Insurance, and what your policy excludes
Updated
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The cheapest risk control in this business, and the one people buy without reading.
Product liability is the one that matters
General liability covers somebody tripping over your table. Product liability covers a claim arising from the product itself.
They are frequently sold together and they are not the same cover. A market asking for proof of insurance is usually asking about the first, and the second is the one that protects the business.
A lip product goes on the mouth and is partly ingested. Reactions are rare and they are the exposure.
What the exclusions usually are
Read for these specifically, because they are the ones that bite in this category.
Products making drug claims. A policy written for cosmetics may exclude a product that is an OTC drug, which means a medicated or SPF balm can fall outside cover you believe you have.
Ingredients on a named exclusion list. Some insurers exclude particular botanicals or essential oils.
Products sold outside a stated territory, which catches online sales abroad.
Claims arising from a product you did not manufacture, which reaches private-label work in both directions.
What markets and retailers ask for
A certificate, at a stated limit, sometimes naming them as an additional insured.
Wholesale accounts ask more often and at higher limits than markets do, so if wholesale is the plan, buy for that rather than upgrading later.
Getting the cover right
Tell the insurer exactly what you make and how you label it, including whether any product carries a monograph active. An accurate description is what makes the policy respond.
And tell them when that changes. Adding an SPF line without telling your insurer is how a business discovers, at the worst moment, that its cover ended when the product changed.