Media liability insurance helps pay legal defense costs and covered damages when your published content leads to a claim such as copyright infringement, defamation or invasion of privacy. For a startup, that might involve a website image, a product comparison, a podcast or content generated through your app.
You don't have to run a newspaper to face a publishing dispute. You may already have some protection through General Liability or another policy. Start by checking whether it covers what you publish, where you publish it and the claims that could follow.
What does media liability insurance cover?
Media policies commonly address allegations such as:
- Copyright infringement: Someone says you used their photograph, music, video or written work without permission.
- Trademark infringement: A brand alleges that your published content uses its marks in a way that causes confusion.
- Defamation and product disparagement: A person or competitor says you published a false statement that damaged their reputation or business.
- Invasion of privacy: Someone alleges that your content improperly disclosed private information.
The covered offenses vary by policy. Chubb's media liability overview, for example, lists copyright, trademark, defamation and privacy claims.
Doesn't General Liability cover this already?
There can be overlap. General Liability can cover certain personal and advertising injuries, including libel, slander and copyright infringement in an advertisement. Travelers explains those coverages here.
Compare the covered offenses, intellectual property exclusions and any exclusions for media or internet businesses in your actual policy. Dedicated media coverage may address publishing risks your General Liability leaves out. You may also have media coverage within a Cyber or Tech E&O package.
The distinction matters for software companies. A customer losing money because your software failed raises a Tech E&O question. A breach exposing customer data raises a Cyber question. Tell your insurer if your product hosts content, processes data and delivers a service, so all three activities are considered.
What about AI-generated content and user uploads?
Using an AI tool doesn't remove copyright risk. The U.S. Copyright Office discusses outputs that reproduce protected material in its May 2025 report, page 31.
Explain how you use AI when applying. Publishing generated images in your ads, selling a content-generation product and training a model on third-party material raise different questions. Ask whether each activity is covered and how AI exclusions or endorsements affect it. Coverage for published output does not establish coverage for model training.
If your platform hosts customer posts, reviews or recordings, disclose that too. Check that the policy's content definition includes material created by your users.
What should you check before buying?
Start with a few examples of your content and your existing policy documents. Then review:
- Covered activities: Your ads, website, product outputs and hosted content should be part of the discussion.
- Timing: Corgi's published media summary describes claims-made coverage and a retroactive date. When switching, check how earlier publications and later claims will be treated.
- Limits and retention: Check what your company pays toward a claim. Under our summary, legal defense costs reduce the limit available for other covered loss.
- Exclusions: Our summary excludes patents and trade secrets. It also identifies gaps for publicity rights, such as a person's voice or likeness, and statutory false advertising.
- Complaints and contracts: Disclose existing demands or threatened claims. Ask how contractual indemnities and NDAs affect coverage.
Our Media Liability coverage details explain these boundaries. The issued policy and endorsements determine what is included.
Why choose Corgi for media liability?
We can review Media Liability alongside Tech E&O and Cyber, so the conversation covers your software, customer data and publishing activities together.
For platforms hosting user content, we offer an expanded-content endorsement. We also list an option to reimburse pre-publication legal review costs for potentially risky content. Ask about availability and the terms when getting your Corgi media quote.
Bring us a few content examples, your current policies and any customer insurance requirements. We'll help you work through what you already have and the protection you need as your product and audience grow.
