Creative Agency Insurance
A creative agency's exposure is mostly about rights. Who owns the work, what was licensed, whether an image, a track, a typeface or a likeness was cleared for the use it ended up in. Intellectual property and rights issues can create significant claims exposure in this sector.
Production adds a physical dimension that pure consultancy does not have. Shoots involve locations, hired equipment, other people's property and members of the public, and an agency running them is exposed to damage and injury as well as to the quality of the output.
Delivery through freelancers is the norm rather than the exception. The client contracted with the agency, so a claim about a freelancer's work lands on the agency, and whether it can be passed on depends on terms that are rarely put in place at the point work is commissioned.
We can advise design and creative agencies on professional indemnity, the intellectual property cover that answers the common claims, and the liability and equipment cover production work actually needs.
Common claims and risk exposures
The exposures that produce claims in this trade, rather than a generic list.
Rights not cleared for the use
Material licensed for one territory, medium or period and then used beyond it. The claim comes from the rights holder rather than the client, and it arrives as a demand with a figure attached rather than as litigation.
Ownership of the work
Disputes about who owns what was created, particularly where freelancers contributed and no assignment was signed. Copyright stays with the creator by default, which surprises clients and agencies equally.
Production, locations and shoots
Damage to a location, hired equipment lost or broken, a member of the public injured on a shoot. None of that is a professional indemnity matter, and an agency without proper liability and equipment cover is exposed on the day.
Freelance and subcontracted delivery
An agency is liable to the client for work it did not perform. Without back to back terms and evidence of the freelancer's own cover, there is no route to pass on the claim.
Client property in your care
Product samples, artwork, prototypes and equipment held for a campaign. Loss or damage to it is the client's loss, and it is not covered by the agency's own contents insurance as standard.
The cover we arrange
We arrange professional indemnity and related insurance around the services you provide, the clients you work with and the contractual requirements you face. The appropriate cover and limits will depend on your individual activities and the terms available from insurers.
Professional indemnity
Claims arising from negligent creative and design work, advice and delivery. The activity wording should describe the breadth of what the agency actually does, since creative businesses drift into adjacent services.
- Negligent design and creative work
- Broad activity description
- Claims made basis
- Defence costs included
Intellectual property and rights
Unintentional infringement of copyright, trade marks, images, music, typefaces and likeness. The cover that answers the most frequent claim in this sector.
- Images, music and typefaces
- Trade mark and passing off
- Model and location releases
- Unintentional infringement
Public liability and production
Injury and damage arising during shoots, installations, events and location work, including damage to premises you do not own.
- Injury to the public on shoots
- Damage to locations
- Employers' liability, legally required
- Higher limits for public spaces
Equipment and client property
Cameras, lighting, computers and hired kit, plus goods belonging to clients held on your premises or taken to a shoot.
- Owned and hired equipment
- Away from premises cover
- Client goods in your care
- Samples, artwork and prototypes
Cyber and data
Client campaign material, contact databases and the agency's own systems. Work in progress on an unreleased campaign is commercially sensitive as well as valuable.
- Unreleased campaign material
- Ransomware and restoration
- Marketing databases
- Breach notification
What an underwriter will ask
Having these to hand shortens the process considerably, and usually improves the terms.
- Income split between design, production, digital, events and strategy
- Whether shoots and production are run in house or commissioned out
- Proportion of delivery through freelancers, and whether they carry their own cover
- How rights and licences are recorded, per campaign
- Whether model, location and property releases are obtained as standard
- Value of owned and hired equipment, and whether it travels
- Whether client property is held, and its typical value
- Claims, demands and notified circumstances over the last six years
What affects the cost of your insurance?
The main factors insurers consider when assessing the premium.
Production exposure
An agency running shoots, installations and events is rated on that activity as much as on its creative work, because the liability and equipment exposures are real and physical.
Client size and campaign reach
National campaigns for large brands bring larger claims and more sophisticated contracts than local work at the same fee level.
Rights management
Documented licence records per campaign is the control that prevents one of the more common claims in this sector. Its absence is what insurers price for.
Freelance model
Heavy freelance delivery without back to back cover concentrates liability on the agency for work it did not do, and is rated accordingly.
Conditions and exclusions to consider
Terms vary between insurers, so treat these as the questions to ask rather than a description of any one policy.
Deliberate use without a licence
Cover answers unintentional infringement. Using material knowing it is not cleared, or continuing after an objection, is outside it.
Guaranteed campaign results
Promising reach, engagement or sales is a warranty rather than a professional duty, and the shortfall is generally uninsured.
Work outside the declared activities
An agency written up as a design studio and then running large public events is presenting a different risk. Activity changes need disclosing when they happen.
Wear and depreciation of equipment
Equipment cover answers loss and damage, not gradual deterioration, and hired in kit is usually subject to the hire company's own terms as well.
Common questions
Who owns the work, us or the client?
By default the creator owns the copyright, which means a freelancer may own work your client believes they bought. Assignments need to be in writing, both from your freelancers to you and from you to the client, and the absence of that paperwork is a claim waiting to happen rather than a technicality.
Do we need public liability for a shoot?
Yes, and often at a higher limit than an office based agency would carry. Locations and venues usually require evidence of it before granting access, and an injury to a passer by or damage to a listed interior is not a professional indemnity matter at all.
A stock library says we used an image beyond its licence.
That is the classic claim here and it is what intellectual property cover is for. Notify your insurer before responding, keep the licence documentation, and do not simply pay to make it go away, because these demands are often opening positions rather than final figures.
Are freelancers covered under our policy?
Their work for you usually is, which protects the client but leaves you carrying the claim. Requiring their own professional indemnity, and agreeing terms before the work starts, is what gives you somewhere to pass it.
How do I get a quote from True Risk Solutions?
Call 01304 262880 and speak to a broker, or email info@truerisksolutions.co.uk with what you do, what you need cover for and a phone number with the best time to call, and a broker will call you back. We need a phone number to quote, because the cover and the price depend on questions that are quicker to answer on a call than by email.
Speak to a specialist who understands your industry
Tell us about your business and the work you undertake, and we will come back to you with cover options built around it. Call 01304 262880, or email us with a phone number and the best time to call and a broker will ring you back.