Media Liability vs. General Liability: What Is the Difference?

Media liability is built around claims arising from defined publishing, broadcasting, distribution, or advertising activities. A specimen may name defamation, privacy, copyright, and trademark offenses. Commercial general liability (CGL) has different coverage parts, including bodily injury and property damage and, in many standard forms, personal and advertising injury. The scope and exclusions are not interchangeable.

A 2021 Journal of Insurance Regulation article by named authors discusses CGL treatment of social-media claims and exclusions, including media-business exclusions. It is published in the NAIC journal, but its conclusions are the authors’ analysis and are not endorsed by NAIC. The article is not a substitute for the policy forms issued to a business.

Compare each policy’s insuring agreements, media or advertising definitions, exclusions, insureds, limits, and defense-cost handling. Check whether the GL form restricts media businesses and whether the media form excludes bodily injury, property damage, or regulatory matters. Ask how overlapping claims are allocated and noticed.