Are you a digital advertising agency? Or perhaps you’re an independent media consultant? Or are you a freelance editor? Whatever media and marketing business you operate, getting the right insurance is vital to your continued success.
We’re handing you everything you need to know about media and marketing insurance to make your professional life much easier in the subsequent sections. Running a business is tricky, so you can let us handle the insurance side of things.
Insurance In The World of Media and Marketing: An Overview
Today’s world is decidedly fast-paced and majorly digital — especially for those of you working in media and marketing. In your business, it’s not just about quality; it’s also about quantity. People are constantly demanding content to satisfy the eyes of their target markets.
But regardless of how meticulous you are, mistakes happen. Sadly, you could be held liable when errors occur for negligence that caused financial loss or damage. If your client pursues legal action against you, your business could face irreparable reputational damage and costly legal defence expenses.
What Is Media and Marketing Insurance?
The majority of businesses sell physical goods or provide services, but media and marketing companies are slightly different. They create ideas, concepts, images, and stories both offline and online for their clients. They aim to encompass their client’s core values or convey a feeling to a certain demographic.
Because of the almost abstract nature of media and marketing businesses, you face many unique risks. As such, media and marketing insurance is a complete policy packaging featuring a wide range of coverage types designed to protect you and your business.
Standard Media and Marketing Insurance Claims Examples
The list of common claims in the media and marketing world is staggering. However, we’ve pared it down to the three most prevalent:
Example One: Printing Error Claim
Your business is hired to print a magazine. While printing, an error occurs, which causes an advertisement to be upside down in the finished copy.
The magazine demands a refund for the printing costs and continues to sue you for damages.
Your errors and omissions insurance pays both your legal defence and settlement fees.
Example Two: Copyright Infringement Claim
You run a small publishing company. You recently used images in one of your latest publications.
Upon closer inspection, it’s discovered the images were from a world-renowned book. Sadly, you didn’t get permission from the author to use the pictures, so the book’s publisher and author sued you for copyright infringement.
Thankfully, you purchased a professional liability insurance policy that covered the legal expenses and court-ordered settlements.
Example Three: Libel Claim
You’re a journalist who publishers a negative review of your local cafe in the newspaper. Inside the article, you state the restaurant didn’t pass their most recent health inspection as they had a rat infestation.
The cafe’s owner finds out about your review and sues for libel, claiming the allegations are false and caused customer losses.
Your professional liability insurance policy covers the total cost of damages and legal fees.
What Does Media and Marketing Insurance Cover?
Usually, you’ll see several types of insurance coverage included in media and marketing policy packages, such as:
Commercial General Liability Insurance Coverage (CGL)
Commercial general liability insurance is crucial no matter what kind of business you operate. It’s the foundation of any comprehensive policy package and covers you from third-party property damage or bodily injury if somebody suffers an injury in your workplace. In other words, it gives you the coverage you need to defend yourself in court, pay any medical expenses, and afford court-ordered settlements.
The specific coverage areas under this policy are as follows:
- Personal and advertising liability — Coverage for allegations of slander, false advertising, defamation, and libel. It’s perhaps the most important section of your CGL insurance as a media and marketing professional.
- Bodily injury — This section provides coverage for third-party injury or damage due to your business operations.
- Tenant’s legal liability — It provides the costs to repair or replace another’s property that you occupy or rent.
- Product liability — It’s unlikely to apply to most media and marketing professionals. However, if you happen to sell or supply a product that causes bodily injury or property damage, the policy covers you.
The coverage limit you select depends on the size of your business and how often you interact with third parties (i.e., customers, vendors, members of the public, and other companies).
We’ll analyze your insurance requirements for you before assigning a broker, so you don’t need to worry about traversing the issue on your own. Since every media and marketing business is different, our trusted Canadian insurers are well-versed in customizing their policies to meet your needs.
Errors and Omission Insurance Coverage (E&O)
Otherwise known as professional liability insurance, errors and omission coverage offers financial protection from losses caused by your company’s mistakes, negligence, or failure to deliver a service as promised. The policy covers the costs related to lawsuits that could threaten the economic health of your business and damage your reputation.
Generally, it includes coverage for damages and legal costs in these areas:
- Media and advertising — If the media and/or advertising you provide causes your client to get sued for libel, slander, or defamation, the policy funds the lawsuit and damages.
- Professional services — Negligence, errors, omissions, and failure to deliver a service as promised fall under this policy part.
Many E&O coverages extend to product failure and physical injury due to a product. However, most media and marketing professionals like yourself won’t need this clause.
Cyber Liability Insurance Coverage
If your company’s network is hacked or a data breach happens, your clients could sue you for third-party damages. Why? Because it’s your responsibility to look after their financial information and personal data.
Cyber liability insurance provides financial protection for the cost of:
- notifying your customers of a data breach or attack.
- providing credit monitoring services.
- repairing your network and any damaged software.
- losses sustained during system outages.
- legal advice.
Directors and Officers Insurance Coverage (D&O)
D;O or management liability insurance is designed to protect anybody serving on your media and marketing company’s board of directors against losses, employee wrongful dismissal, discrimination, inaccurate disclosures, and indemnification.
The policy pays for legal defence expenses associated with the following scenarios:
- Breach of common law or fiduciary duties
- Failing to comply with the law
- Decisions that caused adverse financial consequences for shareholders
- Misleading statements or inaccurate disclosure
- Reporting problems
- Misrepresentation and negligent acts
If you need a D&O policy limit of over $30 million, you’ll usually need an “extra-layer” policy structure. We can help find a brokerage with that level of coverage if necessary.
Legal Expense Insurance
Legal expense coverage offers access to legal advice and the ability to retain a lawyer for free. As you may imagine, only common business issues are covered.
With that said, the spectrum of topics is rather broad. Everything from employment disputes to property protection, from tax protection to statutory license protection is included.
Who Needs Media and Marketing Insurance?
Any professional individual or company working in the media and marketing industry should consider this type of comprehensive insurance package. Businesses that are especially prone to risks covered by the insurance are as follows:
- Website designers
- Software developers
- Public relations firms
- Advertising and marketing agencies
- Authors, writers, and journalists
- Graphic designers
- Direct marketing firms
- Editors
- TV and radio presenters
- Film and television product companies
- Printers
- Newspaper and magazine publishers
- Book publishers
- Consulting firms
- Bloggers
- Social media influencers
- Photographers
Other businesses that run adverts, social media pages, or own a website could also benefit from a basic form of media and marketing insurance.
How Much Does Media and Marketing Insurance Cost?
Every insurance company sets its own standard media and marketing insurance rate. However, the exact cost awarded to you depends on a plethora of factors, including:
- Your experience — Insurers use your industry experience to indicate the likelihood of somebody starting a lawsuit against you. Therefore, the more years of experience you have, the lower your premium rate.
- The number of employees on your team — The more employees you have, the more likely you’ll face a claim. Of course, this metric is relevant if you’re a sole trader or self-employed.
- Your annual and forecasted revenues — Your clients will often request more in damages if they know your revenue can withstand the hit. So, if you’re a highly profitable business, expect to be a bit more for your media and marketing insurance coverage.
- Your insurance claims history — A long history of claims indicates you have a higher chance of making another one in the future. On the flip side, a clean track record lowers your insurance cost as you’re not as likely to claim.
- Your business’ size — The larger your business, the more at stake during a lawsuit.
- Your business’ location — Some areas are prone to earthquakes or floods; others have high crime rates; the rest have neither. If your business is lucky enough to reside in “the rest,” you’ll benefit from lower media and marketing insurance premiums.
- Your clients — If your clients work in industries deemed high-risk, you should expect to pay more for insurance. Likewise, if you benefit from a large number of clients, you’re more at risk of allegations, increasing your premiums.
- Your coverage limit — Most professionals in the industry choose policies with a limit of $2 million to $5 million. The best way to decide your perfect limit is to fill in our secure quote form.
Why Choose LiabilityCover?
Our experienced team puts you in touch with leading licensed insurers specializing in providing coverage to media and marketing professionals. The working relationships we’ve fostered over the years with Canada’s best insurance companies guarantee you get the best deal, regardless of your needs.
If you have a media and marketing insurance need, we’ve got the answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can You Manage Risk As a Media and Marketing Professional?
You need to take action to minimize your chances of being sued to stand the best chance of mitigating risks and keeping your premiums low. Of course, nothing can completely stop a third-party lawsuit, but the tips below can help reduce the threat:
- Customer review and approvals — No matter what, always give your clients enough time to review your work thoroughly. Make sure each step of the project is signed off, particularly at the end of the job.
- Open and transparent communication — Don’t underestimate how much your clients value consistent, honest communication. Keeping communication channels open ensures you’re all on the same page regarding responsibilities, costs, and deadlines.
- Practice accurate record-keeping — You should record every meeting and conversation with your clients. Providing written minutes of your discussions and their outcomes gives everybody a chance to check over the scope, agreements, and requests.
- Ensure effective quality control measures are in place — Make sure at least two experienced colleagues review all work before sending it to your customer or publishing the material. If you haven’t already, establish procedures to document who reviewed which items.
What Are The Most Common Risks Faced By Media and Marketing Professionals?
Media and marketing professionals are most commonly susceptible to lawsuits arising from:
- Plagiarism
- Copyright infringement
- Invasion of privacy
- Defamation
How Can You Get Media and Marketing Insurance?
With LiabilityCover, getting the comprehensive insurance bundle your business requires is straightforward:
- Use our simple inquiry form to submit your risk or call our toll-free number.
- We take a look at your insurance requirements.
- One of our team members assigns one of Canada’s top insurance brokerages or agents with industry-specific experience.
- The insurer contacts you to help you get the media and marketing policy package you need!
Is Legal Expense Insurance Included In Regular Media and Marketing Insurance Policies?
Legal expense insurance isn’t included in standard media and marketing insurance policies. However, you can certainly add it to your package.
Can You Get Coverage for Breach of Contract Protection?
Yes, errors and omissions insurance covers you in the event you cause financial loss due to missing a deadline or failing to deliver a project on schedule.
