We’ve all heard the horror stories and seen a video or two about manufacturers of whatever products being sued due to the product being mistakenly used or malfunctioning for some reason. That’s called product liability, and if you’re a manufacturer and want to protect yourself from these false claims, you need to hire a product liability insurance broker.
It’s something that concerns all businesses that produce products, as well as sellers and retailers and their awareness of some legal responsibilities. Products are subject to subsequent sales that is directly used by customers or are a tool or part in the making of other products which are legally required to be fit and safe for use.
If someone has been hurt or injured by using a faulty product, all the world would care about would be the producer of the product being held accountable. This makes hiring a product liability insurance broker a high priority for many businesses. What a lot of people don’t know is that you don’t have to be a manufacturer of a product in order to require a product liability insurance. Repairing and importing in some cases is enough to make you liable of the product. Some businesses can be both the retailer and the manufacturer. This depends on the business model and who the target customers are.
The largest portion of responsibility of product liability falls on the producers of the products. They can include retailers and manufacturers that supply their own-brand products, businesses that repair, alter and service existing products, someone who re-brands and re-purposes existing products and importers of products from places where the safety requirements are different from the requirements in the country it’s sold in.
When selling or producing goods, by law, it’s demanded that they are safe for their intended uses. By accepting responsibility, manufacturers show an interest and level of care to keep the customers safe and aware of the risks while using the product. This involves providing instructions about proper use; providing warnings about the risks and dangers of improper use; taking a proactive step towards improving and monitoring safety; assuring retailers make reasonable steps to knowing the sources and safety of all products they use and sell.
Often times, brokers offer product liability as a part of complete business insurance packages, whether in a tailored situation or sold as an off-the-shelf type of deal. A specialist insurer should be able to understand your market and your business in order to help you decide on the optimum level of coverage and source the best deal. Speak to several brokers and see what they offer before making your decision.
