Our thanks to Tom Carson and Matt Whinney from Williamson Carson for hosting a PAL (Photo Agents London) meeting at Holborn Studios on Monday 30 January 2023. It was wonderful to catch up with so many Photographic Agents and talk about business and what the coming year has in store.

We also caught up with Matt Whinney, Director of Williamson Carson and you can read more about his 2023 need-to-know-advice for photographers here.

Your need-to-know insurance advice from Williamson Carson 

We caught up with Matt Whinney from Williamson Carson to ask him a few questions: 

What’s the latest need-to-know advice for photographers? 

In terms of risks, there is certainly an uptick in the ‘legal blame game’ if we can call it that. There’s been high profile matters arise in the industry press, with fingers being unnecessarily pointed in the direction of photographers, stylists and production companies. One area we think needs sharp focus is contractual management and how that effects photographers, their agents and the production company.

What are the contracts you are signing? Who is responsible for what? Who is responsible for the creative brief? Who is responsible for sourcing props and models? And more importantly who is responsible for clearances?

These are just some of the questions that photographers should think about. If things go wrong related to the items above, it’s often the professional indemnity insurance that will come to the rescue. But it’s far easier to handler matters when fingers get pointing, if you know what you have signed and exactly what you are responsible for?

How are you helping photographers during the cost of living crisis? 

We understand that many people are going through a hard time right now. We are here for our customers. If things are tough for you, get in touch and we’ll have a conversation to work out a solution. There were ways to reduce cover, but there are also certain policies that we advise continuing with, Professional Indemnity being one of them as it protects you against claims on historic work. 

Do get in touch if we can help with your situation. 

What makes you different from other insurance companies? 

There’s a few things we’re very proud of;

• We only offer completely bespoke insurance packages and never sell you anything you don’t absolutely need, this way we can keep premiums to a minimum while giving you and your business watertight protection. 
• We’re extremely proud of our customer service. We’re always on the end of the phone if you want to talk or if you need to make a claim. No third parties, no automated messages, just us here to help you. Have a look at our 5* reviews on Trustpilot if you’d like to hear what other people say about us https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/williamsoncarson.co.uk?utm_medium=trustbox&utm_source=Mini
• We’re industry experts, helping photographers, image makers and related businesses since 1986. There isn’t anything we don’t know about this industry and we deeply care about providing the latest, expert advice for our customers.  

What does the AOP mean to you?  

We have been long supporters of the AOP since Williamson Carson was first set up in 1986. The AOP is a crucial part of our industry, together we’ve weathered many storms – we’ll always be here to help the AOP and its members.