Do freelance journalists need insurance?
And new podcast series coming soon
Insurance for Journalists is the only insurance designed by journalists for journalists.
They cover all members of the media anywhere in the world, including areas of war (declared or undeclared), rebellion, civil war, and terrorism.
Coverage includes accidental death and disablement, sickness and accident medical bills, medical evacuation and repatriation to your home country*
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https://insuranceforjournalists.com
Whether we like it or not we live in a litigious society. So it can be tempting to sign up to professional insurances to cover ourselves ‘just in case’. Most freelance journalists are sole traders and a defamation suit could be financially devastating (just ask Katie Hopkins). Then there is the worry of public liability, losing valuable equipment or being unable to work due to a severe illness or injury. So just where should we start when it comes to considering professional insurance? FFJ co-founder Lily Canter explores the options.
Insurance types
You might think ‘what do I need to be insured for?’. And the answer is, that depends. The biggest risk is that someone sues you for libel and the publication you are working for refuses to support you. This could ultimately cost you hundreds of thousands of pounds in damages. To protect yourself from this it is worth looking into indemnity insurance from providers like Hiscox and PolicyBee. There are not many companies that will insure journalists so these two are probably your best starting point.
You might think that writing about food or art or ‘softer’ journalism topics might mean you are at less risk than those covering hard news but libel can sometimes happen in the most innocuous places.
The other big area is public liability. Some companies, particularly for PR / copywriting roles, may insist that you have this. By comparison it doesn’t seem to be on the radar of most news organisations but that doesn’t mean you don’t need it.
Public liability insurance will cover the cost of claims made by members of the public for incidents that occur in connection with your business activities. This could be walking dog poo into a celebrity’s brand new white carpet when you go to interview them (as happened to a friend of mine!) or spilling tea over an interviewee’s mobile phone. Or if a member of the public trips over your work bag in the street they could potentially sue you.
In the US you may want to consider omissions and errors insurance a type of professional liability that protects against claims of inadequate work or negligent actions.
Meanwhile personal possessions will cover equipment outside of the home such as laptops, cameras, microphones, smart phone etc. and you may also need additional items added to your contents insurance if they are used for work or are over a certain value. Just check to make sure you aren’t already covered because you don’t want to waste money by doubling up on insurance.
Then there are things like a travel policy that covers you for work and car insurance for business use.
Attitude to risk
The first thing to consider is what is your personal attitude towards risk. If you are someone who is risk adverse and worries about things going wrong then insurance might be just the reassurance you need to focus on your work without distraction.
But equally you need to weigh up the pros and cons and the likelihood of being at risk and the subsequent consequences. If you travel a lot for work and are in and out of private and public places then you may think it’s worth getting public liability and additional personal possessions insurance. But if you work at home and have comprehensive contents insurance neither of these may be necessary.
Buying every single relevant insurance will be expensive and there may be other ways to mitigate risk, for example, by refreshing your media law knowledge and making sure you don’t sign any contracts that place liability on you. Ask to have these indemnity clauses removed or see if you can work without a contract.
In the end it is a personal decision and everyone’s circumstances are different, so don’t feel pressured one way or the other. Make the decision that is right for you.
Extreme exceptions
If you are travelling to a region or country where the risk to journalists is high, for example a conflict zone or an area with limited press freedom, then insurance is going to be high on your priority list. The Committee to Project Journalists has lots of useful data and safety resources about direct risks to journalists.
If you have a commission or are on a particular assignment then speak to the news organisation you are working for about the protection they will give you.
Insurance for Journalists (full disclosure - they sponsor this newsletter) have policies specifically designed for freelancers heading out from their home country to work in another country. This could include a fixer, a driver or a journalist.
Their cover is global and they have no excluded regions or countries. The policies work in zones, so $100,000 cover for one week in a country like Spain in the lowest zone would be $27 (before the flat $10 policy fee) and the most dangerous regions of Ukraine would be $1,800.00.
The great thing about Insurance for Journalists is that the claims support extends for a further three months once a sick or injured client has returned home.
And if you are off work for a long time due to injury or illness it is worth thinking about what you would do in this scenario before it actually happens. Do you have enough savings put aside or do you need mortgage protection or critical illness insurance?
It may be that you don’t need any insurance to operate confidently as a freelance journalist but it is worth considering the ‘what if?’ scenarios and putting plans in place whether that’s insurance or another solution.
Upgrade for bonus content
Last week we held our first Ask us Anything session for premium members. For anyone who wants more support with their freelancing and access to extra resources including pitch examples and resource lists, the premium version of this newsletter is just £40 a year or £3.33 a month. Honestly its a bit of a bargain as you also get bonus podcasts and obviously is a completely tax deductible business expense. Any questions just shout at freelancingforjournalists@gmail.com
New podcast series coming soon!
We’re right in the middle of recording series 9 of the podcast which will be out later this month. We decided to go back to basics so we will be talking to our wonderful guests about finding ideas, supercharging your pitches, negotiating rates and much more. Watch this space!
Triumph of the week
You file your tax return nice and early and sigh a huge relief that you’ve saved just the right about of money to pay your bill
That feeling when
You finish inputting all your work into ALCS and start day dreaming about how you’ll spend your earnings (if you don’t know what we are talking about, take a look at this previous newsletter)
We love to hear your feedback on everything we do, so feel free to drop us an email anytime at freelancingforjournalists@gmail.com
Bye for now!
