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Product liability insurance for manufacturers, retailers & e-commerce shops

  • customized commercial insurance
  • non-binding offer calculation
  • conclude and manage online
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Customer satisfaction

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Our insurance partners

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What damages are covered?

  • Personal injury and property damage caused by your product
  • Damage caused by imported and self-produced goods
  • allergic reactions of customers
  • damage caused by defective products (e.g. fire)
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How much does this policy cost?

Our product liability insurance is available

from 13.13 € / monthly

Would you like to know what your customized product liability insurance costs? With just a few details, we can calculate the insurance costs exactly for you.
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Covered in 9 minutes!*

Step 1 - Answer a few questions about your business

Step 2 - Get a product recommendation and personalized quote

Step 3- Purchase your coverage immediately and manage 100% online

*Depending on elected insurance product, desired start-date of policy and our insurance partners

Liability protection for damage caused by your products

When manufacturing products, mistakes sometimes occur - mistakes that cause damage to customers. To prevent claims for damages from threatening the future of your business, product liability insurance should be an integral part of your coverage. We tailor the insurance exactly to your products and the risks.

Your product liability insurance from insureQ

Whether you're a larger company, a newly founded start-up or a self-employed part-time entrepreneur - as soon as you manufacture or distribute something, you're responsible for your products. This also means that you are always liable for personal injury, property damage and consequential damage caused to others by your (defective) products. Such risks are part of everyday business in many industries - our customized product liability insurance ensures that you are not left with costs such as claims for damages.

Product liability for e-commerce shops & co. - protection as you need it

Conventional product liability insurance (also called product liability insurance) is always integrated into your business liability insurance. It protects you from claims for damages made by third parties due to your defective products. However, conventional product liability insurance is not sufficient in all industries - that's why we find exactly the (extended) liability insurance that fits your products.

Our insureQ algorithm helps you to get the best coverage with just a few clicks: You simply answer a few questions relevant to your insurance coverage and we put together the optimal insurance package for you. This way, you will not only find the tailor-made product liability insurance (as part of the public liability insurance), but you can also directly insure yourself against all other risks of your industry. We always leave out unnecessary extras - you only pay for the insurance components you actually need.

Customized product liability insurance - our advantages:

  • Product liability for manufacturers, retailers, online stores, gastronomy and many more.
  • tailor-made solutions for companies, start-ups & self-employed persons
  • individual protection - tailored to your industry, products and risks
  • 100 % digital: take out your product liability insurance in just a few minutes
  • immediate calculation of costs
  • personal consultation with our experts on request
  • Convenient online processing of contract adjustments & claims notifications
  • ARAG, Hiscox and R+V as insurance carriers and experienced partners
  • full protection: all important commercial insurances directly from one source

We want to provide you with simple, modern access to commercial insurance. That's why you can find the right protection with just a few clicks and without any prior knowledge. There are no complicated technical terms, paperwork or long sales talks - but if you would prefer to receive personal advice or have questions about individual aspects, our insurance experts are always ready to help you - either online or, if you wish, for a personal consultation on the phone.

What is product liability insurance?

In Germany, the so-called product liability insurance applies to manufacturers, dealers and some other professional groups. What this means is summarized in §1, Section 1 of the Product Liability Act (ProdHaftG):

"If a defective product kills someone, harms their body or health, or damages an object, the manufacturer of the product is liable to the injured party for the damage incurred."

Simply put: No matter whether you manufacture products yourself, your products are further processed, or you sell third-party products in your online store - should damage (property damage, personal injury, or financial loss) occur, you can be held liable for it. It does not matter whether you are actually responsible for the damage.

Uninsured personal injuries in particular can quickly run into the millions. But property damage and financial losses can also cost defendants six- to seven-figure sums. If you are not properly insured against this, as a managing director you are also liable with your private assets and the claims for damages can quickly become a threat to your existence. As part of the business liability insurance, the product liability insurance protects you from the claims and protects you financially.

Who needs product liability insurance?

Product liability insurance is an elementary part of your insurance coverage as soon as your activity falls into one of the following areas:

  • Manufacturer of partial and final products and goods
  • Quasi-manufacturer
  • Importer or distributor
  • Retailer, intermediary or online store

Product liability is therefore recommended for just about any company that deals with products and does not focus exclusively on services.

Good to know: The term quasi-manufacturer covers companies that look like a manufacturer to their customers from the outside, but do not produce any product themselves. If, for example, you import finished products from abroad and only add your own company name and logo to the packaging, you are considered a quasi-manufacturer and also fall under the Product Liability Act.

Even many companies that you might not think of as belonging to the manufacturer/retailer category at first glance end up falling under it as well: the drinks and food served by restaurants, for example, are also considered products in the legal sense, which means that catering businesses are also manufacturers.

Why do I need product liability even as a retailer?

Regardless of whether you are a stationary retailer or an online store in the e-commerce sector - even if your company does not produce any goods itself, product liability insurance is important in order to be on the safe side in the event of damage.

As a manufacturer of a product, the risk of having to bear responsibility for product damage is also high: For example, if you import products from countries outside the EU, the manufacturer status is transferred to you and you are accordingly liable for damages. The situation is similar if the original manufacturer from abroad (including EU countries) cannot be determined with certainty - for example, because the products are purchased through an international wholesaler. In this case, too, product liability is transferred to you and your company can be held responsible for the damage.

What does product liability insurance cover?

Basically, product liability insurance covers three different types of damage:

  • Personal injury (e.g. health consequences of your defective product)

  • Property damage (e.g. damage to things due to the lack of properties of your product)

  • Consequential economic loss due to previous personal injury or property damage (= non-genuine economic loss).

To understand which product liability insurance is right for your business, you should also know the difference between conventional and extended product liability.

What is conventional product liability insurance?

A conventional product liability insurance is firmly integrated in every business liability insurance. It gives you coverage for the above-mentioned damages - but only when it comes to finished products. It therefore covers costs that arise, for example, because a defect occurred during production. If your goods or products are processed by third parties, conventional product liability will not help you.

When do I need extended product liability insurance?

Extended product liability insurance is not automatically included in business liability insurance, but must be added to the policy in most cases. In contrast to the conventional variant, it also covers damages that occur in connection with products that are intended for further processing. In addition, it also applies to genuine financial losses.

Example: In a sideline business, you brew a small amount of beer yourself, which you pass on to a beverage manufacturer to have it bottled there and sold through its distribution. You get a 20% share of the profit. A few days after the beer has been picked up for the week, you realize that you have made a mistake, which makes the shelf life much shorter than usual. However, by this time the beer has been bottled and the bottles are taken to the distributors. The manufacturer has to recall the bottles to find out which ones were filled with the incorrectly brewed beer. The manufacturer demands compensation from you for this time and effort. Since your product has been further processed and the manufacturer has suffered a real financial loss, only the extended product liability insurance will apply here.

It is often not so easy to tell at first glance whether conventional product liability insurance is sufficient or whether extended protection is necessary. If any of the following apply to your business and products, we advise you to consider extended product liability insurance:

Your products are not finished products, but are further processed.

Your products are combined with other products by other companies, mixed or incorporated or otherwise processed.

You deliver devices or machines that are used for the production or processing of other products.

You import products or goods from countries outside the EU (e.g. UK).

Damage example: When does product liability apply?

To give you a better overview of the coverage of product liability, we have collected some examples of damages that would be covered by conventional or extended product liability:

Example 1: In your online store you sell self-made wall mounts for TV sets. When assembling a bracket you were careless - one screw is not tight. A few days after the purchase, you receive an e-mail: The defective bracket caused your customer's TV to fall off the wall and become defective - he is therefore demanding compensation. Since your defective product caused damage to the property of third parties, conventional product liability applies.

Example 2: Your company produces door locks that are installed in high-quality front doors by another company. In one of your delivered batches, there was a mistake during production, so that the locking mechanism jammed. The problem is only noticed when the locks have already been installed in the doors and the other company has to check which doors are affected (= real financial loss) in order to remove the locks and install new ones. Since the locks are further processed and a real financial loss occurs, only the extended product liability insurance protects here.

Example 3: You run a restaurant. An ingredient is used in the kitchen that can trigger allergies. However, this information is inadvertently left off the menu. One of your guests reacts with an allergic reaction, has to be treated and claims damages (= personal injury). In this case, conventional product liability applies, since your restaurant dishes are finished products in the legal sense.

Welche Kosten entstehen mir durch die Produkthaftpflicht?

If you already have public liability insurance and only need conventional product liability, you will not incur any additional costs.

With extended product liability, the costs depend on the following factors, among others:

  • Industry
  • type of your activity
  • realistic risk of damage
  • size of the company
  • Turnover with the products

Of course, this makes it difficult to generalize the costs. Especially smaller companies and self-employed persons with a manageable risk can often conclude their extended product liability insurance with premiums below 500 € per year. But even for larger companies, the insurance prices are far below what even a single uninsured claim can cost.

Instead of giving you cost examples here, which ultimately have nothing to do with your company and your industry, we would rather tell you directly how much your business liability (incl. product liability) or extended product liability costs you: With just a few basic pieces of information, we'll immediately determine the right coverage for you. With an immediate price calculation, you know right away what the costs will be.

Personalized insurance cover for manufacturers, retailers & online stores

Whether you need business liability, extended product liability or other coverages - with us you get all important insurances for your industry conveniently from one source. We'll make sure you don't have to waste time on tedious paperwork, complicated insurance terms or lengthy sales pitches. Just tell us what exactly you do, and with just a few clicks you'll find the insurance policies that really suit you and provide you with optimal protection. Thanks to our intelligent algorithm, you'll only ever get the insurance products suggested that you actually need and won't pay for unnecessary extras.

    List of contents

  • Liability protection for damage caused by your products
  • Your product liability insurance from insureQ
  • What is product liability insurance?
  • Who needs product liability insurance?
  • What does product liability insurance cover?
  • Welche Kosten entstehen mir durch die Produkthaftpflicht?