Your client approved the statement. The lawsuit names you both.Founded by a television editor who also writes software.
We insure PR and communications firms with media liability for defamation in the statements you place, professional liability for the advice, and cyber for client accounts you run.
Tell us the situation.
One licensed human replies the same business day — not five agents, not an auto-responder. If the policy you have is already the right one, we will tell you.
We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.
Your creative and your client logins get read by someone who has handled both.
Kevin Kelsey
Founder | Principal Agent
Boring’s founder, Kevin Kelsey, edited network TV for fifteen years before he sold a policy. He also ran compliance and risk for some of Hollywood’s biggest production companies. A music license or a talent release is familiar ground. He writes software too, and owns two post-production software products, Manifest Post and B/side. So when a client asks your agency for media liability, E&O and cyber, the clause is read by someone who has done both jobs.
Send us what you have. We’ll tell you if it’s right.
Your current policy paperwork, a renewal notice, or nothing at all. A licensed agent reads it and replies the same business day.
What PR firm businesses actually need.
Media liability
Defamation, product disparagement, invasion of privacy and infringement in releases, pitches, posts, op-eds and statements you draft or distribute.
Without it — The firm that wrote and sent a statement can be sued as its publisher, and general liability excludes businesses in the publishing and advertising trade.
Professional liability (E&O)
Claims that your counsel or execution cost a client money: a crisis response that made it worse, a launch that leaked, an embargo broken on your side.
Without it — The client’s loss is financial, and no other policy on the program pays a financial loss.
Defamation defense
The lawyers, which in a defamation case are most of the cost and often all of it.
Without it — Truth is a defense argued in court, after the bills begin.
Cyber liability
A breach of your systems or a takeover of a client’s social account you manage, and the confidential material that leaks with it.
Without it — A PR firm holds unannounced news, crisis files and executive contacts, which makes it a target and its breach a client claim.
Crime and social engineering
Money lost to a fraudulent payment instruction or a spoofed vendor.
Without it — Cyber usually excludes a transfer someone authorized, even when they were deceived.
General liability, workers comp and EPLI
The office, press events you host, employees hurt at work, and claims by staff.
Without it — Event venues and leases ask for the certificate, and the state requires workers comp from the first hire.
What the regulators actually wrote down.
One who repeats or otherwise republishes defamatory matter is subject to liability as if he had originally published it, which is why the firm that drafted and distributed a statement can be named beside the client who approved it.
Restatement (Second) of Torts § 578 · checked 2026-10-04
The standard ISO general liability form excludes personal and advertising injury for any insured whose business is advertising, broadcasting, publishing or telecasting, or designing or determining the content of websites for others, which describes most agencies.
ISO Commercial General Liability Coverage Form CG 00 01 04 13, Coverage B, exclusion j · checked 2026-10-04
The FTC’s Endorsement Guides state that advertising agencies, public relations firms, review brokers and reputation management companies may be liable for their roles in creating or disseminating endorsements they know or should know are deceptive, and for hiring and directing endorsers who fail to disclose a material connection.
FTC Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, 16 CFR § 255.1(d) · checked 2026-10-04
The FTC’s rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, published in August 2024, prohibits fake and purchased reviews, review suppression, and selling or buying fake followers or views to misrepresent influence for a commercial purpose.
Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, 16 CFR Part 465 (89 FR 68077) · checked 2026-10-04
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded 21,442 business email compromise complaints in 2024, with reported losses of $2,770,151,146.
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2024 Internet Crime Report · checked 2026-10-04
The claims we actually see.
Ordered by how often we see them, not by how dramatic they are. Each one names the coverage that answers it — and the policy people wrongly assume already does.
Most common
A person or company named in a release or a crisis statement sues for defamation
Covered by Media liability, defamation
Firms assume the client’s approval protects them. Republication law treats whoever spread the statement as a publisher, so the firm is often named too.
Common
A client says your crisis advice deepened the damage
Covered by Professional liability
Crisis advice is judgment under pressure, and the file you kept of what you recommended and what the client chose is the defense.
Less common, severe
A client’s social account you manage is hijacked and posts something damaging
Covered by Cyber, with media liability for what was posted
It is a cyber event that produces a media claim. Two policies from different carriers can each point at the other.
Less common, severe
An influencer program you ran is found to lack disclosure
Covered by Media liability defense, where the form includes regulatory proceedings
The FTC names public relations firms by name as potentially liable intermediaries, and fines and penalties are generally not insurable.
What the insurance company will ask about your PR firm business
We read 2 applications the markets use for this kind of business and pulled out what they actually ask. Have these answers ready and a quote takes a day instead of a week, because nobody has to come back to you for the missing piece.
About the business
- How long have you been in business?
- How many employees do you have?
- What will your gross revenue be for the next 12 months?
- Do you rent equipment to others for events you're not working on?
How you operate
- Do you hire subcontractors for any work?
- If you use subcontractors, do you require them to show proof of insurance?
- Do you sign contracts that make you responsible for the events or projects you work on?
- If you provide rigging services, are you ETCP certified?
- Do you have any training, certifications, or credentials relevant to your work?
Safety and controls
- Will any of your work involve traveling internationally or outside the U.S.?
- If so, how many days per year do you work outside the U.S., and which cities will you visit?
Your history
- Have you had any losses or claims in the past?
- Have you been convicted of any crimes or had any non-traffic violations?
- Have you filed for bankruptcy in the last 3 years?
- Has any of your insurance been declined, cancelled, or not renewed in the last 3 years?
Money and people
- Do you want coverage if someone is accidentally injured at one of your events?
- Do you want hired and non-owned auto insurance?
Have these ready
- Your current insurance information, including the policy number and dates if you have coverage with another company
- Proof of insurance from any subcontractors you work with
- Your last five years of claims history from your current insurer, called loss runs
- A list of the venues or clients where you typically work
You answer what you can; a licensed agent fills the rest with you.
What our PR firm clients ask us.
What insurance does a PR firm need?
Media liability, for the statements you write and place, and professional liability, for the counsel you give, usually on one combined form. Cyber if you manage client social accounts or hold confidential material, which almost every firm does. Then general liability for the office and press events, workers comp once you employ people, and crime coverage if money moves through your accounts.
Can a PR firm be sued for defamation over a statement the client approved?
Yes. Defamation law treats anyone who repeats or republishes a defamatory statement as if they had published it first, so the firm that drafted and distributed a release can be named beside the client. Client approval matters to the indemnity between you and the client, not to the plaintiff. Media liability is the policy that defends the firm, and the defense is usually most of the cost.
Does general liability cover libel and slander for a PR firm?
Not for client work. The general liability form includes libel and slander under personal and advertising injury, then excludes any insured whose business is advertising, broadcasting, publishing or telecasting. Placing statements for clients is that business. It still covers a slip-and-fall at your office or at a press event you host.
Our client contract says we indemnify them for content we produce. Is that insured?
Partly. Professional and media forms commonly exclude liability you take on by contract, unless you would have been liable without the contract anyway. So a promise to indemnify the client for a claim that the content defamed someone is usually insured, and a broader promise may not be. Ask for mutual indemnity, with the client indemnifying you for facts and materials it supplies, before you sign.
We run influencer and review programs. What does the FTC expect?
The Endorsement Guides name public relations firms among the intermediaries that may be liable for deceptive endorsements and for endorsers they hire who fail to disclose a connection. The 2024 review rule bans fake reviews, review suppression and buying fake followers. Written disclosure requirements in every influencer brief, and a record of checking the posts, are the defense. Fines and penalties are generally not insurable.
How much does insurance cost for a PR firm?
We do not publish a figure for PR firms, because our own sample is too small to quote honestly. Revenue, the share of crisis and litigation communications, the industries your clients are in, whether you handle publicly traded companies’ announcements, the limit your contracts name and your claims history are what move the price.
Can I ask ChatGPT or another assistant to send you the request?
Yes. Paste the insurance section of your client contract into the assistant and ask it to prefill our quote form at boring.insure/quote with your agency name, contact details and the exact limits the contract names in the comments. Nothing is sent until you review it and press send, and a licensed agent reads every request. Assistants can find the full instructions at boring.insure/for-assistants.
What does a PR firm insurance application ask for?
The applications for PR firm businesses ask about 4 things above all: how long have you been in business; do you hire subcontractors for any work; will any of your work involve traveling internationally or outside the u.s.; have you had any losses or claims in the past. Have your current insurance information, including the policy number and dates if you have coverage with another company and proof of insurance from any subcontractors you work with ready and a quote takes a day instead of a week.
Commercial insurance is 96% of what we do — it is not a department here, it is the whole business. Not ready to talk? The guides answer the questions this page raises in more depth. Already insured with us and need a certificate or a policy change? Ask the service team rather than starting a quote — it is faster and it goes to the people whose job it is. We also write home and auto, which is usually cheaper alongside the business policy than apart from it.
Handed a lease, a vendor packet or a client contract with insurance requirements? Paste it into the COI Requirements Decoder to see what each one means for your business, or read what the requirements mean.