June 5, 2025 • 13 mins
Every business with a social media account now faces media liability exposures that were once limited to publishers and broadcasters. This reality stands at the core of our fascinating conversation with Mario Romero, a professional lines broker specializing in media and entertainment coverage with CRC Group in Los Angeles.
The digital transformation has democratized content creation while simultaneously introducing complex liability questions. From the local bakery using music in Instagram reels without proper licensing to major corporations navigating influencer partnerships, the risk landscape has expanded dramatically. Beyond traditional concerns like copyright and defamation, we explore emerging claim categories including emotional distress, plagiarism, failure to attribute proper credit, deceptive advertising practices, and even claims filed for lack of trigger warnings. Whether advising a Fortune 500 brand or a small business with an active social presence, understanding today's media liability risks has become essential for insurance professionals.
Visit REDYIndex.com for critical pricing analysis and a snapshot of the marketplace.
Do you want to take your career to the next level? Join #TeamCRC to get access to best-in-class tools, data, exclusive programs, and more! Send your resume to resumes@crcgroup.com today!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amanda Knight (00:01):
Welcome to the Placing you First podcast, where
we bring you conversations thatmatter most to today's
insurance landscape.
I'm Amanda Knight.
Scott Gordon (00:08):
And I'm Scott Gordon.
Today we're diving into theevolving world of media
liability.
You know, from copyright claimsto influencer risks and how
insurance is stepping up to meetnew challenges in this field.
Joining us today is MarioRomero, a professional lines
broker with CRC Group in LosAngeles, and he specializes in
(00:30):
media and entertainment coverage.
Amanda Knight (00:32):
This is the Placing you First podcast from
CRC Group.
Scott Gordon (00:35):
This podcast features news and insights from
a vast knowledge base of over5,100 associates who write more
than $35 billion in premiumannually.
Amanda Knight (00:45):
Plus, we give you the latest information on
what's happening at CRC.
This, this, this is the Placing.
Scott Gordon (00:51):
You.
Amanda Knight (00:51):
First podcast and now the hosts of the podcast,
Amanda Knight and Scott Gordon.
Scott Gordon (00:57):
Mario, welcome to the show.
Thanks for having me.
Amanda Knight (01:06):
Well, Mario, let's set the stage.
How has the rise of contentmarketing and social media sort
of changed liability exposureover the last few years?
Mario Romero (01:11):
You know, the biggest change that I have
noticed over the years is justabout any and every risk I ever
see has some element of mediaexposure to it.
With the rise of contentmarketing and viral advertising,
many smaller clients arecreating promotional videos to
promote their products and orservices, as well as utilizing
(01:34):
social media to generate buzzand interest.
Scott Gordon (01:36):
Yeah, there's a lot of focus on big names,
celebrities, major brands, butwhat about smaller businesses?
Are they just as exposed whenit comes to content related
claims?
Mario Romero (01:47):
Oh, certainly, Given what I just mentioned.
Without an understanding ofmedia law, many smaller
operations are exposed.
For example, if you're usingmusic in a promotional video
that's intended to generaterevenue or promote your business
, it's considered commercial useand requires a specific license
.
Many clients can fly under theradar in this regard, However.
(02:11):
All it takes is a lawyer takingnotice of the content you're
disseminating.
Amanda Knight (02:15):
Well, and I think I recently ran into something
where some companies, or likelarger musical entities, studios
, et cetera, they will set uplike bots to troll the web to
see if their content is beingused with or without their
permission, and so what maybeonce could have flown under the
(02:36):
radar?
I don't know that it evenalways does anymore.
Mario Romero (02:39):
That's a great point and, um you know, we've
even seen those risks, those botrisks.
So, um, yep, they're out there.
Scott Gordon (02:45):
Yeah, how many times have you posted a video of
your kid and put a fun musicover it, only to have YouTube or
whoever say I'm sorry, youcannot use this Right.
Exactly.
Amanda Knight (02:56):
You do not own this music and you know we used
to always think about sort ofthe classic copyright or
defamation, sort of the classiccopyright or defamation.
But it seems that as thingslike the internet and social
media evolve that those risksare obviously changing.
So what other types of claimsare starting to pop up that
(03:18):
retail agents or their clientsmight not be?
Mario Romero (03:20):
thinking about yet Sure, I mean.
A few that come to mind are, uh, infliction of emotional
distress, plagiarism, failure togive credit or authorship,
deceptive business oradvertising practices you know
whether a potentially defamatorypiece of content or one with
offensive or alarming subjectmatter.
(03:41):
We've even heard of claimsbeing filed for lack of a
trigger warning.
Filed for lack of a triggerwarning.
I'd also be remiss to notmention the evolving exposure of
celebrity and influencerliability relating to marketing
and endorsement of products,like the collapse of FTX and all
of the lawsuits that followedagainst those who aggressively
(04:01):
promoted it Now.
Scott Gordon (04:03):
when we talk about new risks, we can't not talk
about generative AI.
New risks we can't not talkabout generative AI.
How is AI content creation?
Complicating media liabilityexposures for businesses and
individuals.
Mario Romero (04:16):
It's a good one.
On one hand, generative AI isquick, it's cost-effective and
efficient.
On the other hand, you may endup with a host of intellectual
property risks you may not haveconsidered previously,
especially if you're using it togenerate music or videos.
There's still many unknowns asto how the marketplace will
react to the evolving use ofgenerative AI, though at this
(04:40):
time, most carriers are askingpointed questions and really
just trying to gain anunderstanding of how a client
may use AI while avoiding thepitfalls of risk.
Generative AI learns from dataand patterns to create new
content.
We've even heard of filmproduction companies who aim to
produce 100% of their filmsthrough AI.
(05:01):
It's kind of unchartedterritory for the marketplace,
and it will be exciting andpotentially stressful to witness
that evolution?
Amanda Knight (05:13):
Yeah, for sure, that's a nice way to put it.
So, from an insuranceperspective, knowing that a lot
of this, as you mentioned, iskind of unknown, it's evolving
really quickly, sort of in realtime, sort of in real time.
So, from an insuranceperspective, what are the
must-have elements that retailagents should be looking for
when they are trying to placemedia liability coverage?
Mario Romero (05:37):
Sure, you know, oftentimes an occurrence form is
most favorable over a claimsmade form, as well as an open
peril form over a named perilform.
It's best also to ensure thebroadest description of covered
media possible that captures allof the client's content,
including words, sounds, images,appearances, interviews, all
(06:01):
social media activity, all ownedand controlled websites,
anything falling under fair use,et cetera.
Depending on the risk.
Merchandising exposure is alsokey and in general, we're always
on the lookout for ways toenhance coverage.
Other bells and whistles tomention would be like subpoena
(06:22):
expense coverage, mitigationexpense coverage, defense costs
being outside the limit,contingent bodily injury and
property damage coverage,ensuring coverage for violations
of the Lanham Act of 1946, aswell as ensuring coverage for
music used within the coveredmedia.
Amanda Knight (06:41):
That sounds like a comprehensive list.
Scott Gordon (06:43):
Well, that got really specific there when it
went back to 1946.
I was like, yes, yes, thoseaisles sound.
Wait a minute, what?
Wow?
They did way back for that one.
Amanda Knight (06:54):
Well, before we jump into rapid fire, I thought
of a couple more things we mightwant to cover and in relation
to that comprehensive list youjust shared, mario showing us
obviously you know what you'redoing how does working with the
right wholesaler, particularlyCRC specialty?
How is that beneficial forretail agents and their clients?
(07:14):
What's our secret sauce?
You know we're going to spillthe beans on the podcast.
Why should they work with you,with us?
Mario Romero (07:22):
You know whether a retail agent has a
concentration of this businessor even just one-off
opportunities.
I cannot stress the importanceof utilizing a wholesaler with
deep specialization in thisspace enough.
Media and entertainment is aniche segment within the world
of insurance, which we all knowis relationship-driven.
(07:43):
We've honed those relationshipsand we're extremely lucky to
work with some of the finestunderwriters in the game.
Retail agents can have a leg upon their competition with a
knowledgeable wholesale brokerin their corner who not only are
always looking out for the bestways to expand and broaden
coverage, but also that grantsthem access to exclusive policy
(08:05):
forms and or policy enhancementsnot available through any other
channel in the market.
Retail agents can also sleepwell at night, knowing our
capable, very capable claimsadvocacy team are in their
corner at all times.
All they do is advocate andintervene on behalf of our
clients in claim situations.
I mean at the end of the day.
(08:26):
We've seen it all, whethertelevision, film production,
distributors of the day.
We've seen it all, whethertelevision, film production
distributors, influencers,authors, music, first party
advertising, traditional medialike broadcasters, etc.
Amanda Knight (08:38):
Mario, I am just guessing that when you were six
years old, you were not thinkingto yourself I cannot wait to
grow up and be a wholesaleinsurance broker, specifically
specializing in media liabilitycoverage.
So how did you get here, mario?
How did you get to theinsurance industry and to media
(09:01):
liability?
Mario Romero (09:03):
Like most, I fell into it, right, yeah, I fell
into insurance and I fell intowholesale and in falling into
wholesale and in falling intowholesale I've now been doing
this will be 23 years this yearcome August and you know, I
(09:24):
ended up being here in LA.
I ended up working with retailagents who have a concentration
of this business over the yearsand it was kind of a natural
move to head and run the mediaand entertainment team at the at
pro elite here in LA.
So that's kind of how ithappened.
Yeah, I mean it's it's beenquite a ride.
Scott Gordon (09:42):
Well, I, I love this subject and I love how, how
unique this stuff is,particularly to the field.
But I think we've covered allthe professional stuff that we
want to cover and now we can doa little, something that Amanda
and I like to call rapid fire,where you just answer off the
top of your head whatever you'rethinking.
(10:04):
So the first question here Ithought the first question would
be about food.
We were talking about beans andsauces so much earlier, but
it's not.
It is.
If you could instantly and Ithink the key word here is
instantly if you could instantlybecome an expert in anything
other than insurance, what wouldit be?
Mario Romero (10:24):
Wow that's tough.
How about being a parent?
Just joking.
Amanda Knight (10:30):
I mean, I would take that in art yeah.
Mario Romero (10:34):
That's very tough.
If I were to give you a topthree, it would be zoology,
metal, drumming or bodybuilding.
Amanda Knight (10:43):
Wow, I love the diversity there.
Yeah, imagine if you were anexpert in all three
simultaneously.
Mario Romero (10:52):
Oh yeah, that'd be something.
Amanda Knight (10:53):
Imagine the content creation there, Mario
Just the potential.
Mario Romero (10:57):
Exposures across the board once again, exactly.
Scott Gordon (11:01):
You'd definitely get your own Disney series, for
sure, for sure 100%.
All right, question number twoin rapid fire what is your go-to
binge-worthy TV show or movie?
Mario Romero (11:15):
So for a movie.
I'm a fan of horror comedies.
Those are probably my favoritemovies, so I'd have to go with
Dead Alive.
Great, hilarious film For a TVshow probably Snowfall.
I love that show.
I couldn't look away.
Amanda Knight (11:32):
I don't think I've seen it.
Scott, have you seen it?
Scott Gordon (11:34):
No, I want to know more.
Amanda Knight (11:36):
And Scott's a movie and TV guy, so if he
hasn't seen it he's going towant to know more.
Mario Romero (11:40):
Sure Well, to keep it general, it's about the
crack epidemic in Los Angeles inthe 80s.
Oh, I have heard of it?
Scott Gordon (11:47):
I have heard of it .
Yeah, amazing show.
Is it a dramatic show?
John Singleton made it.
Oh, okay, okay, now I'minterested.
Yeah, yeah, john Singleton.
Mario Romero (11:59):
Highly recommend.
Scott Gordon (12:00):
Been involved with a lot of great stuff over the
years, starting with Boys in theHood, I think was his first
film Indeed.
Well, that was awesome.
I like those answers, mario.
Amanda Knight (12:10):
Mario, thank you so much for joining us today and
sharing your insights, andthank you to our listeners for
tuning in.
If you're advising clients whocreate content, whether it's a
Fortune 500 brand or a localbakery with an Instagram account
, understanding and addressingmedia liability risks has never
been more important.
Scott Gordon (12:29):
Make sure you subscribe to the Placing you
First podcast on your favoriteplatform so you never miss an
episode.
Casey Kasem and the rest of ushere at the Hit Factory keep
your feet on the ground and youreyes to the stars.
We'll see you next time.
Welcome to the Placing you First podcast, where
we bring you conversations thatmatter most to today's
insurance landscape.
I'm Amanda Knight.
Scott Gordon (00:08):
And I'm Scott Gordon.
Today we're diving into theevolving world of media
liability.
You know, from copyright claimsto influencer risks and how
insurance is stepping up to meetnew challenges in this field.
Joining us today is MarioRomero, a professional lines
broker with CRC Group in LosAngeles, and he specializes in
(00:30):
media and entertainment coverage.
Amanda Knight (00:32):
This is the Placing you First podcast from
CRC Group.
Scott Gordon (00:35):
This podcast features news and insights from
a vast knowledge base of over5,100 associates who write more
than $35 billion in premiumannually.
Amanda Knight (00:45):
Plus, we give you the latest information on
what's happening at CRC.
This, this, this is the Placing.
Scott Gordon (00:51):
You.
Amanda Knight (00:51):
First podcast and now the hosts of the podcast,
Amanda Knight and Scott Gordon.
Scott Gordon (00:57):
Mario, welcome to the show.
Thanks for having me.
Amanda Knight (01:06):
Well, Mario, let's set the stage.
How has the rise of contentmarketing and social media sort
of changed liability exposureover the last few years?
Mario Romero (01:11):
You know, the biggest change that I have
noticed over the years is justabout any and every risk I ever
see has some element of mediaexposure to it.
With the rise of contentmarketing and viral advertising,
many smaller clients arecreating promotional videos to
promote their products and orservices, as well as utilizing
(01:34):
social media to generate buzzand interest.
Scott Gordon (01:36):
Yeah, there's a lot of focus on big names,
celebrities, major brands, butwhat about smaller businesses?
Are they just as exposed whenit comes to content related
claims?
Mario Romero (01:47):
Oh, certainly, Given what I just mentioned.
Without an understanding ofmedia law, many smaller
operations are exposed.
For example, if you're usingmusic in a promotional video
that's intended to generaterevenue or promote your business
, it's considered commercial useand requires a specific license
.
Many clients can fly under theradar in this regard, However.
(02:11):
All it takes is a lawyer takingnotice of the content you're
disseminating.
Amanda Knight (02:15):
Well, and I think I recently ran into something
where some companies, or likelarger musical entities, studios
, et cetera, they will set uplike bots to troll the web to
see if their content is beingused with or without their
permission, and so what maybeonce could have flown under the
(02:36):
radar?
I don't know that it evenalways does anymore.
Mario Romero (02:39):
That's a great point and, um you know, we've
even seen those risks, those botrisks.
So, um, yep, they're out there.
Scott Gordon (02:45):
Yeah, how many times have you posted a video of
your kid and put a fun musicover it, only to have YouTube or
whoever say I'm sorry, youcannot use this Right.
Exactly.
Amanda Knight (02:56):
You do not own this music and you know we used
to always think about sort ofthe classic copyright or
defamation, sort of the classiccopyright or defamation.
But it seems that as thingslike the internet and social
media evolve that those risksare obviously changing.
So what other types of claimsare starting to pop up that
(03:18):
retail agents or their clientsmight not be?
Mario Romero (03:20):
thinking about yet Sure, I mean.
A few that come to mind are, uh, infliction of emotional
distress, plagiarism, failure togive credit or authorship,
deceptive business oradvertising practices you know
whether a potentially defamatorypiece of content or one with
offensive or alarming subjectmatter.
(03:41):
We've even heard of claimsbeing filed for lack of a
trigger warning.
Filed for lack of a triggerwarning.
I'd also be remiss to notmention the evolving exposure of
celebrity and influencerliability relating to marketing
and endorsement of products,like the collapse of FTX and all
of the lawsuits that followedagainst those who aggressively
(04:01):
promoted it Now.
Scott Gordon (04:03):
when we talk about new risks, we can't not talk
about generative AI.
New risks we can't not talkabout generative AI.
How is AI content creation?
Complicating media liabilityexposures for businesses and
individuals.
Mario Romero (04:16):
It's a good one.
On one hand, generative AI isquick, it's cost-effective and
efficient.
On the other hand, you may endup with a host of intellectual
property risks you may not haveconsidered previously,
especially if you're using it togenerate music or videos.
There's still many unknowns asto how the marketplace will
react to the evolving use ofgenerative AI, though at this
(04:40):
time, most carriers are askingpointed questions and really
just trying to gain anunderstanding of how a client
may use AI while avoiding thepitfalls of risk.
Generative AI learns from dataand patterns to create new
content.
We've even heard of filmproduction companies who aim to
produce 100% of their filmsthrough AI.
(05:01):
It's kind of unchartedterritory for the marketplace,
and it will be exciting andpotentially stressful to witness
that evolution?
Amanda Knight (05:13):
Yeah, for sure, that's a nice way to put it.
So, from an insuranceperspective, knowing that a lot
of this, as you mentioned, iskind of unknown, it's evolving
really quickly, sort of in realtime, sort of in real time.
So, from an insuranceperspective, what are the
must-have elements that retailagents should be looking for
when they are trying to placemedia liability coverage?
Mario Romero (05:37):
Sure, you know, oftentimes an occurrence form is
most favorable over a claimsmade form, as well as an open
peril form over a named perilform.
It's best also to ensure thebroadest description of covered
media possible that captures allof the client's content,
including words, sounds, images,appearances, interviews, all
(06:01):
social media activity, all ownedand controlled websites,
anything falling under fair use,et cetera.
Depending on the risk.
Merchandising exposure is alsokey and in general, we're always
on the lookout for ways toenhance coverage.
Other bells and whistles tomention would be like subpoena
(06:22):
expense coverage, mitigationexpense coverage, defense costs
being outside the limit,contingent bodily injury and
property damage coverage,ensuring coverage for violations
of the Lanham Act of 1946, aswell as ensuring coverage for
music used within the coveredmedia.
Amanda Knight (06:41):
That sounds like a comprehensive list.
Scott Gordon (06:43):
Well, that got really specific there when it
went back to 1946.
I was like, yes, yes, thoseaisles sound.
Wait a minute, what?
Wow?
They did way back for that one.
Amanda Knight (06:54):
Well, before we jump into rapid fire, I thought
of a couple more things we mightwant to cover and in relation
to that comprehensive list youjust shared, mario showing us
obviously you know what you'redoing how does working with the
right wholesaler, particularlyCRC specialty?
How is that beneficial forretail agents and their clients?
(07:14):
What's our secret sauce?
You know we're going to spillthe beans on the podcast.
Why should they work with you,with us?
Mario Romero (07:22):
You know whether a retail agent has a
concentration of this businessor even just one-off
opportunities.
I cannot stress the importanceof utilizing a wholesaler with
deep specialization in thisspace enough.
Media and entertainment is aniche segment within the world
of insurance, which we all knowis relationship-driven.
(07:43):
We've honed those relationshipsand we're extremely lucky to
work with some of the finestunderwriters in the game.
Retail agents can have a leg upon their competition with a
knowledgeable wholesale brokerin their corner who not only are
always looking out for the bestways to expand and broaden
coverage, but also that grantsthem access to exclusive policy
(08:05):
forms and or policy enhancementsnot available through any other
channel in the market.
Retail agents can also sleepwell at night, knowing our
capable, very capable claimsadvocacy team are in their
corner at all times.
All they do is advocate andintervene on behalf of our
clients in claim situations.
I mean at the end of the day.
(08:26):
We've seen it all, whethertelevision, film production,
distributors of the day.
We've seen it all, whethertelevision, film production
distributors, influencers,authors, music, first party
advertising, traditional medialike broadcasters, etc.
Amanda Knight (08:38):
Mario, I am just guessing that when you were six
years old, you were not thinkingto yourself I cannot wait to
grow up and be a wholesaleinsurance broker, specifically
specializing in media liabilitycoverage.
So how did you get here, mario?
How did you get to theinsurance industry and to media
(09:01):
liability?
Mario Romero (09:03):
Like most, I fell into it, right, yeah, I fell
into insurance and I fell intowholesale and in falling into
wholesale and in falling intowholesale I've now been doing
this will be 23 years this yearcome August and you know, I
(09:24):
ended up being here in LA.
I ended up working with retailagents who have a concentration
of this business over the yearsand it was kind of a natural
move to head and run the mediaand entertainment team at the at
pro elite here in LA.
So that's kind of how ithappened.
Yeah, I mean it's it's beenquite a ride.
Scott Gordon (09:42):
Well, I, I love this subject and I love how, how
unique this stuff is,particularly to the field.
But I think we've covered allthe professional stuff that we
want to cover and now we can doa little, something that Amanda
and I like to call rapid fire,where you just answer off the
top of your head whatever you'rethinking.
(10:04):
So the first question here Ithought the first question would
be about food.
We were talking about beans andsauces so much earlier, but
it's not.
It is.
If you could instantly and Ithink the key word here is
instantly if you could instantlybecome an expert in anything
other than insurance, what wouldit be?
Mario Romero (10:24):
Wow that's tough.
How about being a parent?
Just joking.
Amanda Knight (10:30):
I mean, I would take that in art yeah.
Mario Romero (10:34):
That's very tough.
If I were to give you a topthree, it would be zoology,
metal, drumming or bodybuilding.
Amanda Knight (10:43):
Wow, I love the diversity there.
Yeah, imagine if you were anexpert in all three
simultaneously.
Mario Romero (10:52):
Oh yeah, that'd be something.
Amanda Knight (10:53):
Imagine the content creation there, Mario
Just the potential.
Mario Romero (10:57):
Exposures across the board once again, exactly.
Scott Gordon (11:01):
You'd definitely get your own Disney series, for
sure, for sure 100%.
All right, question number twoin rapid fire what is your go-to
binge-worthy TV show or movie?
Mario Romero (11:15):
So for a movie.
I'm a fan of horror comedies.
Those are probably my favoritemovies, so I'd have to go with
Dead Alive.
Great, hilarious film For a TVshow probably Snowfall.
I love that show.
I couldn't look away.
Amanda Knight (11:32):
I don't think I've seen it.
Scott, have you seen it?
Scott Gordon (11:34):
No, I want to know more.
Amanda Knight (11:36):
And Scott's a movie and TV guy, so if he
hasn't seen it he's going towant to know more.
Mario Romero (11:40):
Sure Well, to keep it general, it's about the
crack epidemic in Los Angeles inthe 80s.
Oh, I have heard of it?
Scott Gordon (11:47):
I have heard of it .
Yeah, amazing show.
Is it a dramatic show?
John Singleton made it.
Oh, okay, okay, now I'minterested.
Yeah, yeah, john Singleton.
Mario Romero (11:59):
Highly recommend.
Scott Gordon (12:00):
Been involved with a lot of great stuff over the
years, starting with Boys in theHood, I think was his first
film Indeed.
Well, that was awesome.
I like those answers, mario.
Amanda Knight (12:10):
Mario, thank you so much for joining us today and
sharing your insights, andthank you to our listeners for
tuning in.
If you're advising clients whocreate content, whether it's a
Fortune 500 brand or a localbakery with an Instagram account
, understanding and addressingmedia liability risks has never
been more important.
Scott Gordon (12:29):
Make sure you subscribe to the Placing you
First podcast on your favoriteplatform so you never miss an
episode.
Casey Kasem and the rest of ushere at the Hit Factory keep
your feet on the ground and youreyes to the stars.
We'll see you next time.
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