General liability insurance for media and advertising professionals

General liability insurance protects media and advertising businesses against common business risks. If a client is injured while visiting your office, or if you damage customer property during a pitch meeting, this policy can cover the resulting expenses. It’s also likely you’ll have to obtain a general liability policy to sign a commercial lease.

This policy provides liability coverage at your office related to:

• Customer injuries
• Customer property damage
• Commercial lease requirements

If you run a small media or advertising business, you may qualify for a business owner’s policy (BOP), which bundles general liability insurance with commercial property insurance. A BOP typically costs less than purchasing each policy separately. Businesses that are eligible for BOPs usually:

• Have fewer than 100 employees
• Have a small office or workplace
• Make less than $1 million in annual revenue
• Operate in a low-risk industry, such as media and advertising
• Need less than 12 months of business interruption insurance

Talk to a licensed Insureon agent who specializes in the media and advertising industry to find out if a BOP fits your business.

If a client or other visitor slips and falls at your office, you might be blamed for the injury. If the injured person sues, your media or advertising business could end up paying for medical expenses – plus the cost of hiring a lawyer. General liability insurance can help by paying for:

• Medical bills
• Attorney’s fees
• Court-ordered judgments if you are found liable

Note that this policy does not cover employee injuries. For that, you’ll need workers’ compensation insurance.

In the advertising and media industry, you occasionally need to visit client offices or meet with interview subjects. If you accidentally cause damage to a client’s property, your general liability policy could help pay for the cost of repairing or replacing it.

If there is a disagreement about repairs for more expensive items, general liability could cover attorney’s fees or a court-ordered judgment.

General liability insurance can also protect your media and advertising business from incidents involving visitors to your office. For example, if a deliveryman trips and breaks an arm, general liability insurance could pay for medical expenses.

Most general liability policies include coverage for advertising injuries, such as libel, slander, and copyright infringement. However, since creating and publishing content is a primary function of media and advertising companies, most general liability policies exclude this coverage for businesses in this industry.

Advertising injury coverage for media professionals is included in media liability insurance, called professional liability insurance in other industries.

General liability insurance offers protection for many common risks, but it doesn’t cover data breaches, employee injuries, or lawsuits related to work performance. Other recommended policies for advertising and media professionals include:

Media liability insurance: This policy, also known as professional liability insurance, protects media and advertising professionals against lawsuits related to advertising injuries and work performance. For example, if your advertising agency is accused of using copyrighted images in an ad campaign, or your publishing company misses a client’s deadline, media liability insurance can pay for legal expenses if the client sues.

Workers’ compensation insurance: This policy is required in most states for businesses with employees. It can cover medical expenses and partial lost wages if an employee is injured on the job. If a videographer suffers a back injury while loading equipment in a van or a PR account executive breaks their wrist after tripping over a printer cable, workers’ comp can pay for medical bills as well as partial lost wages.

Cyber liability insurance: Any company that handles sensitive data, such as employee Social Security numbers or client credit card numbers, should invest in this policy. It helps pay for recovery expenses after a data breach.

Commercial auto insurance: This policy covers the cost of accidents involving work vehicles. Each state has its own requirements for auto liability insurance.

Are you ready to safeguard your media or advertising business with general liability insurance? Complete Insureon’s easy online application to compare quotes from top U.S. insurance companies. Once you find a policy that fits your needs, you can begin coverage in less than 24 hours.