Insurance For Bloggers

Do bloggers really need insurance ? what kind of insurance ? and what could be the risks in blogging that require insurance protection for bloggers ? Those might be the questions that emerge in your head when you read the title of this post. I will try to give a simple explanation about it.

Firstly we have to realize that blog is an online published media which can be accessed by the people all over the world as long as they have internet connection, and as a blogger we have to take the responsibility for anything we have published including posts, comments, hyperlinks, advertisements, pictures, videos, etc. Problems may occure if the content of your blog contains defamation, libel, invasion of privacy, infringement of intellectual property, or any illegal content like kiddy porn or something like that. These can get you being sued by the people who feel impaired by them, not only by the people from your country but the lawsuit can also come from abroad since what you have published in your blog can be accessed all around the world.

Things that can bring lawsuits like I’ve mentioned above might come from any part of blog including comments and hyperlinks. If you don’t moderate your blog comments then anybody can publish anything by commenting on your blog. Hyperlink can also becomes a problem, because hyperlinking to a defamatory page can be considered as republishing a libel in some countries. What makes online publishers have a greater risk  compared to traditional publishers is because it can be accessed anywhere, while every country has its own law, what’s not considered a crime in one country can be a serious law violation in other country.

Dealing with a lawsuit - especially from abroad, is not a nice experience, it’s wasting time, wasting energy, and for sure it’s gonna cost you a lot of money even if you’re finally win. This creates the need of insurance protection to cover the loss that might happen from the lawsuit.

Protection for online publishing can be obtained from homeowners or renters insurance policies with personal liability coverage which includes damages caused online. But if you use your blog to make money, it is advised to take media liability insurance, since the risks that occure from a commercial blog is considered to be a commercial risk which cannot be covered under personal excess liability policies.

The coverage in media liability policies usually includes, at a minimum, the following :
•    Libel, slander and defamation
•    Invasion of privacy
•    Plagiarism, piracy and misappropriation of property rights
•    Copyright infringement, infringement of title, slogan, trademark, trade name or service name
•    Error, omission, misstatement or misleading statement

Here are some tips if you decided to buy this type of insurance :

• Make sure that you are covered from a lawsuit abroad. Because the media can be accessed anywhere, plaintiffs might select a country that has a less forgiving to the publishers for certain crime - like libel to make a claim.
• you might also want to choose insurer that gives you the right to select counsel, or at least a say in counsel selection, especially if you already have a trusted law firm that use to take care of your problems with the law concerning your business.
• Most media liability insurance have a “hammer” clause, that forces the insured to accept a settlement of a claim unless theinsured is willing to forego coverage or accept reduced coverage. This might be an unpleasant situation for publishers who wish to fight a lawsuit, so it would be better if you can find a policy which doesn’t have a “hammer” clause.
• Select insurer that covers punitive damages to the maximum extent permitted.
• To be more saver, take the policy that offers coverage for information gathering, because you can also be sued if a publication obtains information through covert or undercover means, the plaintiff might sue for trespass, fraud or invasion of privacy.
• There are two kinds of media liability policy, claims-made policy and occurence policy. In claims-made policy, the coverage triggered by the assertion of a covered claim during the period of coverage. while in occurance policy the coverage triggered by if the offending action occurred during the policy period. Occurance policy is more preferable since it gives cover regardless of when the plaintiff sues, even if the occurrence policy has long since expired.
• Defense cost deductible is vary among insurers, you must ask the insurer whether defense costs will be deducted from, or be in addition to, the policy limits.

In several countries like USA and UK this type of insurance is already known widely by the online publishers and many insurance companies have provide such product. With the flourish of internet users and online publishing business all over the world, the need of legal protection can be increased as well, not only in USA and UK but also in other countries aroun the globe.

But at last, it’s still an option that you have to decide whether you need this kind of protection or not, you might not need it if you think you have fully controled your blog contents and make sure you don’t break any law considering this type of coverage is not a cheap protection.