The range of occupations where defamation insurance is more likely to be useful includes:
radio stations
television stations
news agencies
publishers of newspapers, magazines, periodicals and trade journals
book publishers
authors
journalists
To bring a successful defamation action a claimant will need to establish the following elements:
The statement must have been defamatory of you.
The statement must have been communicated to one or more people – in other words, there must have been "publication".
There are a number of defences available to someone who is being sued for defamation, including:
that the statement was true ("truth" or "justification").
that it was a statement of honest opinion on a matter of public interest ("honest opinion" or "fair comment"), or
that the statement was "privileged" in some way.
The insurer will assume full management of the claim in consultation with legal advisers.
It may be requirement of the claim settlement for the insured to publish some form of retraction of the defamation. If the insured is unwilling to comply then the rights under the policy are forfeited.
Another policy requirement is that the insured does not disclose the existence of insurance.
