Media liability
Media liability insurance covers the content you create, publish or advertise. If someone claims your work defamed them, invaded their privacy or used their copyright or trademark without permission, the policy pays for lawyers to defend the claim and, where its terms apply, to settle it.
Any business whose product is content, or whose work for clients ends up published, broadcast or placed.
What it covers
Summaries only. The policy wording governs, and every insurance company's policy is different.
Claims that something you published, broadcast or streamed, including client campaigns, damaged someone's reputation.
What to watchDeliberately false statements are excluded. A written fact-check or approval process helps when you apply and if a claim comes.
Claims that your content, scripts, images, music, fonts or campaign materials used someone's work or brand without permission.
What to watchPatent claims are not included. If you build software or apps, check that code is covered.
Claims that you invaded someone's privacy or used their name, face or voice without permission.
What to watchImages or voices generated by AI that resemble a real person are a live issue. Some policies now exclude them; ask us which.
Errors in the work you do for clients: a missed deadline, a wrong placement, a campaign that did not run as agreed.
What to watchNot every media policy includes this. If clients could sue you over the quality of the work, confirm it is there.
Legal fees to respond to a claim, often the largest part of any media loss.
What to watchAsk whether legal fees count toward the limit or sit on top of it. If they count toward it, a long case can use up what is left to settle.
How we work
We are appointed with national and specialty companies, so your policy goes where it fits rather than where we happen to have a contract. See who we work with.
Send your current policy and we compare it with what we would offer: what we would keep, what we would change, and why, in writing.
No coverage starts and no policy changes until a licensed agent confirms it with you in writing. You always know what you have. How we work, in full.
Exclusions
If you buy media, hold client money or produce content on set, you have risks a single policy will not cover. We map which policy responds to which.
How to get it
They are cousins. Professional liability covers mistakes in services. Media liability covers the content itself: defamation, privacy, using someone else's work. Agencies usually need both, often in one combined policy.
No. That coverage excludes businesses whose work is advertising, broadcasting or publishing. For an agency or publisher it is close to no coverage at all.
The policy that pays is the one in force when the claim arrives, not the one in force when you did the work. Work done before the start date written into the policy is not covered, and if the policy lapses, coverage for all the earlier work lapses with it.
Only back to the start date written into the policy. On a first policy that is usually the day it begins. Coverage for earlier work can sometimes be negotiated; ask.
Yes. Several insurers have added exclusions or questions about AI-generated images, voices and text. If you use these tools, the policy has to say it covers them.
Related
Covers claims that your advice or work cost a client money, including the cost of lawyers.
Professional liabilityPolicies for a single shoot or a full year of them, with the proof of insurance that locations and rental houses ask for.
Production insuranceCovers the cost of a breach, ransomware, payment fraud and the claims that follow a data incident.
Cyber insuranceProduction, media and professional liability are quoted by an agent. Start with QuickStart or an interview and we will tell you what we need.
