Buy Social Media Insurance

Social media insurance is a type of insurance policy that provides coverage for businesses and individuals against potential losses or damages resulting from social media activities.

This coverage can include protection against libel, slander, privacy violations, and other legal issues that may arise from the use of social media platforms. It may also cover financial losses due to online reputation management and crisis management in the event of a social media crisis. The coverage may be purchased as an add-on to a traditional liability insurance policy or as a standalone policy.

The average price of a standard Social Media Insurance policy for small businesses ranges from $.49 to over $6.99 per month based on number of employees.

Social media posts live forever... Often forgotten or unnoticed, posts on your social media pages can come back to haunt you years down the road - potentially damaging careers, opportunities, and reputations.

This is where social media insurance can help by allowing social media users to detect, locate, and delete potentially offensive posts - using AI driven technology.

Following are the two main reasons why social media insurance is needed by businesses:

For Pre-Employment Screening

Pre-employment social media screening for potential hires can prevent future damage to your company's public image.

For Current Employees

Perform one-time or recurring HR screenings for current employees to ensure your company's reputation and online presence won't be harmed.

Think of it this way, as a business that uses social media to promote products, and services, you need to be careful about what is posted.

While you may assume that everything you post is carefully checked to ensure it is politically and morally correct, it still does not protect you from people who don't like what you say.

You may also encounter claims of your business stealing their ideas and intellectual property. When that happens, do you have money to pay a lawyer to defend your business, even if it is a frivolous lawsuit?

A few risks associated with social media and why businesses should have social media insurance include but aren't limited to:

• Privacy concerns - Today, given the sheer amounts of data being collected, used, and analyzed, privacy concerns are more real than ever before. A slip-up by an employee can cost the company big time if they are sued by those whose privacy was violated.
• False information - Social media is by design addictive, and that often results in distraction. Users are easily disengaged from real-world interactions or have a misguided sense of relational status, leading to unforeseen effects for businesses.
• Bullying and other misdemeanors - Bullying, intimidation, groupthink, and peer pressure is magnified on social media. It often has disastrous effects for those who are a target of them.
• Liability - Businesses/individuals participating, receiving, and posting information on social media, are also at significant liability risk. Even something posted by an employee can have blowback on the business.

Most Popular Social Media Companies

Following are the top 10 most used social media networks as of 2021:

1. Facebook (Meta)
2. YouTube
3. WhatsApp (Meta)
4. Messenger (Meta)
5. Instagram (Meta)
6. WeChat
7. Kuaishou
8. TikTok
9. Telegram
10. Qzone

It should be said that social media insurance is relatively new. The cutting edge nature of social media insurance means that the industry is somewhat fragmented.

However, many insurance companies are starting to use technology, to minimize liability and consequently make it easier to avoid becoming a target of lawsuits and other liability claims.

Some insurers offering social media insurance use disruptive technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is designed to reduce risk, educate employees and prevent anything from tarnishing a business's image.

AI-based social media insurance can be deployed either pre-employment or for those who are currently employed at the company. The system is designed to help protect employees and consequently the company they work for.

The pre-employment part of the insurance system reports individual user statics. The pre-employment systems have to be FCRA and EEOC compliant.

So, as a business using social media insurance that leverages AI, it is equally essential to ensure that the software has received all the relevant certifications.

Once a business buys or licenses the software, they need to send out invitations from their Admin Dashboard to users. The users can be company employees and those that they are vetting before joining the company.

The employee or aspiring employee receives an email from a third party with a link to a website. Once on the website, they (employees) are in a secure zone, from which they sign into their social media account or the company's account.

After signing in, the technology will start to scan the entire account, particularly all the posts the individual had ever made right from when the account was created. After completing the scan, the platform will list all the potentially harmful posts.

To understand why they are harmful, the posts are categorized into half a dozen categories. Users then have the option to delete posts that are deemed potentially harmful. If anything deleting these posts will ensure no harm to the brand's image. Once users have gone through all the steps, they can exit the system.

Businesses with social media insurance can use the technology as part of their vetting process to ensure that they don't hire someone who might pose a potential risk to their image or brand identity.

Social media consultants may face lawsuits for various reasons, including:

Copyright infringement: Social media consultants may be sued for posting content that violates copyright laws, such as using images or videos without obtaining permission from the copyright owner.
Insurance protection: Professional liability insurance can help cover the legal costs associated with defending against copyright infringement claims. It can also cover any damages awarded to the plaintiff.

Defamation: Social media consultants may be sued for making false statements about individuals or businesses on social media, damaging their reputation.
Insurance protection: Professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions insurance, can help cover the legal costs of defending against defamation claims. It can also cover any damages awarded to the plaintiff.

Privacy violations: Social media consultants may be sued for violating individuals' privacy rights, such as posting personal information without consent.
Insurance protection: Professional liability insurance can help cover the legal costs associated with defending against privacy violation claims. It can also cover any damages awarded to the plaintiff.

Breach of contract: Social media consultants may be sued for failing to fulfill their contractual obligations, such as delivering the promised results or failing to meet deadlines.
Insurance protection: Professional liability insurance can help cover the legal costs associated with defending against breach of contract claims. It can also cover any damages awarded to the plaintiff.

Cybersecurity breaches: Social media consultants may be sued for failing to protect their clients' confidential information from cybersecurity breaches.
Insurance protection: Cyber liability insurance can help cover the costs of investigating and responding to a cybersecurity breach, as well as any damages awarded to the plaintiff.

In summary, professional liability insurance and cyber liability insurance can provide coverage for social media consultants who face legal action for a variety of reasons. These insurance policies can help protect consultants from the financial burden of legal fees and damages, allowing them to focus on their work and providing value to their clients.