Owning a radio station can be one of the most rewarding things out there. When you have a radio station, you are able to communicate with a large number of the listening public in your area.
Radio stations broadcast music, talk shows, religious services, sporting events, news, weather, educational or financial information, and advertising. Some have call-in shows where listeners can ask hosts for advice on various topics. Audio radio waves can be transmitted over airwaves, digitally, or by satellite.
As most stations are on the air 24 hours each day, broadcasting operations can tailor programming to a specific audience, such as children or college students. Broadcasters are licensed and regulated by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), which monitors each station for content appropriate for broadcasting. Stations need to maintain logs of all programming for FCC review.
There are many people own radio stations that are not aware of all of the various insurance options that they have and what you need to run a successful radio station. Let’s take a look at some of those radio broadcasting stations insurance options now.
There are certain types of insurance that are recommended for mass media businesses like radio stations. Some of these are actually good for any type of business, and some of them are specifically good for a radio station to have.
There are six types of radio broadcasting stations insurance that we will be discussing here, and they are all important for a media company. They are not necessarily in any order, except for business property and commercial general liability, which are basic types of insurance that every business should have – no matter what.
This is errors and omissions (professional liability) for radio broadcasters. Media liability insurance offers coverage for lawsuits brought by your clients for work you do form them. Typically, these lawsuits allege that you made a mistake or omitted something from what you were contractually supposed to do.
Media liability comes from broadcasting activities, including copyright infringement, libel or slander, defamation of character, invasion of privacy, failure to check the authenticity of material, breach of confidentiality, or failure to broadcast commercials at the scheduled times. The exposure will be heavier for stations that cover local news events, do investigative reporting, or host talk shows or call-in listeners.
All advertising, including changes, must be documented in writing. Defense for civil suits and FCC fines due to the broadcasting of obscene material is generally excluded from professional liability policies.
The first type is business property insurance. Property insurance protects your place of business and all of your broadcasting equipment. As a radio station, not only do you have all of your equipment that is in the studio, you also have your office equipment and computers, your digital music libraries and your tower site which may not even be at the same location as your radio station itself.
Commercial property insurance protects all of your broadcasting equipment inside of the building as well as the building itself – and that includes your antennas and towers. Property insurance protects you from things like fires, theft and damage from natural disasters among others.
dThere is a lot of electronic equipment used throughout the operation. All wiring should be up to date, well maintained, and meet codes for the occupancy. There are usually booths set up for the DJ and other booths for recording radio tracks. As newer equipment is added, wiring should be upgraded as needed. Electronic equipment is susceptible to damage by fire, smoke and water. Fire extinguishers and automatic fire extinguishing or suppressant systems should be of a dry chemical nature and not water based. Theft of equipment is a concern, so security should be appropriate for the value of the equipment and the area where located.
General liability coverage is something that every business needs to carry. General liability protects you when things happen during the course of doing business that end up harming someone else, or their property.
With any type of business that has a physical location, radio broadcasting stations insurance insurance might protect against something like slipping on a wet floor or being cut by a sharp object while on-site. Radio stations occasionally have customers coming in to meet with salespeople or to record their own commercials.
If members of the public are allowed into the station for community events and broadcasts, or if the station offers tours to schools and other organizations, slips and falls can be reduced through good housekeeping and maintenance. Floor coverings must be in good condition, with steps and uneven floor surfaces prominently marked, and free from obstacles. Parking areas and sidewalks should be in good repair and free of ice and snow.
The addition of workers compensation insurance is going to be required if you have any employees at all (by mandate in most US states). Of course, as a radio station, you have your station manager and program director as well as on-air personalities, producers and office staff. You may also have salespeople that are paid a salary, although many stations pay on commission when it comes to sales and employees or independent contractors.
Workers comp will pay for on or off premises include slips and falls, electric shock from ungrounded equipment, falling items, injury from lifting of cable or other equipment, and contact with clients or the general public. Repetitive motion injuries due to computer work can be prevented with ergonomically-designed workstations. Employees maintaining towers can fall, be struck by lightning, or receive high-voltage electric shocks from improperly grounded electrical wiring. Safety equipment is critical to prevent injuries. Additional exposures arise from the use of independent contractors and whether employees go on overseas assignments, do undercover investigative reporting, visit dangerous or exotic locales, or participate in contests and dangerous or hazardous activities while on the job.
Workers comp protects anyone that receives a salary or hourly pay from being injured on the job by paying medical bills that arise from that injury. Workers compensation may also pay salary money that was lost while recovering from an injury on the job.
Umbrella coverage is smart for radio stations because your general liability insurance may not cover everything that is associated with having a media company. General liability insurance is intended for businesses, but not all businesses are considered when designing this type of insurance. Umbrella coverage can fill in the gaps that come with owning a radio station in particular – and also extend the limits of your other liability policies.
Commercial auto insurance is also required for radio stations that own vehicles. You probably have at least one radio station van that you use for events and promotions, and you may have several. Any vehicle that you use for commercial purposes needs to have business auto insurance.
Auto liability may be limited to hired and non-owned only for employees running errands. If the company supplies vehicles to reporters and salespersons, there should be a written policy on personal and permissive use of the vehicles. All drivers must have valid licenses and acceptable driving records. All vehicles must be maintained and records kept at a central location. Mobile studios may have permanently attached equipment used for broadcasting at the scene of a newsworthy event. Drivers should have training in driving these vehicles, including special training for driving in adverse conditions.
There are some additional types radio broadcasting stations insurance that you want to be aware of as well. These are not absolutely required, but they are important types of commercial insurance to consider when you have a radio station because of specific situations that can come up. Let’s take a look at five additional types of insurance that you may want to consider:
Multinational coverage is something that could be required if you have employees traveling to other countries as part of their jobs. This is sometimes the case with radio stations, but it is more so with media companies that have several stations as part of their group and have corporate events that they need to attend.
Another type of radio broadcasting stations insurance is management liability coverage. Management liability protects against the risks faced by mass media companies and their leaders. It can protect the people in charge against losses that arise from decision-making.
Inland marine exposures include accounts receivable, audio and broadcasting equipment, computers, towers, and valuable papers and records. Towers, guy wires and portable audio equipment that are used on remote sites should be included in a broadcasting equipment floater. Towers can be struck by lightning, collapse due to the weight of ice and snow, or be blown over in heavy winds. Proper grounding, the use of appropriate guy wires, and de-icing equipment in northern areas will prevent or reduce these losses.
Satellite dishes may be considered property or inland marine, depending on the insurer. Since most radio stations use distance feeds, the satellite coverage is important. Valuable papers and records include the license to operate and broadcasting logs required by the FCC.
As a business that deals with sensitive customer information and has a lot of digital data, you may want to consider data breach insurance. What cyber liability coverage mostly does is protect you in case of a data breach that affects your customers. If you have data that you believe could be at risk, having this type of insurance will keep you protected.
Risk engineering is a type of radio broadcasting stations insurance that helps to make more profitable businesses with loss control services like risk exposure consultations, recommendations for improving safety and security and more. There is a certain amount of risk involved when it comes to installing and maintaining radio station towers, and risk engineering insurance may be able to protect your business better.
This exposure is high as broadcasting must be done even after a loss. A disaster recovery plan, including the use of alternate facilities, should be in place due to the time needed to repair or replace broadcasting equipment.
Crime exposures come from employee dishonesty and theft. Background checks, including criminal history, should be performed on all employees handling money. All billing, ordering and disbursements should be handled as separate duties. Regular reconciliation and audits are vital. Stations will have expensive broadcasting equipment on premises; some will have extensive music inventories susceptible to theft that should be inventoried at regular intervals.
Here is the official OSHA SIC code description for radio broadcasting stations companies:
Establishments primarily engaged in broadcasting aural programs by radio to the public. Included in this industry are commercial, religious, educational, and other radio stations. Also included here are establishments primarily engaged in radio broadcasting and which produce radio program materials. Separate establishments primarily engaged in producing radio program materials are classified in Services, Industry 7922.
- Radio broadcasting stations
We hope this article on radio broadcasting stations insurance has been informative. There are a lot of different types of media insurance available for radio stations. You should understand what types of insurance are available, and also what insurance types are required by your specific business. Understanding what type of insurance your broadcasting company needs will go a long way towards helping you to protect yourself if things go wrong.
