Course creator insurance: media liability for course sellers
Your course is published content, often packed with screenshots, examples, music and other people's work. If someone says a lesson or a sales page copied their work, defamed them or invaded their privacy, media liability defends you.
This guide explains where claims against course creators come from and how media liability works. Ready for a policy? Get a course seller quote from CreatorSure.
Where claims come from
- Lesson material: screenshots, images, clips and music you didn't make.
- Examples and case studies naming real people and companies.
- Templates and frameworks that look like someone else's.
- Student testimonials used without consent.
- Student work you showcase without permission.
Selling coaching alongside your course? See insurance for high ticket offers. Hosting students in a group? Read community owner coverage.
What's different when you sell a course
- Lesson videos live for years. A clip, song or image you borrowed is in front of every new student.
- Slide decks. A deck that rebuilds another teacher's framework can look like a copy of their work.
- Student result claims. What you say students achieved shows up on your sales page, in emails and in ads.
- Affiliates. People promoting your course repeat your claims in their own posts, with your course name on them.
Other coverage you need
- Professional E&O. A student says your course taught them wrong and it cost them (which CreatorSure covers).
- Cyber. Your platform holds student emails and payment details (which CreatorSure covers).
When someone takes your work
Your course gets reuploaded and shared for free, or another seller lifts your lessons. Fight Back helps pay for a lawyer, takedowns and demand letters to go after them.
Questions
Do I need insurance to sell an online course?
If your course uses material you didn't make, names real people or features testimonials, a claim over it names you. Media liability defends you.
Does my course platform protect me?
No. Teachable, Kajabi and similar platforms deliver your lessons, but their terms protect them. You published the course, so a claim names you.
Can I use screenshots and examples from other businesses?
Sometimes, but every one is a possible copyright or trademark claim. Media liability covers those claims. Getting permission avoids them.
Does media liability cover a student who says the course didn't work?
No. That's professional E&O (which CreatorSure covers). Media liability covers claims over what you publish.
Are testimonials on my sales page a risk?
Yes. Using a student's name or face without permission draws a privacy claim, and results you can't back up draw complaints. Get written consent for every testimonial.
Ready for a policy?
CreatorSure is our creator insurance program. It sells coverage for course creators and coaches and will place a policy that covers your lessons and sales pages.