A manufacturer carries two liabilities that most businesses do not. One walks out of the door with every unit shipped and can return years later as a product claim. The other stands on the factory floor and is measured in guarding, maintenance and training. Manufacturing liability insurance is the pair of covers that answer for them, and the sums insured and the conditions are where the real underwriting happens.
Product liability, and the producer's position
A manufacturer is the producer for the purposes of Part I of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, which means liability for damage caused by a defective product attaches directly rather than through a chain. Product liability answers for injury and property damage caused by the goods, not for the cost of the goods themselves and not for a recall, which is separate cover. The territorial limits matter: exports to North America are frequently excluded or separately rated.
Machinery, and the regulations the claim is judged against
Employers' liability answers for injury to the people operating the plant, and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 are the standard those claims are assessed against: equipment suitable for the job, maintained, guarded, and used by trained people. Insurers ask about guarding, maintenance regimes and training records because a claim will be defended with them, and the same records make the premium easier to argue.
What the product has to comply with before it ships
Placing goods on the Great Britain market brings conformity assessment and marking duties, and the requirements are a matter of product safety law rather than insurance. They matter here because a product that did not meet them is a harder claim to defend and because an insurer will ask what standards a manufacturer works to. The compliance file is the same document that helps twice.
The sections beyond liability
Buildings and contents where the premises are yours, plant and machinery at replacement cost, stock and work in progress, and business interruption on an indemnity period long enough to replace a machine with a lead time. Machinery breakdown is its own cover, because a failure from inside the machine is not damage from outside and the main property section does not answer for it.
Questions people ask about manufacturing liability insurance
What insurance does a manufacturer need?
Product liability for goods that have left the premises, employers' liability for the people operating the plant, public liability for visitors, and the property sections: buildings, plant and machinery, stock and work in progress, with business interruption and machinery breakdown.
Does product liability cover a recall?
No. It answers for injury and property damage the product causes. Recalling, replacing or reworking stock is product recall or product guarantee cover, bought and priced separately.
Are exports covered?
Only within the territorial limits on the schedule. Sales to North America are commonly excluded or separately rated, which is easy to miss on a manufacturer selling online, and it is worth checking before the first order ships.
What is machinery breakdown cover?
Cover for failure originating inside the machine, which the property sections do not answer for because nothing damaged it from outside. For a manufacturer whose output depends on one line, it usually sits alongside business interruption.