If your company creates, designs, publishes, broadcasts or consults on media, Media Professional Liability Insurance services are designed to protect your business with comprehensible information and a liability policy from copyright lawsuits and legal claims that could ruin your company’s reputation or, more importantly, lead your company to close its doors.
It is essential for individuals and organizations involved in the creation and publication of online and offline media like website copy, images, videos, logos, infographics, blogs, social media content, podcasts, billboards, subway ads, brochures, pamphlets, flyers, radio and television programming, film and television productions, news reporting, etc.
What Is Media Liability Insurance?
Generally, Media Professional Liability Insurance is one of the options available in a package policy with a Commercial General Liability Insurance policy that is specifically designed for independent media and marketing professionals and media organizations, including traditional media companies, marketing firms and advertising agencies. While CGL Insurance is a necessity for every business to give them the proper coverage to help protect themselves from the legal costs of lawsuits and claims alleging bodily injury or property damage due to their products, services or business practices, Media Professional Liability Insurance is needed by businesses that create or publish media and can help protect them from media liability risks related to creation and/or publication that is not a part of the coverage in a typical CGL policy. A real Canadian media professional liability insurance claims example would be a company suing over alleged financial loss incurred due to an embarrassing error made in a press release that was prepared and published by a PR/IR company on behalf of its client.
As with a CGL policy, Media Professional Liability Insurance coverage includes:
- Legal fees
- Settlement costs
- Awards for damages
For lawsuits based on media-related torts, some of which are listed below.
What Media Professional Liability Insurance Can Cover
Protect your company from copyright and trademark infringement claims, defamation for publishing false information that damages a third party’s reputation, as well as invasion of privacy that can include publishing photographs taken outside of the public sphere or “off-the-record” information.
Here are some real Canadian examples of allegations and claims typical in the industry:
- False advertising
- Errors and omissions that lead to client losses
- Breach of contract
- Delays that lead to client losses
- Breach of confidentiality
- Deceptive trade practices
- Conspiracy
- Emotional distress
- Harassment
- Third-party bodily injury
What Type of Companies Need Media Professional Liability Insurance?
Every media professional and company should at least consider buying Media Professional Liability Insurance coverage. Here’s a list of businesses that are particularly prone to risks and need the coverage and services to help ensure their survival:
- Advertising and Marketing agencies
- PR firms
- Website designers
- Copywriters
- Content creators
- Software developers
- Bloggers and social media influencers
- Authors and writers
- Photographers and journalists
- Book publishers
- Film & Television production companies
- TV and radio broadcasters
- Newspaper and magazine publishers
- Graphic designers
- Printers
- Consulting firms
Other Businesses Can Benefit From Media Professional Liability Insurance Coverage As Well
Does your company own a website? Social media pages? Do you run advertisements? These questions help to illustrate the reality that we are all publishers of media in the information age. With all of the content we create, curate and repurpose to attract valuable attention, there are always the potential risks for legal media liability exposures. Media companies know this well, and despite their expert systems of checks and balances to protect themselves from intellectual property and copyright infringement claims and getting sued, media liability lawsuits are still a common occurrence in their industry. Even if your company outsources media production, as the publisher, your company is legally responsible for the coverage of what you broadcast.
Why You Need Media Professional Liability Insurance
Yes, Media Professional Liability Insurance is specifically intended for media liability for professional media companies but consider this: as the publisher, if your company is named in lawsuit claims regarding published content, you will still have to pay the legal fees, which is included in media liability insurance coverage, to defend the suit even if your company is ultimately cleared of any media liability wrongdoing. And while you may have the legal grounds to sue the content creator for those defence media liability costs, your company could end up at the back of a long line of creditors if that individual or company has to declare bankruptcy, which is why it is required to have competent media liability insurance.
ALIGNED – Business Insurance Experts Media Professionals Can Trust
Whether your company specializes in media production or not, our company specializes in risk management and media liability insurance for all businesses. The insurance experts at ALIGNED are advocate brokers who have the expertise to know what key media liability coverage any given business will need and fight to get that media liability insurance policy at the best rates. Contact an ALIGNED advocate and get a fast and free quote on the Media Professional Liability Insurance coverage your company needs.
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