product liability insurance?

[tamese]

Where can I get product liability insurance and about how much should it cost? I checked with state farm and they said that they could not provide any insurance for a product that I make. Do I really need it and in what situations would I need it for. I read somewhere that I should have it. Any help greatly appreciated.

[cdesousa5]

Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild is a great place.

http://www.soapguild.org/

[Meridith]

Where can I get product liability insurance and about how much should it cost? I checked with state farm and they said that they could not provide any insurance for a product that I make. Do I really need it and in what situations would I need it for. I read somewhere that I should have it. Any help greatly appreciated.

You should have insurance if you sell anything you make and you should have it before you sell and not after the fact. To not have it is opening yourself up to possibly being sued and possibly losing everything because you did not have adequate counsel to defend you and your company in a court action. Nowadays, you can be sued for anything. Do you have the money to hire a lawyer to defend you and your product in a court action? Insurance covers that cost for you should you need it. Better safe than sorry.

Edited August 18, 2009 by Meridith

[Birdie]

I don't know where you live but Auto-Owners has the liability insurance you might need(I'm a soaper mainly.). They only cover a limited area, though. You can find out if you are in that area and an agent here: http://agency.auto-owners.com/ It is around $400 a year.

[joanncat18]

http://www.indiebeautynetwork.com/

The indie beauty network provides insurance with their membership...I think the membership plus the insurance comes to $545 per year. This one you can insure pretty much anything handmade. Can do just candles with this one too.

The Soapers Guild

http://www.soapguild.org/

Costs less, but they require that you have some sort of soap in your line. You can insure candles, but not JUST candles with this one. I think this one is $480/year. The soap in your line has to be avaliable but does not have to account for a certain percent of sales.

HTH. Jamie

[thecraftasaurus]

As a former commercial insurance agent, I'd for sure tell you to get some liability coverage. Some of the coverage I placed was less then $200 per year, this was for small businesses. You never know, especially with things that use fire, if someone will do something silly and then blame you. Are there any commercial insurance places where you live? Offices that place coverage for Allied, The Hartford or Travelers should be able to help you. I also suggest going to those company specific websites to find a local agent. Good luck!

[David Fields]

First, there is a big, big difference between product liability ins and liability ins. Every business needs liability insurance, plus, it is required at lots of places where you sell your stuff. Very few businesses need or have product liability insurance. It insures you against liability that results from the contents of the product you sell, not slips, falls, etc. Insurance underwriters will literally check every ingredient in your product before they will write you a product liability insurance policy. So, ill bet you only need a simple liability policy

HTH