Archive for Communications
Advertising & PR firms
This insurance covers libel, slander, defamation, infringement of copyright, title or slogan, piracy, unfair competition, or misappropriation of ideas, and any invasion of the rights of privacy that an advertising agency allegedly commits. It also covers investigating claims and defending against legal actions.
Agent Market Intelligence Resources
Independent agents need timely and accurate information on both current market conditions and insurance carriers that provide coverage. Developing such information can be difficult but vendors can supply it. Insurance company ratings, licensing, news, market share, recent rate filing activity, underwriting guidelines, checklists, and other related information is available through your insurance agent.
Answering Services
Answering and message centers serve businesses, professionals, contractors, and service companies that must have their calls answered and messages taken around the clock. They may also provide voice mail, fax messaging, printing, photocopying, and similar office services. This coverage insures businesses for injuries alleged to have occurred because of negligent acts, errors, or omissions in performing answering services for others.
Association–Sponsored Mass Marketing Programs
Association-sponsored mass marketing programs are tailor-made programs that an agent, broker, managing general agent, or insurance carrier develops to respond to the insurance needs of a specific trade or professional association. The association’s group bargaining power provides the leverage to obtain better coverage at more reasonable prices. These programs also contribute to the association’s continuity by providing important member benefits.
Broadcast Stations
Many markets offer coverage for broadcast towers, mobile units, studio (and other) equipment in addition to other inland marine, property, business income, general liability, commercial auto liability and physical damage, crime, and workers compensation coverages. However, there is a limited market for broadcaster’s liability. Broadcaster’s liability covers errors and omissions (including libel, slander, invasion of privacy, and other errors) that result from broadcasting operations. The potential legal liability of a broadcaster varies and includes (but is not limited to) the use of incorrect news stories, libel, slander, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement, and unauthorized use of a plot, characters, or music. Broadcasters liability insurance covers these exposures and provides defense costs incurred to contest suits or claims.
Cable TV Liability
This is a media liability policy that insures the cable television industry. It covers claims that allege libel, slander or defamation, infringement of copyright, literary title or slogan, and piracy, plagiarism, idea misappropriation, and invasion of privacy that arises from the content of both original and other programming distributed over the system. In addition to covering the insured’s legal liability for these claims, it also covers the cable operators’ liability assumed under contracts with sponsors and advertising agencies, as well as the liability assumed under franchise agreements with towns and cities. Assumed liability claims are covered only if they fall within the scope of coverage.
Community Theaters
Insurance coverage is available for theatrical groups, choruses, symphony orchestras, bands, and other performing arts organizations that depend on community support and involvement. Coverage includes commercial general liability, property coverage for equipment, props, and costumes, sets the theater owns, rents, or borrows, and accident/medical insurance for participants.
Film/Movie Production Insurance
Clients eligible for this coverage include producers of films, movies, television programs, and commercials that film either on location or in a studio. The time period for the coverage can be annual and include all operations or projects during that annual period. It may also be short term based on specific dates on the policy or have not dates but instead apply to a specific project. Coverage includes property, general liability, automobile, umbrella liability, and workers compensation. There is also coverage available for office contents, rental equipment, props, sets, wardrobes, negative and faulty stock, and third-party damage. The coverage territory can be broadened to include countries outside the United States, provided the production company is U.S.-based.
Franchise Sponsored Mass Marketing Programs
Insurance agents and/or carriers develop these tailor-made programs to respond to the insurance needs of a specific franchisor or association of franchisees. The franchise’s group bargaining power provides the leverage to obtain better coverage at more reasonable prices. These programs also assure the franchisor that contractual coverages are available to the franchisees.
Identity Theft Liability
Identity theft liability is an evolving coverage. The most basic form covers liability imposed on a business because it failed to adequately protect certain vital information that its customers supplied. This information is such that its theft can allow the customers’ identity to be stolen. Many carriers are expanding beyond this basic coverage to provide loss control assistance to prevent such losses and intense case management activities following a security breach in an attempt to lessen the impact of any loss.
Independent Pay Telephone Operators
Independent pay telephone operators are replacing the larger telecom companies in providing access to public telephones. Property and casualty coverage has been designed to address the specific insurance needs of these operators. General liability and excess liability coverage is available. Property coverage is available for the operator’s office personal property and the individual payphones.
Intellectual Property (Patents, Copyright) Enforcement Coverage
This coverage is unusual because it is a plaintiff payment rather than a defense payment. It pays the expenses the insured needs to enforce its patents, trademarks, copyrights, and computer programs. It also pays for the insured’s legal costs when a patent, trademark, or copyright is challenged in a countersuit for invalidity. Coverage applies on a claims-made basis and excludes liability for compensatory or consequential damages, or fines, punitive, exemplary, or multiple damages. The insured must participate in expense reimbursement.
Internet Liability
Internet liability is the most rapidly changing area of liability exposure today. The growth in the number of persons who use the Internet regularly has caused most businesses to promote and market their products and services online. These companies have home pages and many communicate with others via email, chat lines, blogs, social media, and more. Liability coverages and exclusions that apply to advertising injury, libel, slander, infringement of copyright, and trademark are being revised to reflect the changing conditions of online communication. A few insurers offer a package of coverages designed to protect businesses that provide online services to their customers and subscribers.
Marketing and Public Relations Firms E&O
Errors and omissions insurance is available for marketing and public relations firms that handle their clients’ marketing and advertising programs. These firms develop campaigns to promote products or services for manufacturers, dealers, contractors, and other service businesses or individuals. Libel and slander for published or broadcast promotional or advertising material as well as infringement of copyright are serious concerns to these agencies. A media professional liability coverage form or policy is a must for any marketing firm because it covers advertising liability, libel and slander, infringement of copyright, and other types of offenses.
Marketing Consultants E&O
This liability coverage protects the insured consultant when there are allegations of financial loss and/or personal injury caused by an error or omission the consultant allegedly made while performing marketing services for others. Typical exposures include infringement of copyright, faulty publicity advice, errors in news releases and/or press dates, and missed deadlines. Firms that have been in business at least three years or principals with prior marketing consulting experience are preferred. Each claim is subject to a minimum deductible amount.
Media Liability
This coverage is available to the media, such as newspapers, book publishers, magazines, radio and television stations, film and program producers, authors, and advertisers. It covers the insured’s liability to others for incidents of alleged copyright infringement, plagiarism, libel, slander, and other similar personal and advertising injury claims, subject to a self-insured retention. Most coverage forms include defense coverage as part of the limit of insurance.
Patent Infringement
Patent infringement insurance responds to suits brought in the United States against an insured that manufactures, uses, or distributes a covered product that allegedly infringes on a patent. It covers the costs to defend the suit in addition to the costs to settle the claim with the party that owns the patent.
Phone Card Promotions
A relatively simple product promotion places prepaid phone cards into the product packaging as a way to increase sales, introduce new products, or draw attention to special events. When the card is used, the product or business’s image and a message appear before the user each time a call is made. At times, the phone cards become collector items and the promotional image lasts even longer. This coverage insures over-indemnification of the phone cards.
Political Risk Insurance
Political turmoil throughout the world results in United States investors and business firms subject to the exposure of their assets in foreign nations being expropriated. A firm may be exposed to loss from any of three broad categories of political risk: seizure of assets, currency inconvertibility, and interference with contractual performance. Confiscation, expropriation, nationalization, deprivation and, in some cases, terrorist and war risk coverages may be written under political risk insurance programs.
Printers E&O
This coverage is available for commercial printing and related services, such as typesetting, binding, and collating. Errors and omissions insurance covers the insured for claims of damages alleged to have occurred due to wrongful acts, errors, and omissions in the performance of printing services for others. This coverage is not a substitute for publishers or media liability because printers do not supply any original content. It is also not intended for firms that print materials for contests, lotteries, games of chance, or promotional games.
Privacy Insurance
This coverage protects the insured when confidential information belonging to clients, employees or vendors is breached because of an alleged error on the insured’s part. Coverage is provided for both defense and indemnification. Coverage also includes the cost to notify affected individuals.
Professional Insurance Industry Organizations
These organizations promote education, technical expertise, product knowledge, professional insurance designations, relationships, and networking opportunities. Some engage in lobbying activities to address insurance industry-related regulatory issues. Some of these organizations also provide important insurance coverages to their member agents and brokers, such as errors and omissions and group benefit life and health coverages. Check individual websites for details.
Publishers Liability
This liability coverage protects publishers of newspapers, magazines and other periodicals, books, and a variety of printed materials against claims that allege defamation of character and libel. It may be issued on a full coverage basis or on a deductible basis. Each risk is underwritten carefully, based on a complete and detailed application. This coverage is also known as media liability. Premium charges are based on criteria such as circulation, prior libel experience, and editorial policies, to name a few. Most insurers refuse to cover foreign language newspapers or periodicals.
Unauthorized Computer Access Coverage
When unauthorized parties gain access to a computer system, its owner must be able to respond to any number of scenarios. Hackers may cause the computer to malfunction or shut down, illegally transfer funds or inventory, destroy records of accounts receivable, or release confidential data. These and other scenarios can result in losses to the computer system operator, to third parties, or both. Unauthorized computer access coverage (or an endorsement to a broader Internet or computer program) is designed to cover expenses of responding to the access, providing liability, and physical damage coverage for injuries or damage and pay the financial damages that may occur after such unauthorized access. Deductibles are often substantial. It is not required to prove intent to achieve financial gain in order for coverage to apply.
Underwriting Guides and Checklists
Prospects are more receptive to agents who understand their businesses. A given agent may have knowledge of the industry based on prior accounts of his or her own background. However, agents who do not have such knowledge can purchase online services that give them access to important reports on hundreds of commercial and industrial business classifications. These reports can include detailed overviews of associated hazards and risks. Some even provide hazard/risk evaluation tools and checklists to use to determine coverages needed and recommend coverages, along with other tools.