Media liability insurance FAQ

It is a specialized form of errors and omissions insurance for the legal risks of creating and distributing media content: the words, images, sounds, and video an organization puts into the world. The coverage trigger is typically described as liability arising from media activities, including the creation and distribution of media content resulting from a media wrongful act.

Across the market, the recurring categories are defamation (described as libel and slander), copyright and trademark infringement, invasion of privacy, misappropriation, and negligence connected to media activities, along with intellectual-property infringement, privacy violations, and breach of confidentiality.

Media liability insurance is best understood as a specialized form of E&O for media activities, sitting inside the broader E&O family rather than as something entirely separate.

IRMI defines a claims-made policy as coverage triggered when a claim is made against the insured during the policy period, regardless of when the wrongful act took place, subject to any retroactive date. An occurrence form covers activities that occur during the policy period, regardless of when the claim is first made. Media liability products are written on either basis. Which form a product uses is set in the policy itself.

That depends on the policy. IRMI defines duty to defend as an insurer's obligation to provide an insured with a defense to claims made under a liability policy, generally broader than the duty to indemnify. The defense arrangement, whether reimbursement of defense costs or duty to defend, varies by product. Confirm how defense is handled in the actual policy wording.

Production is one of the most explicitly named segments in the market. Insurers describe media E&O and film and entertainment E&O with target classes including documentaries, feature films, and TV programs, and coverage for film and program producers and for film, program, video and home entertainment distributors. These are descriptions of whom insurers market to, not advice about whether coverage fits your situation.

Often, yes, as a package. Media liability can appear as a selectable coverage part alongside network security and privacy liability and data breach expense coverage, and media products are described as layerable with miscellaneous E&O, general liability, technology, or cyber coverage parts. The exact combination available depends on the insurer and the policy.

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It depends on the policy form and dates. Under an occurrence form, activities during the policy period are covered regardless of when the claim is made. Under a claims-made form, IRMI notes that a retroactive date can exclude wrongful acts that took place before that date. The answer for any real policy is in its declarations and wording, not in a general summary.

No. This site is informational only and does not recommend any insurer or product. It gives no insurance advice, offers no quotes, and takes no applications. For guidance about a specific situation, consult a licensed insurance professional or attorney.