Product Liability Insurance

Coverage for claims that a product made, sold, or supplied caused injury or property damage.

Overview

US law imposes strict liability in most states, so a claimant need not prove negligence, only a defect in design, manufacture, or warning, which raises loss severity. Supply chain defendants get pulled in regardless of role, and small sellers often rely on the manufacturer coverage certificates. Premiums reflect product class, testing, recall history, and jurisdictions served, with pharmaceuticals, machinery, toys, and supplements among the harder risks. Recall and product withdrawal expense is separate coverage, since pulling goods from shelves is a cost rather than a liability judgment. Vaccine injury litigation of the 1980s helped create the federal no fault compensation program that now handles most childhood vaccine claims.