Insurance for Manufacturers & Importers.

Most manufacturers carry public liability insurance for the product liability protection it typically includes, alongside a business pack for stock and premises and plant and machinery or machinery breakdown cover for production equipment. The right mix depends on whether the business owns its equipment, imports components or distributes finished goods.

Yes, this is worth understanding clearly. A business that imports goods can end up carrying much the same liability as the manufacturer, particularly where the actual maker has no presence in Australia. This can apply even where the importer had no involvement in how the product was made, and it's worth discussing directly given how it applies to your specific situation.

No, these are generally separate covers. Product liability responds to a claim that a product caused injury or property damage. A product recall responds to the cost of retrieving, replacing or disposing of affected stock, regardless of whether anyone has been injured. Businesses that manufacture or import physical products often need to consider both.

The ACCC has reported around 650 consumer product recalls a year in Australia, and only around half of the affected products are ever returned to the seller.

This is still worth considering. Public liability responds to injury or property damage caused by a business's activities, which can include goods the business imports and supplies, not just physical premises or site work. Many public liability policies extend to this as standard, though the conditions are worth confirming.

Public liability responds to injury or damage caused by a business's activities generally. Product liability responds specifically to injury or damage caused by goods a business manufactures, imports or supplies. Many public liability policies include product liability as a standard extension, though the conditions vary and are worth reviewing, particularly for businesses that import or manufacture goods.

Plant and machinery insurance is designed to cover accidental physical loss or damage from external causes such as accidents, theft, fire and transit incidents. Machinery breakdown insurance is designed to cover loss or damage caused by internal mechanical or electrical failure. The two covers address different failure modes and are sometimes held together depending on the equipment involved.

This depends on the specific policy and the type of transit involved. Cover for goods in transit between a business's own sites is sometimes included as an extension to other covers, while goods in transit overseas or with a third party carrier typically call for a separate transit or cargo insurance arrangement. This is worth discussing directly given how differently it can apply.

This depends on the terms of the storage or warehousing agreement and who holds responsibility for the goods while they're stored there. Standard property cover is generally built around premises a business owns or leases itself, so goods held in a third party warehouse are worth raising directly to confirm how they're covered.

Insurers typically ask for the nature of the goods manufactured, imported or distributed, annual turnover, the value of stock and equipment held, claims history and the cover limit required. A broker can help present this information accurately to the market.

A previous decline does not rule out cover elsewhere. Product liability for importers and manufacturers of certain goods is a specialist area, and a broker with access to the right panel can often place risks that a single insurer has turned down.