Products Liability Insurance for makers and suppliers
Cover for claims when a product you make, import, supply or repair injures someone or damages their property. Compare products liability through specialist brokers who place cover for manufacturers, importers and distributors.
- Goods you make, import, brand or sell
- Export territories agreed with the insurer
- Usually written with public liability
Reviewed October 2026 by the MyBusinessComparison.com editorial team
What is products liability insurance?
Products liability insurance pays claims alleging that a product you made, supplied, imported, repaired or put your name on caused injury, illness or damage to someone else's property. It meets compensation and legal costs, up to the limit on your schedule, once the product has left your control.
Liability does not stop with the manufacturer. An importer bringing goods in from overseas can be treated as the producer, as can a business that sells goods made by someone else under its own brand. A distributor or retailer can be pursued if it cannot identify who supplied the goods, so insurers ask where products come from as closely as where they go.
Products cover is almost always sold with public liability insurance, but it is a separate section with its own limit. That limit usually applies to all claims in the policy year combined, not to each claim, which matters for businesses selling large volumes of the same item.
Products liability cover in brief
- Covers
- Injury, illness and property damage caused by your products
- Who can be liable
- Manufacturers, importers, own-brand sellers, distributors and repairers
- Limit basis
- Usually one aggregate limit for the whole policy year
- Compulsory?
- No, but retailers and trade buyers often require it from suppliers
- Priced on
- Product type, turnover, export markets and quality controls
- Does not pay for
- Recalling, replacing or repairing the faulty product itself
What products liability insurance covers
The section responds once goods are out of your hands and in use by customers, end users or other businesses. These are its typical elements.
Injury and illness from products
A faulty electrical item gives someone a shock, a contaminated food product makes customers ill, or a component fails and causes an injury.
Damage to other property
A leaking appliance floods a kitchen, a defective part damages the machine it is fitted into, or a product fault starts a fire.
Imported goods
Products brought in from overseas suppliers, where you may be treated as the producer and have little chance of passing the claim back to the maker.
Own-brand products
Goods made for you under contract but sold under your name or label, which puts you in the position of the manufacturer.
Goods installed, repaired or serviced
Claims caused by parts you fitted or equipment you repaired, such as a serviced boiler or an overhauled machine, once the job is handed back.
Read more about cover for engineering companies
Investigation and defence costs
Expert testing of the product, investigation of the cause and defence of the claim, which in products cases can be the largest part of the cost.
Vendor extensions for your customers
Many insurers will extend the policy to protect retailers and distributors who sell your goods, where a supply agreement asks for it.
Read more about insurance for retailers
Export sales
Products sold into other countries, with the territories and any North American sales declared to and agreed by the insurer.
Covers to consider with products liability
- Product recall insurance: the cost of withdrawing goods from the market, which products liability does not pay
- Professional indemnity: claims that a design or specification you provided caused financial loss
- Goods in transit: damage to goods on their way to customers, before the buyer takes delivery
- Technology company insurance: for connected devices and software, where a fault can cause a customer financial loss rather than injury or damage
- Trade credit insurance: protection if a customer you supply on credit fails to pay
Who needs products liability insurance?
Any business whose name sits somewhere in the supply chain of a physical product. These are the firms for whom it matters most.
Selling abroad? Tell the broker about every export market. For sector packages, see manufacturing and engineering insurance or insurance by industry.
- Manufacturers: food, chemicals, components, machinery and consumer goods each carry their own claim patterns
- Importers, wholesalers and distributors: goods sourced from overseas factories, where the UK business may be first in line for claims
- Retailers with own-brand ranges: own-label goods put the retailer in the manufacturer's position
- Engineering firms: machined parts, assemblies and repaired equipment that go into customers' plant
- Electrical and building services contractors: equipment supplied and installed as part of the job, such as boards, lighting and controls
- Restaurants, pubs and caterers: food served or sold, including allergen and contamination claims
- Builders merchants: building materials and products sold to trade and retail customers
- Technology hardware businesses: devices and connected products where a failure can cause damage, injury or data loss
- Farms selling produce: meat, dairy and produce sold direct, through farm shops or to processors
- Motor traders: parts fitted and vehicles sold, repaired or serviced
- Solar and battery installers: panels, batteries and inverters supplied and fitted, where a fault can start a fire
How much does products liability insurance cost?
Insurers price products cover on what could go wrong with the goods, how many are in circulation and where they end up. These factors carry the most weight.
Type of product
Food, electrical goods, children's products, safety equipment and anything eaten or applied to the skin are rated higher than inert goods such as packaging or furniture.
Turnover by product line
The more you sell, the greater the exposure. Insurers often want turnover split by product type where the risk varies across the range.
Export markets
Sales into the USA and Canada are treated very differently because of the size of awards there, and some insurers will not cover them at all.
Source of goods
Products from overseas suppliers with no UK presence or insurance are harder to recover from, so importers face closer questioning.
Quality and traceability
Testing, batch records, supplier audits, certification and clear instructions and warnings show that defects are caught and can be traced.
Contract terms
Supply agreements that pass liability onto you, or ask you to protect your customers, increase the exposure the insurer is pricing.
What products liability insurance does not cover
Products cover deals with the harm a product causes, not the product failing in itself. These are the common exclusions.
- The cost of recalling or withdrawing goods, which needs product recall insurance
- Repairing, replacing or refunding the defective product itself
- Financial loss because a product did not perform as promised, where nobody was hurt and nothing was damaged
- Design or specification advice given for a fee, which belongs under professional indemnity cover
- Aircraft parts, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, which usually need specialist cover
- Sales into territories not declared to the insurer, especially the USA and Canada
- Liability accepted under supply contracts beyond what you would otherwise owe
- Defects already known when the policy began
Products liability or public liability: what is the difference?
Most firms buy both on one policy, but each section answers a different question: did the harm come from what you did, or from what you supplied?
| Feature | Products liability | Public liability |
|---|---|---|
| Source of the claim | Goods you made, supplied or repaired, after they leave your control | Your activities and premises, while work is under way |
| Typical claim | A heater you imported catches fire in a customer's home | A visitor trips over a pallet in your warehouse |
| Limit | Usually one aggregate for all claims in the policy year | Usually per occurrence, with no annual cap |
| Rated on | Product turnover, type and export markets | Turnover, wage roll and the hazards of the work |
| Key underwriting questions | Where goods come from, where they are sold and how quality is controlled | Where you work, how and with what |
How to arrange products liability cover
Insurers want to understand your products from source to end user. This is what a broker will ask for.
List your products and uses
Describe each product line, what it is used for, who uses it and any safety critical applications.
Show where goods come from
Name your main suppliers and countries of origin, and confirm whether overseas suppliers hold their own liability insurance.
Split turnover by market
Separate UK, other export and North American sales, and flag any plans to enter new markets.
Gather quality evidence
Testing reports, certification, batch traceability, labelling and instructions, and how complaints are handled.
Review your supply contracts
Check what liability you accept from customers and whether any require a vendor extension or a specific limit.
Launching a new product?
Tell us what you make or supply, and where it is sold, and a broker who handles product risks will compare options.
Get a quoteProducts liability insurance FAQs
How much does products liability insurance cost?
It depends mainly on what the product is, how many you sell, where they end up and how well you control quality. A distributor of packaging and an importer of electrical goods with the same turnover will be priced very differently, and North American exports have the biggest single effect.
Is products liability insurance compulsory?
No, it is not compulsory. In practice, most retailers, distributors and trade buyers will not stock your goods without evidence of cover, and many supply agreements specify the limit you must hold. Without it, a single serious claim would fall on the business itself.
Do I need products liability if I only sell goods made by others?
Usually, yes. Retailers and distributors can be pursued, particularly if they cannot identify their supplier, and a business importing goods from outside the UK can be treated as the producer. Putting your own brand on the goods has the same effect.
Does products liability insurance cover product recalls?
No. Products liability pays when a product has injured someone or damaged property. The cost of tracing, withdrawing and destroying a faulty batch before it causes harm needs product recall insurance, which can be bought alongside.
Are exports to the USA and Canada covered?
Only if the insurer agrees. Most UK policies exclude or restrict sales into the USA and Canada unless they are declared, because claims there can be far larger. Some insurers will cover North American exports for an extra premium and others will not, so tell the broker early.
Does products liability cover goods I install or repair?
Yes. Most policies treat goods installed, repaired or serviced as products once the work is completed and handed over. Faults in that work that later cause injury or damage are then dealt with under the products section rather than public liability.
What limit of products liability do I need?
Look first at your supply contracts, as many buyers set a minimum. Then consider the worst plausible outcome, such as a batch injuring several people, and remember the limit usually covers all claims in the year combined. Higher risk products and exports often justify a higher limit.
Can I buy products liability on its own?
It is possible, but most insurers write it together with public liability, and many firms add employers' liability to the same policy. Combining the sections avoids arguments over whether a claim came from your activities or your products. A commercial combined policy can also include it.
How do I get a products liability insurance quote?
Start a request here and a broker who handles product risks will call to talk through your range. Have your product list, turnover by product and by market, supplier details and quality records to hand so insurers can be approached without delay.
Compare products liability insurance
Cover built around what you make, import or sell, and where it goes, arranged by brokers who understand supply chain risk.