What Counts as an Invasion of Privacy Claim

• Publishing private facts about a customer or employee without consent
• Using someone's name or likeness in advertising without permission
• Improper surveillance, such as hidden cameras in areas with a reasonable expectation of privacy
• Sharing personal information gathered during a business transaction

Invasion of Privacy vs. Data Breach

These are often confused but covered differently. An invasion of privacy claim under general liability typically involves an intentional or negligent disclosure by the business itself, like sharing customer data with a third party without consent. A data breach, by contrast, usually involves a hack or unauthorized third-party access to stored data, and is covered under cyber liability insurance instead, which has its own separate limits and terms.

Why It Matters

Businesses that gather customer information, run loyalty programs, use security cameras, or advertise with customer testimonials all carry some invasion of privacy exposure. Many general liability policies now carve back or exclude privacy claims tied to electronic data specifically, pushing that risk onto a cyber policy, so a business relying only on general liability may have less protection here than it assumes.