Product liability insurance
If your product injures someone or damages something, this cover is designed to help with the costs. Issues resulting from contaminated food, manufacturing mistakes and defective products can also be covered.
Be quote confident. We'll beat the price of any like-for-like quote. T&Cs apply.
What is product liability insurance?
If your business sells or manufactures any products, then you may be liable if someone is injured or their property damaged by your business’ product. Product liability insurance is designed to protect your business against the legal and compensation costs involved in a claim, with some of the features of the cover being:
- Compensation and legal costs covered
- Select from a range of cover up to £5m
- Purchase as a package with public liability cover
- Five-star customer service and claims support
- Protection even if you’re not the manufacturer
Is your business raising and scaling?
Our specialist brokers provide custom cover for high-growth tech companies with complex risks — from web3, fintech, medtech, blockchain, VC firms, SaaS and more — whether you're at seed stage or IPO ready.
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We're big on fairness. So if you find a lower price for a comparable quote, we won't just match it — we'll go one better and beat it.
So even better than apples to apples, apples to better apples. We're talking Galas to Braeburns.
As you'd expect, T&Cs apply.
Why would I need product liability insurance?
Protection against legal costs
Whatever role your business plays in the product lifecycle, it's impossible to have complete control over what happens to your product once it's in the hands of a customer. If something does go wrong, you could face a claim for injury or damage in relation to your product.
Get protected
You may expect liability to fall with the manufacturer — but this isn't always the case. Even as a distributor or retailer, you could be liable for a product liability claim. Particularly if the manufacturer can’t be traced, has gone out of business, or is outside the UK.
Support, when things go wrong
We hope nothing does go wrong — but if you do experience a claim made against your business, we'll be here to support you and your business through your claim, from start to finish with our 5-star rated customer support.
What does product liability cover?
Find out more about the risks it covers and what to look out for.
Cover against defective products
No matter how much quality assurance takes place at your business, you can't control everything. Depending on the type of product you deal with, a claim could range from fairly small to a devastating amount. Even if you are not the product's manufacturer, you as the reseller could be liable for an injury to a customer.
Our product liability insurance can cover samples you provide to customers — even if you don’t manufacture or sell the product yourself.
Cover against contaminated food products
If your business manufactures, supplies or sells food products, a claim could range from a food causing someone to be unwell, to something as serious as death — if, for example, an item were accidentally contaminated with an allergen.
Cover against products that don't meet standards
The UK government imposes strict standards on goods — plastics used in toys, for example. Often, countries where products are manufactured have different standards. If you accidentally slip up on due diligence and sell or supply products that don't meet UK standards, you'll find yourself liable for any repercussions.
What we can't cover
We'd love to be able to cover every eventuality but, as with all insurance policies, there are some things we cannot cover which, for example, include:
- Products which you know are being used in or on any aircraft or hovercraft intended to travel through air or space
- Contractual liability in connection with products
- If the products you sell or supply cause harm or damage to someone's property
- Legal liability arising from advice, instruction, consultancy, design, formula, specification, inspection, certification or testing undertaken or given for a fee
- Legal liability arising from physical, mental or cosmetic treatment of any person, other than first aid, including that of anyone employed by you
- Legal liability for problems caused by sending electronic data, website content, your emails or any changes to electronic data
- We won’t cover the excess shown in your schedule, which is usually £250 per claim unless you're a company with more complex risk, in which case it could be higher
- Any harm or damage caused by the products you sell, which you know are faulty, unsafe or subject to a recall or safety notice
- Legal liability arising from pollution or contamination
For full details of the inclusions and exclusions, please refer to your policy documents. Read our guide to understanding your policy documents to bust through the jargon.
Once you've completed a quote, you'll be able to view a summary of cover. Please always refer to your policy documents for full details around exclusions, terms and limits of your customised cover. Read our guide to understanding your policy documents.
How do claims work?
Notify us of the claim
Contact us by email at claims@gosuperscript.com, by 24/7 freephone on 0800 772 3059 or by logging in to your customer portal.
Ideally, this should be done as soon as possible and within 30 days of you becoming aware of anything which you think may be covered by your insurance.
A good indicator of whether or not to let us know is if there's an issue which may require a payment to be made on your behalf.
We'll get on the case
We'll acknowledge your claim within 24 hours, and sometimes in as little as 30 minutes! This means you'll receive email confirmation of your claims reference and contact information should you need to speak to us.
We will then reach out to you within 48 hours to request any extra information we need to progress your claim.
We'll keep you updated on the next steps as the claim progresses.
A decision is made
We'll let you know if your claim is successful or not. If your claim isn't covered, we will always try to point you in the right direction and support you as best we can in getting back to normal.
Read about the most common reasons claims aren't paid.
If your claim is successful, once we have all the documents we need, we will aim to settle claims such as accidental damage, theft and lost equipment within five working days.
Product liability claims
There are various types of product liability insurance claims that can affect different industries, and here are a few examples of claims where your business could be liable:
Contaminated food
At your corner shop, you sell fresh packaged chicken to a customer who then develops salmonella, causing them to become seriously unwell. You may be liable for compensation costs due to the customer if they seek to make a claim.
Electrical fault
A TV sold by your online electrical store has loose, uncovered wiring due to a manufacturing fault and a customer is electrocuted, leaving them in hospital. Your business may be liable for the compensation costs, despite not manufacturing the product yourself.
Fire damage
A portable home heater that your company builds malfunctions and causes a small fire in a customer’s house. Even if no one is injured, you may be liable to pay compensation costs to the customer to repair the damage caused to their home by the malfunctioning product
Product liability insurance FAQs
What will product liability insurance protect me against?
Product liability is designed to protect you against costs in relation to a lawsuit brought against you as a result of your product or products causing damage or injury.
Is product liability a legal requirement?
Product liability cover is not mandatory in the UK, but many businesses consider it as they would be unable to afford to pay out a large claim.
How much does product liability insurance cost?
The cost of your product liability premium will vary depending on the level of cover selected and the type of products you sell.
What's the excess on this cover?
The excess on this cover is £250 per claim. This means that should you need to make a claim, you'll need to contribute £250 and we'll cover the rest of the costs. Please be aware, however, that for clients with more complex risks who have tailor-made policies, the excess may vary depending on the risk.
Is product liability tax deductible?
Yes, it is tax deductible for UK businesses.
I'm not a manufacturer — do I need product liability cover?
Even if your business is a supplier or a retailer, you may want to consider product liability. Although product issues will often fall with the manufacturer, if the manufacturer can't be traced, no longer exists, or is located outside the EU, you may find yourself liable.
As a first line of defence, make sure you check the contracts you sign with the manufacturer. Understand where your responsibilities lie when it comes to product liability and we can help with the rest!
Does product liability insurance cover digital products?
In the vast majority of cases, product liability insurance covers only physical products that can cause bodily injury or property damage. For digital products, you may want to consider cyber insurance.
Does product liability insurance cover food?
Yes, if you sell any foodstuff (fresh, tinned or otherwise), then product liability insurance can cover your legal and compensation costs if a customer is injured or becomes unwell as a result of your product.
Do I need product liability insurance to sell on Amazon?
Yes, while it is not legally required in general, Amazon and several other major online marketplaces require that all sellers obtain liability insurance. Take a look at our business insurance for online retailers for more details.
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