What is Product Liability Coverage? Product liability coverage is a type of insurance that protects you from being sued for damages caused by your product. If you sell or manufacture products, this type of insurance can be quite valuable. It can help protect you from lawsuits and pay for legal fees if someone sues you over injuries they suffered using one of your products.
In some cases, it may even cover medical expenses related to those injuries.
In addition to protecting against lawsuits, product liability coverage may optionally help cover losses due to recalls: if there’s something wrong with one of your products–and it causes injury or death–you’ll be able to get reimbursed for the cost associated with recalling all affected units so they can be fixed or replaced before any more damage occurs (or at least minimize those losses).
What is Product Liability Coverage Protecting You From?
Product liability insurance can cover you in the event that your product causes injury or property damage. It can also cover financial losses due to product recalls, as well as legal fees if you’re sued for bodily injury or property damage. There are three main types of product liability:
Manufacturing defect – This happens when a product is designed poorly and causes harm when used as intended (for example, if it breaks).
Design defect – This happens when there’s something wrong with how a product is made, even though it was designed correctly (for example, if the design makes it unsafe).
Failure to warn – If someone gets hurt because they weren’t warned about potential risks associated with using your product properly (for example, if they didn’t know not to put their hand in between two moving blades), then this could be considered failure-to-warn liability on your part.
What Are the Different Types of Product Liability Claims?
The most common types of product liability claims are:
Negligence. In this type of claim, the injured party alleges that the manufacturer or seller failed to exercise reasonable care in designing, manufacturing and marketing its product. For example, if you purchase a car that has been recalled by the manufacturer because it is prone to catching fire and you are injured when your car catches fire while driving down the highway at 70 mph (or whatever speed limit applies in your area), then you may have a valid negligence claim against the manufacturer or seller of that vehicle.
Breach of warranty/express warranty/implied warranty. A breach occurs when one party makes promises about their products but fails to live up to those promises–for example by advertising something as being safe when it actually isn’t safe at all; or by failing to warn consumers about known dangers associated with using certain products.
What Is Product Liability Coverage Different from General Liability Insurance?
- Product liability insurance can cover the manufacturer, distributor, or seller of a product in the event that it causes harm to someone.
- General liability insurance can cover a business’s liability for third-party bodily injury or property damage.
- General Liability Insurance: Covers you if someone gets hurt on your property and decides to sue you (or your company) for thinks like medical bills or lost wages.
- Product Liability Insurance: Covers you if someone gets hurt from using one of your products – it can even provide coverage if they were using it correctly.
What is Product Liability Coverage Affording Me?
Protection from financial losses. Product liability insurance can provide coverage for legal fees and settlements, as well as other expenses related to product-related lawsuits.
Legal representation. Your policy may include a team of attorneys who will represent you in court if necessary. They’ll work with you on developing your defense strategy and make sure that all evidence is gathered properly so that it can be presented effectively in court.
Access to resources and expertise. The insurance company has access to experts who specialize in product liability cases, such as engineers who can evaluate whether there were any flaws with the design or manufacturing process of your product that could have contributed to an injury caused by it – or even determine whether another manufacturer’s products were involved instead (such as if someone was hurt while using one of their products).
Peace of mind knowing that if something goes wrong with one of your products and someone gets hurt because of it, they’ll be taken care of financially by getting compensated through either a settlement or jury award; but more importantly than just paying them off financially though…you’ll also feel better knowing that justice has been served because someone wasn’t able get away scot-free after doing something wrong!
Who Needs Product Liability Insurance?
All manufacturers and distributors of products need to have product liability insurance. This includes manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. Online sellers also need to purchase this coverage in order to protect themselves from lawsuits if something goes wrong with a customer’s purchase.
What Are the Risks of Not Having Product Liability Insurance?
Financial losses. The cost of a product liability lawsuit can be devastating. In addition to paying damages, you may have to pay your own legal fees and those of your insurance company.
Legal fees. If you’re found liable for someone else’s injuries or property damage, you could be responsible for their attorney fees as well.* Loss of reputation: A lawsuit can do serious damage to your business’ reputation and standing in the community.* Bankruptcy: If an award is large enough, it could bankrupt you completely
How Much Does Product Liability Coverage Insurance Cost?
Product liability insurance is a type of coverage that helps protect businesses from lawsuits. If you’re in the business of selling products, it’s important to understand how much product liability insurance costs and what factors influence the price. You can expect your policy premium to vary based on several factors:
The type of product you sell (for example, food or medical devices)
How much product are you putting into the market.
What product liability insurance limit do you need?
How to Choose the Right Product Liability Insurance Policy?
When you’re shopping for a product liability insurance policy, it’s important to know what you need. The first step is assessing your risk. Do you manufacture or distribute products? If so, how many? Are they sold in stores or online? How much money do those products generate for your company each year?
Next comes research: finding out which companies offer the best coverage at the most affordable price. You can start by comparing policies from different providers and looking into their customer service ratings on sites like Yelp or Google Reviews (if available). After doing this initial research, ask yourself whether any of these policies seem too expensive–if so, consider going with another provider whose rates are more reasonable but still provide adequate coverage.
Finally, once all of these factors have been considered carefully by both parties involved (i.e., both buyer and seller), the decision must be made whether or not it makes sense financially for both parties involved based on what needs were identified during negotiations earlier on in order for them all work together successfully over time while continuing working towards mutually beneficial goals.”
How much Product Liability Coverage do you need for company?
The amount of coverage required can vary, important factors to consider when shopping product liability insurance limits are: How much coverage do my vendors require me to have to stock my product? What do I stand to lose if our company is sued? Because claims or allegations against cosmetic manufacturers can be severe or even more likely… FREQUENT, you may want to discuss your insurance requirements with vendors or an attorney before making any decisions.
Think you are immune to a Product Liability Insurance Claim?
Everyone does! However, the product that was assumed to be the most harmless, that almost everyone used on their baby had one. Over Baby Powder. Johnson & Johnson suffered a Product Liability Insurance Claim for over $3.5 Billion, with an expected 40,000 more claims having been filed as of January of 2023. 1 2Similarly, Fitness product manufacturer, Peloton, had claim expenses of $19 Million due to a product liability claim.3
Conclusion
Product liability insurance is essential for any business that manufactures, distributes or sells products. It can protect a business from costly financial losses due to product liability lawsuits. Choosing the right product liability insurance policy is important for protecting your business.
Because every product is different, underwriting a Product Liability Insurance policy is complicated. If you need a quote on Product Liability Insurance Coverage, please complete a product liability Insurance quote request.
1 https://fortune.com/2022/08/11/johnson-johnson-stop-selling-talc-based-baby-powder-cancer-lawsuits/
2 https://www.npr.org/2022/09/19/1123567606/johnson-baby-powder-bankruptcy-lawsuits
3https://abcnews.go.com/Business/peloton-agrees-pay-19-million-fine-treadmill-recall/story
