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Intellectual Property Insurance in Alabama

Alabama gives every person a transferable publicity right in identifying attributes, including voice and image, that lasts during life and 55 years after death. If your business uses identity rights in Alabama commerce or advertising, map those exposures separately from copyright and ask whether your policy responds to publicity, false-endorsement, and copyright allegations. 1,2,3

What Is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual property insurance comes in two separate parts: defense, when you're accused of infringing a patent, trademark or copyright, and enforcement, when you pursue someone who copied yours. A defense-only quote doesn't pay for your own lawsuit, so ask for each part you need. Read the national Intellectual property guide.

What to Watch for in Alabama

  • Identity Rights Include More Than Photographs

    Alabama’s act covers names, signatures, photographs, images, likenesses, voices, and substantially similar imitations, and applies whether or not the person is famous. If your Alabama campaigns use talent, customer stories, or voice likenesses, ask the broker to review those uses and the consent chain against the policy’s covered claims. 1

  • Check Rights After a Person Dies

    The right lasts for the person’s life and 55 years after death, is transferable, and belongs to the estate unless transferred. For legacy campaigns or licensed archival material, verify who can authorize the use and ask whether defense for a rights-holder dispute is included; the statute does not determine policy response. 1,2

  • Separate Expressive Uses From Product Promotion

    The act provides fair-use protection for specified public-interest and expressive works, but an expressive work’s promotion can lose that protection when the person’s identity is directly connected to advertising a product or service. Ask the broker how the policy treats both the underlying content and the promotional campaign if an identity claim arises. 1

  • Separate Copyright From Identity Rights

    Federal law governs rights equivalent to copyright in fixed works within copyright’s subject matter, while preserving state remedies for rights that are not equivalent. If a demand combines copied creative work with unauthorized identity use, ask the broker to identify which policy terms apply to each allegation. 3,1

Who Regulates Insurance in Alabama

Alabama Department of Insurance

The Alabama Department of Insurance oversees insurers and licensed producers, reviews insurance filings, and takes consumer complaints. Its online services page links directly to Alabama company and agent searches, licensing resources, and complaint filing. 4,5,6

Surplus-lines tax and stamping office

Reported tax rate: 6% of taxable surplus-lines premium Alabama’s 6% tax applies to surplus-lines premium when Alabama is the insured’s home state; until the state’s multistate compact clearinghouse is operational, Alabama guidance says 100% of the premium on a multistate policy is taxed here. Separately charged policy fees are taxable. Surplus-lines policies do not receive Alabama guaranty-fund protection if the insurer becomes insolvent. 7,8,10,9,13

  • Alabama's diligent-search rule has two exceptions: A broker generally must make diligent effort before a surplus-lines placement; Alabama guidance says three declinations satisfy it. For an exempt commercial purchaser, 15 U.S.C. § 8205 removes that search only after the broker discloses the admitted-market protection difference and the purchaser then requests placement in writing. 9,11,12

Providers With Documented State Licenses

No provider in Spot’s research documents both a state license record and this coverage line. This does not establish that providers are unlicensed. Check the regulator’s license lookup and confirm availability with a provider when requesting a quote.

Questions to Ask Before You Buy in Alabama

  1. Does this wording defend claims under Alabama’s Right of Publicity Act, including false-endorsement allegations?
  2. Are voice imitation, paid advertising, fundraising, and product promotion within the policy’s covered-claim definition?
  3. If an estate or assignee owns postmortem identity rights, how should we document that permission and report a demand?

Intellectual Property in Alabama: FAQ

Does Alabama publicity law cover a voice imitation? 1

Yes. Alabama’s act includes a person’s voice and substantially similar imitations among protected indicia of identity, and covers specified commercial, advertising, fundraising, and false-endorsement uses without consent. Whether a policy responds depends on its wording. 1

How long do Alabama publicity rights last after death? 1,2

Fifty-five years. The right is transferable and descendible, so businesses licensing archived identity material should verify the rights holder and ask the broker how the policy handles a resulting claim. 1,2

Intellectual Property in Other States

Other Coverage in Alabama

Sources

  1. Alabama Right of Publicity Act, SB 197 (Act 2015-188), enrolled text. Alabama Legislature; §§ 2–5, pp. 2–6: indicia of identity, liability, expressive-use exceptions, limitations, and remedies. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  2. Summaries of 2015 General Acts. Alabama Legislature; Act 2015-188 entry: effective August 1, 2015; enacted Right of Publicity Act. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  3. Alabama Department of Insurance. Alabama Department of Insurance; Official agency homepage. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  4. Online Services. Alabama Department of Insurance; Links to Alabama company search, agent search, producer licensing, and consumer complaint services. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  5. File a Consumer Complaint. Alabama Department of Insurance; Official online complaint process. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  6. Code of Alabama § 27-10-31: Annual Tax of Surplus Line Brokers. Alabama Legislature; Six percent tax on direct surplus-lines premiums, less return premiums and excluding state or federal taxes. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  7. Surplus Line Broker FAQs. Alabama Department of Insurance; Page 2: per-policy fees are subject to the surplus-lines broker tax under § 27-10-31. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  8. Surplus Line Broker Requirements. Alabama Department of Insurance; Current broker licensing and diligent-effort placement requirements. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  9. Surplus Lines. National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Explains that state guaranty-fund protection available in the admitted market is not available for surplus-lines policies. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  10. Surplus Line Broker FAQs. Alabama Department of Insurance; FAQ: three declinations satisfy Alabama diligent effort; FAQ references 15 U.S.C. § 8205 as a separate exception. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  11. 15 U.S.C. § 8205: Streamlined application for commercial purchasers. U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Law Revision Counsel; Broker's due-diligence search exception for an exempt commercial purchaser requires prior disclosure that admitted-market insurance may offer greater protection/regulatory oversight and the purchaser's subsequent written request for nonadmitted placement. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  12. Instructions for Multi-State Policies. Alabama Department of Insurance; Current instruction: until SLIMPACT clearinghouse is operational, if Alabama is home state of a multistate policy, 100% of premium is taxed at 6% and remitted to Alabama. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  13. Licenses. At-Bay; Current producer introduction and state table; At-Bay Insurance Services LLC; P&C and surplus-lines identifiers. Accessed 2026-09-21.
  14. Licenses and Carriers. Coalition; Licenses and Carriers, re-read 22 September 2026: Insurance Licenses table for Coalition Insurance Solutions, Inc., national producer number 18419475, with producer and surplus-lines numbers for all 50 states and DC including California 0L76155, Georgia 196479, Texas 2199630 and 2205589, Pennsylvania 815731 and 817452, Colorado 539028 and Wisconsin 3000108852. Insurance Carriers table naming, with NAIC numbers, Allianz Underwriters Insurance Company 36420, Arch Specialty Insurance Company 21199, Ascot Specialty Insurance Company 45055, Ascot Insurance Company 23752, Aspen Specialty Insurance Company 10717, Chaucer Insurance Company DAC, Coalition Insurance Company 29530, Fireman's Fund Indemnity Corporation 11380, Fortegra Specialty Insurance Company 16823, Lloyd's of London, MSIG Specialty Insurance USA Inc. 34886, MS Transverse Specialty Insurance Company 41807, Steadfast Insurance Company 26387, Vantage Risk Specialty Insurance Company 16275 and Zurich American Insurance Company 16535. Accessed 2026-09-22.
  15. Insurance Producer Licenses. Corgi Insurance; Current complete Insurance Producer Licenses table for Corgi Insurance Services, Inc.; 50 rows covering 49 states and DC (DC 3003091619); no New Mexico row; no NPN or as-of date shown. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  16. About Hiscox US Insurance. Hiscox; Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. NAIC 10200 as Chicago, IL domiciled insurer admitted or licensed in all 50 states and D.C.; Hiscox Inc. as general agent and Lloyd’s coverholder for Syndicates 33 and 3624; surplus-lines placements through licensed surplus-lines brokers; A.M. Best rating statement. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  17. Licenses. ERGO NEXT Insurance; Current entity-by-state license table reopened 28 September 2026: 50 rows under Next First Insurance Agency, Inc., including Washington, DC; New York rows instead list Next Insurance Services PC-1423070 and AP Intego BR-1198885. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  18. Insurance Licenses by State. TechInsurance; Current state table; identifies TechInsurance as a division of Specialty Program Group LLC d/b/a SPG Insurance Solutions; lists DC 3000041536 and labels Rhode Island “Individual licenses,” without an agency license number. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  19. Licenses. Vouch; Effective 16 January 2025: Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC, NPN 19926463; P&C table (50 states and DC); surplus-lines table includes Idaho 870820; footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses; Idaho retained as producer-only due to conflict. Accessed 2026-09-15.

Updated .

This guide is informational and does not determine whether a policy is available or meets your needs. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with a supporting source.

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