Business Insurance for Advertising & Marketing

What Insurance Do Advertising and Marketing Agencies and consultant’s need?*

Some of the major types of business insurance covers available to management consultants in Australia are explained below and include:

• Professional Indemnity Insurance
• Business Pack Insurance
• Public Liability Insurance
• Cyber Insurance 
• Management Liability Insurance

Professional Indemnity Insurance for advertising and marketing agencies and consultants

Professional indemnity insurance is the essential cover for advertising and marketing agencies and consultants.

Advertising and marketing agencies and consultants typically provide a wide range of professional services including but not limited to reviewing, developing,and implementing marketing and advertising strategies, branding, content creation, media planning and placement, graphic design, public relations, web development, online engagement and user experience , identifying marketing issues and opportunities , providing recommendations, implementing changes to enhance growth and marketing performance.  

If an advertising and marketing agency or consultant makes an error, such as running a campaign without approval, provides guidance on media that leads to financial losses for a client, a client may seek to recover these losses from the advertising and marketing agency or consultant.

Professional Indemnity Insurance may help an advertising and marketing agency, or consultant stay in business by paying for legal defence costs, public relation expenses, privacy brief costs and financial losses if awarded against them.

Professional indemnity may help pay for your legal costs to defend yourself.

What may professional indemnity insurance cover for Advertising and Marketing Agencies and consultants include.

While policies vary from insurer-to-insurer professional indemnity cover for advertising and marketing agencies or consultants may include:

• Wrongful act, error, or omission
• Negligence
• Inaccurate marketing advice and strategy
• Allegations of libel, slander, defamation
• Errors when completing market research
• Management advice regarding Public Relation issues
• Copy-write infringement

Whether it’s a client suing over a perceived mistake in a campaign or a competitor alleging defamation or copyright infringement, this insurance may stand as a crucial shield.

From negligence in campaign promotion, organising schedules, to an oversight in implementing a successful marketing strategy, advertising business insurance may provide cover for a broad spectrum of missteps. It may also cover the consequences of preparing misleading reports based on incorrect information, failure in correctly forecasting market trends, and an oversight in following company guidelines and legal laws.

It’s about more than just legalities or financial protection; it’s about ensuring the ongoing viability, reputation, and success of the agency amidst a landscape filled with both opportunities and uncertainties.

Claims can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions of dollars, therefore it is important that an adequate level of cover is chosen to protect against major financial loss, which will not only have an impact on your business but could also impact your personal assets.

Types of Advertising and Marketing Agencies and consultant’s activities that may be covered with professional indemnity insurance*

• Marketing strategy
• Strategic planning
• Branding
• Marketing and Advertising Campaigns
• Media placement and buying
• Web development
• SEO
• Content marketing
• Social Media Management
• CRM Management
• Inbound Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Promotional Marketing
• Digital Marketing
• Graphic Design
• Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations Consulting
• Market Research

Business Pack Insurance for Advertising and Marketing Agencies

Advertising and marketing agencies and consultants may be able to combine multiple covers in a single business insurance pack policy.

Business Pack Insurance includes:

Public & Products Liability – Public Liability Insurance is designed to provide your firm protection for:

1. Slip-and-trip accidents that occur at your office – E.g., a client is injured when they slip in your office. Or there is an injury to a third-party during a photo shoot.
2. Damage to third-party property – E.g., you cause damage to the building you are leasing.

Property Damage – This covers your agencies business contents and stock (if-any) for physical damage due to an event such as fire, storm, accidental impact damage. Your contents can include your fit-out, monitors, furniture, computers, printers, or servers.

Theft – Provides cover if your agency is broken into, and contents or stock are stolen.

Machinery Breakdown – This covers the repair/replacement cost if your machinery breakdown due to a mechanical failure (E.g., break-down of your servers or printers). This does not cover general wear and tear.

Business Interruption – This provides cover for lost income, if your business operations and turnover are impacted due to an insurable event (E.g., fire, storm).

Glass – Often required as part of a lease agreement, this provides cover for replacement of glass in your premise.

General Property – Provide cover for your portable business equipment. For example, laptops used by employees, or expensive camera equipment your agency owns.

Cyber Insurance for advertising and marketing agencies and consultants*

Cyber Insurance coverage may protect your business for claims due to a cyber event, some examples include:

• Cyber Hacking – Malicious or unauthorised access to your IT infrastructure, which may put your confidential client data at risk.
• Privacy errors – Your acts or omissions that lead to unauthorised disclosure of your client’s data.
• Insider and Privilege Misuse – Unapproved or malicious use of organisations resources by insiders or external misuse through collusion, putting your data at risk.
• Criminal Financial Loss – For example, an employee may pay one a fictitious invoice (e.g., to a supplier/contractor), which may cause a loss to your agency.

Cyber Event Insurance may include coverage for:

• cyber event response costs (IT forensics, virus extraction, client notification costs, public relation costs)
• Losses to your business due to a cyber event
• Losses to other businesses (e.g., your clients) due to a cyber event (Fines and penalties, regulatory investigations, defence costs)
• Contingent Business interruption
• Tangible Property
• Criminal Financial Loss

Management Liability for Marketing Agencies

Management Liability may protect your agency and its directors and officers against:

• Employment Practices Claims – For example, unfair dismissal or failure to promote
• OH & S Incidences
• Directors and Officers  – For example, defamation
• Crime – For example, fraud or theft by an employee
• Statutory Breach – For example, under legislation including fines and penalties
• Tax Audit