Professional liability
Coverage for claims that your service, advice or deliverable caused a client financial loss, including the cost of defending the claim.
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- Media liability
Media liability
Media liability insurance for agencies, publishers and content studios
Errors and omissions for what you create, publish and advertise: defamation, privacy, copyright and trademark claims, with the cost of defending them.
Who needs it
Who this is for
Any business whose product is content, or whose work for clients ends up published, broadcast or placed.
- Advertising and marketing agencies, including media buyers and social agencies
- Publishers, newsletters, podcasts and digital media brands
- Post-production houses, animators, illustrators and design studios
- Production companies that need producer's E&O before delivery
- Freelance writers, editors and photographers whose client contracts require it
What it covers
Coverage parts, and what to watch on each
Summaries only. The policy wording governs, and every carrier's form is different.
| Coverage | What it does | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Defamation | Libel and slander claims arising from published, broadcast or streamed content, including client campaigns. | Intentional falsehood is excluded. A documented fact-check or approval process helps at underwriting and at claim time. |
| Copyright and trademark | Alleged infringement in content, scripts, images, music, fonts and campaign materials. | Patent claims are not included. Check that software and code are addressed if you build digital products. |
| Privacy and publicity | Invasion of privacy, misappropriation of name or likeness, and right-of-publicity claims. | Generative AI output that resembles a real person is a live issue. Some forms now exclude it; ask us which. |
| Professional negligence | Errors in the services you provide to clients: a missed deadline, a wrong placement, a campaign that did not run as specified. | Not every media form includes this. If clients can sue you over the quality of the work, confirm it is there. |
| Defense costs | Legal fees to respond to a claim, often the largest part of any media loss. | Ask whether defense sits inside or outside the limit. Inside the limit, a long defense erodes what is left to settle. |
| Personal and advertising injury on general liability | General liability includes a narrow version of some of these claims. | It excludes businesses in advertising, broadcasting and publishing. It is not a substitute. |
The hard part
What it does not cover
- Claims from content published before the retroactive date
- Breach of contract and disputes over fees
- Patent infringement
- Intentional wrongful acts and criminal conduct
- Bodily injury and property damage, which belong on general liability
If you buy media, hold client funds or produce content on set, you have exposures a single policy will not answer. We map which policy responds to which.
How to get it
From first call to bound coverage
- 01Describe the workWho you create for, what you deliver and how it is distributed.
- 02Share the processHow content is cleared, approved and released. It changes the premium.
- 03Pick the structureLimits, retroactive date, and whether defense sits inside or outside the limit.
- 04Keep it continuousClaims-made coverage only works if it never lapses. We diary it.
Questions
Common questions
Is media liability the same as professional liability?
They are cousins. Professional liability covers negligence in services. Media liability covers the content: defamation, privacy, infringement. Agencies usually need both, often in one combined form.
My general liability policy mentions advertising injury. Is that enough?
No. General liability's advertising injury coverage excludes businesses whose work is advertising, broadcasting, publishing or telecasting. For an agency or publisher it is close to no coverage at all.
What does claims-made mean?
The policy that responds is the one in force when the claim is made, not when the work was done. Work before the retroactive date is not covered, and if the policy lapses, so does coverage for everything before it.
Does it cover work we did before we bought the policy?
Only back to the retroactive date. On a first policy that is usually the start date. Prior-acts coverage can sometimes be negotiated; ask.
We use generative AI in client work. Does that matter?
Yes. Several carriers have added exclusions or questions about AI-generated imagery, voice and text. If you use it, the form has to say it responds.
Related
Often placed alongside
Production insurance
Short-term policies for a single shoot and annual policies for companies that produce all year, with the certificates locations, rental houses and permit offices ask for before the first day.
Production insuranceCyber insurance
Breach response, business interruption, extortion and third-party liability for businesses that hold client data, run on cloud systems or get paid online.
Cyber insuranceStart with the quote form, or a call.
The online application takes a few minutes for standard business lines. For production, media and professional liability, call or email and we will tell you what we need.