect the photographer from every eventuality. In cases like this photographers may find they are faced with having to pay a large compensation claim plus the associated legal costs if they are not correctly insured.”
Insurance specialist, Peter Stevenson from InFocus Photography Insurance, said:
“Wedding photography can be extremely costly with many couples paying more than £1,000 on top of the tens of thousands of pounds spent on all the other wedding arrangements. It’s only right that the bride and groom expect high quality images. However, in some cases, the bride simply does not like the way she looks and therefore disputes the cost of the photography.
“If this happens, insurance is vital so that you can have your images independently audited to see if they hit the mark of a professional photographer. If not, you may need a good policy to cover all the costs of a legal dispute.
“In the case above, the photographer did the right thing in ensuring he had a contract in place should any disputes ensue. Unfortunately this gives the photographer virtually no protection against legal defence costs or damages should a bride dispute the professional quality of the pictures, especially if it is deemed to be an unfair contract in the eyes of the law.
“Without adequate photographer insurance and as cash flow starts to dry up, lawyers start to eye up home and property assets to fund legal costs and court awards”
See: www.photoguild.co.uk
www.infocusinsurance.co.uk
For further information or photography please contact:
Victoria Richardson
0161 927 3131
victoria@rmspr.co.uk