Publication risk · sources · work in the field
Liability insurance for a self-employed journalist
For a journalist the biggest claim lies in the text, not in a tripod falling over. A publication claim is financial loss, and that is exactly the type of loss excluded on public and employers' liability insurance.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een journalist als zzp'er.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
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- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
What gets a self-employed journalist into trouble is usually a publication: an incorrect accusation, a recognisable person shown without consent, a quotation that was not put that way. The party concerned claims a correction under Article 6:167 of the Dutch Civil Code and damages for a wrongful act, Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. That claim concerns money and not damaged property, and is therefore pure financial loss.
Pure financial loss falls outside the AVB. For publication risk there is separate media or professional indemnity cover; see the professional indemnity insurance for self-employed professionals. Note that deliberate untruth is not covered anywhere: Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code excludes damage caused by intent or wilful recklessness. Also check whether cover applies to publications outside the Netherlands, because proceedings in other legal systems run differently.
The AVB remains necessary for the physical side of the work. You go into factories, hospitals, stadiums and private homes with equipment. A light stand falling over, a damaged display case, a cable someone trips over: that is property damage and injury. For hacked source files and a data breach involving contact details, look at cyber insurance; the general product explanation is on the hub page on the AVB.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
What to look out for
Four points that make the difference between a covered and an uninsured journalistic claim.
Defamation, libel and correction
A claim about reputational damage is not property damage. The AVB does not pay, and the cost of defending an injunction application then falls entirely on you. Only cover with a publication section picks this up. Work with the right of reply, keep your source material and record for each article which verification steps you took.
The client or publisher as a joint insured
Editorial offices often ask freelancers to sign an indemnity for publication claims. That is liability accepted under contract and goes beyond your liability in law. That extension is excluded on most policies. Negotiate to be brought under the publisher's media cover or for a limitation to your own error.
Working in conflict areas or during disturbances
Damage connected with war risks, war, insurrection or civil unrest is excluded on almost every insurance. If you travel to a high-risk area, arrange travel and personal accident cover that expressly does not exclude it, and report the trip in advance. Your equipment usually falls outside ordinary cover there as well.
Protection of sources and personal data
The loss of a laptop with source material, a hacked mailbox or a file sent to the wrong address affects the privacy of those concerned. The AVB does nothing there. The costs of investigation, putting matters right and notification and liability towards those concerned belong on cyber insurance. Fines from regulators are excluded everywhere, because they are a punishment.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the standard yardstick for a sole trader
- Type of journalism: investigative journalism weighs more heavily than service pieces
- Area of publication: publishing outside the Netherlands changes the litigation risk
- Working on site: being present in businesses, at events and in homes
- Your own media channels: your own platform makes you a publisher yourself
- Sum insured and excess: per claim and per insurance year
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
Where the claim belongs
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| While filming in a hospital you damage a monitor by a patient's bed | Yes | No |
| A guest trips over an extension lead in your hired studio and breaks a wrist | Yes | No |
| A source claims compensation because his name appeared recognisably in your article against his wishes | No | Yes |
| A company holds you liable for lost turnover after your critical report | No | Yes |
| You use a photograph without a licence and the photographer brings a claim | No | Provided that |
| Your hire car is broken into and the recorded material is gone | No | No |
Everything you cause physically is on the left; everything to do with the publication itself calls for cover with a publication section.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Someone demands a correction and damages after my article. Does the AVB cover that?
No. A claim for unlawful publication seeks compensation for financial loss and a correction, and not the making good of injury or damaged property. The AVB excludes pure financial loss. You need professional or media liability cover for this, in which the cost of defence is an important part as well.
What use is an AVB to me, then?
For everything you cause physically during the work. You film in a factory and damage a machine, you put down a tripod a visitor falls over, you pull a door off its hinges at a hired location. Clients and press accreditation bodies also regularly ask for a valid policy schedule before you are allowed onto a site.
Is my camera and recording equipment included?
No. The AVB is solely about losses others suffer through you. Your own property falls outside it by definition. You insure your cameras, recorders and laptops with business electronics or valuables cover. With that policy, note the provisions on theft from a vehicle and on taking equipment abroad, because that is where most of the restrictions are.
I occasionally use a drone for footage. Is that covered?
Damage caused with or by aircraft is excluded on the AVB, and an unmanned aircraft usually falls within that. You need separate drone liability cover matching your registration and category. Declare the flying separately. It is not part of the ordinary description of journalistic activities.
Read more
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