Media liability insurance
If you're into blogging or posting on social, media liability will cover you against accidental defamation, breach of regulations… even copyright infringement for an unlicensed image on your website.
Be quote confident. We'll beat the price of any like-for-like quote. T&Cs apply.
What is media liability insurance?
Most businesses publish content as part of their daily work, whether it's on a blog or social media. Whether you’re a #influencer or just building your brand, you’re likely tapping into communities across the internet to get the word out.
Media liability insurance can protect you for for intellectual property (IP) infringement, breach of confidentiality, right to privacy and more. This cover is part of our professional indemnity insurance and is sometimes called errors & omissions insurance.
- Pay monthly or annually, it’s your choice.
- Get cover in minutes
- Instantly view your policy documents
- Cover for accidental copyright breaches
- Cover for advertising regulations
- Post and publish media content with confidence
Is your business raising and scaling?
Our specialist brokers provide custom cover for high-growth tech companies with complex risks — from web3, fintech, medtech, blockchain, VC firms, SaaS and more — whether you're at seed stage or IPO ready.
Be quote confident
We're big on fairness. So if you find a lower price for a comparable quote, we won't just match it — we'll go one better and beat it.
So even better than apples to apples, apples to better apples. We're talking Galas to Braeburns.
As you'd expect, T&Cs apply.
Features of media liability insurance
Content and social fails
One tweet or misjudged Instagram post, and your business could face claims of defamation, slander or breach of privacy. Media liability insurance is designed to protect you for negligence in all your media content, including websites, blogs and social. So, if a post backfires, you'll know that any legal fees and compensation could be taken care of.
Copyright disputes
It can be easy to forget that using certain images or other content without permission could put you in breach of copyright. Media liability insurance is for just those moments, helping to pick up the bill for any compensation and associated legal costs.
Professional credibility
Having media liability cover means that your clients can maintain complete trust in your professional services, knowing that both parties are financially covered if an issue arises.
Once you've completed a quote, you'll be able to view a summary of cover. Please always refer to your policy documents for full details around exclusions, terms and limits of your customised cover. Read our guide to understanding your policy documents.
Media liability insurance guide
Find out more about media liability, the risks it covers and what to look out for in a policy.
What does media liability insurance cover?
A media liability policy is built to cover you for negligence in your communications over online and offline media, including social media, blogs, websites and advertising. Our policy covers for infringement of intellectual property, copyright infringement and privacy and confidentiality laws.
Media liability cover is one element of professional indemnity (PI) insurance. PI will also cover other elements such as erroneous professional advice and professional negligence.
Who needs media liability cover?
Nowadays, most businesses are publishers of some sort, with social media accounts, blogs, content marketing, not to mention good old-fashioned advertising.
What risks does media liability cover protect you from?
Social media defamation cases are on the rise, with many businesses unaware that posts are subject to the same laws as other published content. There are other areas of media risk too. For example, you might accidentally use an image without permission from the owner, or make misleading or untrue statements about a competitor in your advertising.
Media liability cover is one element of PI insurance. PI will also cover other elements such as erroneous professional advice and professional negligence.
Things you can do to protect yourselves
Steps you can take to protect your business include implementing a watertight approval process for your content and outlining guidelines for the use of social media, blogs and online comments, so employees know what is and isn’t appropriate.
What's not covered?
Media liability insurance includes a range of features, but as with all policies, there are some things we cannot cover, which, for example, include:
- Claims arising from the intentional, unlawful collection or retention of personally identifiable information
- Claims linked to the infringement, misuse or abuse of patents or trade secrets
- Actual or alleged, deceptive or unfair trade practices claims
- Claims linked to, or arising from, a defect with third-party hardware or software
- Liability arising from a merchant services agreement
- Bodily injury or property damage, unless it’s a result of your design, advice or consultancy services provided as part of your business activities
- Claims related to your insolvency or bankruptcy
- The supply, manufacture or maintenance of any tangible product designed, specified, formulated, manufactured, constructed, installed, sold, supplied, distributed, treated, serviced, altered, processed, cleaned, renovated or repaired by you or on your behalf
Media liability claims
There are various types of media liability claims that can affect different industries, but here are a few examples of claims where the business could be liable:
Copyright infringement
As a graphic designer, you incorporate a design element which another artist claims is a copy of their work and they sue you. Media liability can cover your legal costs.
Intellectual property theft
Your business is accused of marketing a trademarked product without permission, breaching patent laws. Your media liability insurance covers your compensation costs.
Comparative advertising complaint
You run a billboard advert campaign comparing your prices to your competitors. Your competitor claims the comparison is unfair and inaccurate and sues you.
Defamation lawsuit
As part of a new campaign, your social media manager posts untrue and unsubstantiated claims about a competitor on social platforms, leading them to sue.
How do claims work?
Notify us of the claim
Contact us by email at claims@gosuperscript.com, by 24/7 freephone on 0800 772 3059 or by logging in to your customer portal.
Ideally this should be done as soon as possible and within 30 days of you becoming aware of anything which you think may be covered by your insurance.
A good indicator of whether or not to let us know is if there's an issue which may require a payment to be made on your behalf.
We'll get on the case
We'll acknowledge your claim within 24 hours, and sometimes in as little as 30 minutes! This means you'll receive email confirmation of your claims reference and contact information should you need to speak to us.
We will then reach out to you within 48 hours to request any extra information we need to progress your claim.
We'll keep you updated on the next steps as the claim progresses.
A decision is made
We'll let you know if your claim is successful or not. If your claim isn't covered, we will always try to point you in the right direction and support you as best we can in getting back to normal.
Read about the most common reasons claims aren't paid.
If your claim is successful, once we have all the documents we need, we will aim to settle claims such as accidental damage, theft and lost equipment within five working days.
Media liability insurance FAQs
Is media liability insurance required by law?
Media liability cover isn't mandatory by law in the UK. However, the unexpected costs of a copyright infringement claim against your business, for example, could be potentially devastating. It's important to weigh up the relatively small cost of media liability cover versus the financial implications of an uninsured claim.
Is media liability the same as professional indemnity insurance?
Media liability cover is one element of professional indemnity (PI) insurance. PI will also cover other elements such as erroneous professional advice and professional negligence.
Is media liability cover tax deductible?
Yes. Media liability insurance is considered a business cost which counts as an 'allowable expense'. This means that you can deduct it when calculating your taxable profit and therefore tax deductible in the UK.
When calculating your taxable profit, you should keep a record of your business income and expenses, not only so that you can calculate it accurately but also as evidence in case HMRC wants to check on your business. For business insurance, this means your invoices and policy documents.
Do I need media liability cover?
Even if the main purpose of your company is not publishing or in creative media, in the 21st century most businesses will have a website or social media presence. Media liability cover can help any business that posts online to protect themselves against the risks involved in posting content online.
Furthermore, any business that uses a logo or branding may be susceptible to being accused of breach of copyright or trademark if their designs are considered too similar to those of another business.
How can you buy media liability cover with Superscript?
With Superscript you have the flexibility to pay for your insurance monthly or yearly, depending on what works best for you.
You can also amend your policy at any time without fees, so you can keep your cover up to date as your business changes during the policy period.
Boost your cover with legal protection insurance
Covers compensation awards, professional fees and legal costs associated with a range of legal disputes.
Why choose Superscript?
Cover for over 1,000 types of business
Five-star customer service and claims support
Flexibility to adjust your policy without fees
We insure thousands of innovative businesses
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