Also known as: personal and advertising injury · personal injury liability · advertising injury · Coverage B
Personal and Advertising Injury, or Coverage B, is the part of a Commercial General Liability policy that covers a defined list of offenses like libel, slander, privacy violations, and copying an ad, separate from bodily injury and property damage.
Personal and Advertising Injury is a coverage grant inside a standard Commercial General Liability (CGL) policy, commonly called Coverage B, and it is distinct from the bodily injury and property damage covered under Coverage A. Instead of physical harm, it responds to a specific, defined list of offenses: false arrest or detention, malicious prosecution, wrongful eviction, oral or written statements that slander or libel a person or organization or disparage their goods or services, publication that violates someone's right of privacy, using another party's advertising idea in your own advertisement, and infringing on another's copyright, trade dress, or slogan in your advertisement. For a startup, these exposures come from everyday activity like marketing copy, blog and social posts, comparative or competitive ads, and product claims. It is important to read the list closely, because it does not cover patent or trademark infringement, which are typically excluded, and it does not cover errors in the professional services you deliver, which belong under Technology Errors and Omissions (Tech E&O). Because the covered offenses are enumerated rather than open-ended, coverage applies only when a claim fits one of the listed categories.
It is a coverage grant inside a Commercial General Liability policy, often called Coverage B, that responds to a defined list of non-physical offenses. Those include false arrest, malicious prosecution, wrongful eviction, libel or slander, disparaging a competitor's goods or services, violating someone's right of privacy, and copying another party's advertising idea, copyright, trade dress, or slogan in your advertisement. It is separate from Coverage A, which handles bodily injury and property damage.
No. Standard CGL wording typically excludes patent and trademark infringement from Coverage B, so those disputes are not covered here. The advertising-related IP offenses that are covered are limited to infringing another's copyright, trade dress, or slogan in your advertisement. If intellectual property is a core risk for your startup, you generally need separate IP coverage.
Coverage B responds to advertising and publication offenses like libel, slander, and privacy violations, not to mistakes in the work you deliver to clients. Errors, omissions, or failures in your professional or technology services fall under Technology Errors and Omissions (Tech E&O), a separate policy. Many venture-backed startups carry both so that both marketing exposures and service exposures are covered.
Definitions are educational and may be modified by your specific policy language, endorsements, and state rules. For regulatory guidance, refer to the California Department of Insurance or the NAIC.
Last updated: July 2026.