PPA and Insurance

[awinphoto]

Ok.... So here's my conundrum... I work with a large agency doing professional photography, as well as portrait photography on the side... I currently work around 60-80 hours a week and it's very taxing... i currently get my insurance and benefits from the agency i'm with. I was approached by another individual to start our own agency... potentially a lot more money, freedom, and get to do what i like to do when I want to do it, and no more 60-80 hours a week working... sounds great right? Well while all the logistics is fairly reasonable and we are ironing everything out, the one thing that could be a big monkey wrench is healthcare, especially with the new obamacare rules and regs. so... we were looking at options and from what we can see from the "marketplace" the insurances are outrageous in premiums, no where near what we are paying now, but what can we do. We saw that as a benefit of the PPA, professional photographers of america, they have access to a broker who does insurance. Has anyone used them? Are they cheaper than other options? Although i shoot professionally, i've never seen a need or a desire to join the PPA as i find that it's mostly pomp and circumstance and gladhanding and such. I find selling a picture more rewarding than winning an award from some competition judged by people i dont know using rules that may be questionable with agendas up the wazoo... BUT... if their insurance is worth the cost of yearly membership and such, maybe it could be an option. Have any of you guys tried this out? I would be interested in hearing your opinions. Thanks

 

[mackguyver]

It's been a few years since I looked into this, but the best deal I found was to join the North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA) and buy insurance through Chubb (Rand Insurance is the broker). You don't have to shoot nature photos to join or anything, but that's who the majority of members are in the association. I've had two fairly small claims with them and they were extremely easy to deal with and processed my check quickly.

Membership is $100/year (NANPA) and the annual rate is $0.0245 per dollar of insurance. It was the best deal I could find, but in my case, I didn't need the PPA benefits or professional liability insurance. If I remember, PPA is $250/yr or more and their insurance was more like $0.04 / per dollar of insurance. The only thing you don't want to do is go through your homeowners policy. That's a guaranteed way to lose your money as they will instantly deny any claims they suspect are "commercial use". Here are the links:
http://www.nanpa.org/equipment_insurance.php
http://www.randinsurance.com/Site/581886336/Nanpa.asp

 

[awinphoto]

It's been a few years since I looked into this, but the best deal I found was to join the North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA) and buy insurance through Chubb (Rand Insurance is the broker). You don't have to shoot nature photos to join or anything, but that's who the majority of members are in the association. I've had two fairly small claims with them and they were extremely easy to deal with and processed my check quickly.

Membership is $100/year (NANPA) and the annual rate is $0.0245 per dollar of insurance. It was the best deal I could find, but in my case, I didn't need the PPA benefits or professional liability insurance. If I remember, PPA is $250/yr or more and their insurance was more like $0.04 / per dollar of insurance. The only thing you don't want to do is go through your homeowners policy. That's a guaranteed way to lose your money as they will instantly deny any claims they suspect are "commercial use". Here are the links:
http://www.nanpa.org/equipment_insurance.php
http://www.randinsurance.com/Site/581886336/Nanpa.asp

Thanks for responding... PPA yearly for active photographers are $323, 273 if you dont want indemnification insurance... a healthy charge since I would JUST be interested in the insurance, especially if i was to find out that it wasn't that great to begin with. I've never heard of NANPA, but i will definitely look them up. Is it actual insurance or one of those saving plans or set-ups where you pay up front and get reimbursed? If it was just me it would be one thing, but i do have a wife and kids so i want to make sure they are taken care of. =) Thanks for your input!

 

[awinphoto]

It's been a few years since I looked into this, but the best deal I found was to join the North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA) and buy insurance through Chubb (Rand Insurance is the broker). You don't have to shoot nature photos to join or anything, but that's who the majority of members are in the association. I've had two fairly small claims with them and they were extremely easy to deal with and processed my check quickly.

Membership is $100/year (NANPA) and the annual rate is $0.0245 per dollar of insurance. It was the best deal I could find, but in my case, I didn't need the PPA benefits or professional liability insurance. If I remember, PPA is $250/yr or more and their insurance was more like $0.04 / per dollar of insurance. The only thing you don't want to do is go through your homeowners policy. That's a guaranteed way to lose your money as they will instantly deny any claims they suspect are "commercial use". Here are the links:
http://www.nanpa.org/equipment_insurance.php
http://www.randinsurance.com/Site/581886336/Nanpa.asp

I just looked... is this equipment insurance or health insurance... I was looking for health/medical insurance... it appears this is equipment insurance.

 

[mackguyver]

I just looked... is this equipment insurance or health insurance... I was looking for health/medical insurance... it appears this is equipment insurance.

I'm sorry, I'm still in my Monday morning fog :-[. I misread your post, but in terms of health insurance, I'm guessing PPA will probably do what the MLA (Modern Language Association) and other creative groups have done and drop their health insurance due to Obamacare. If you're reasonably young and healthy, your best bet is a high deductible plan with riders for Rx and a handful of office visits. That keeps your premium low, but is what's called catastrophic insurance, which means that if you get really sick or injured, you'll have to cough up $4k or whatever your deductible is to cover the bills. I did this when I was younger with the theory that I and my family could scrounge up the money should I fall of a ladder or something. Humana and United generally offer pretty good plans.

Otherwise, you'll have to take your chances on the new exchange. Just be sure not to buy the really cheap plans from unheard of companies. There's a company out of Texas called UICI that has changed it's name 10x and operates 100 shell companies. They are the scourge of the insurance industry (I have 10 years in this world) and have had the unfortunate luck of having to deal with them for my wife's claims. If you've ever seen The Rainmaker, they are the real Great Benefit. Go with a brand company, Blue Cross, Cigna, Humana, United, and you'll have the same lousy insurance as the rest of us, but you won't get totally screwed.

 

[awinphoto]

I just looked... is this equipment insurance or health insurance... I was looking for health/medical insurance... it appears this is equipment insurance.

I'm sorry, I'm still in my Monday morning fog :-[. I misread your post, but in terms of health insurance, I'm guessing PPA will probably do what the MLA (Modern Language Association) and other creative groups have done and drop their health insurance due to Obamacare. If you're reasonably young and healthy, your best bet is a high deductible plan with riders for Rx and a handful of office visits. That keeps your premium low, but is what's called catastrophic insurance, which means that if you get really sick or injured, you'll have to cough up $4k or whatever your deductible is to cover the bills. I did this when I was younger with the theory that I and my family could scrounge up the money should I fall of a ladder or something. Humana and United generally offer pretty good plans.

Otherwise, you'll have to take your chances on the new exchange. Just be sure not to buy the really cheap plans from unheard of companies. There's a company out of Texas called UICI that has changed it's name 10x and operates 100 shell companies. They are the scourge of the insurance industry (I have 10 years in this world) and have had the unfortunate luck of having to deal with them for my wife's claims. If you've ever seen The Rainmaker, they are the real Great Benefit. Go with a brand company, Blue Cross, Cigna, Humana, United, and you'll have the same lousy insurance as the rest of us, but you won't get totally screwed.

Thanks for your input =)