Does General Liability Cover Privacy Violations?

Triple-I lists invasion of privacy among offenses that can fall under personal and advertising injury. The ISO form’s definition is specific, and Coverage B contains exclusions for certain conduct, publications, and business activities. A statutory privacy claim, data breach, unauthorized access, or regulatory investigation is not automatically the same thing as the defined Coverage B offense. CGL also has wording addressing electronic data that can limit claims for data loss or inability to access information.

Ask the insurer to distinguish privacy liability from first-party breach response. A cyber policy may address notification, forensic investigation, restoration, defense, or regulatory matters, but its terms and insurability restrictions vary. Review both policies’ definitions, exclusions, consent and reporting requirements, defense costs, sublimits, and coordination or other-insurance clauses. Avoid treating the word “privacy” in a CGL summary as proof that a particular data incident is covered.