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Product liability insurance is a must-have for those involved in the sale, supply or delivery of products to the general public.
Recently, Samsung Electronics Co has faced enormous technical issues with its Galaxy Note7 smartphones, with reported instances of the phones smoking and catching fire.
According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Samsung (as of mid-October) had received 92 reports of the phone’s batteries overheating in the United States. From those cases, there were 26 reports of burns and a further 55 reports of property damage.
Samsung announced it was ceasing production of the phone, and what the ultimate impact on its reputation will be remains unclear. Financially, it’s said the recall could cost the company US$10bn or more. It’s one highly publicised set of events that reinforces the essential need for manufacturers to be appropriately protected against the exposures that arise due to the supply of their products.
Last year, brokers awarded High Street Underwriting Agency the gold medal for product liability in a close contest in IB’s annual Brokers on Underwriting Agencies survey, but this year, High Street has emerged victorious by a clear margin.
Many brokers nominated the agency’s liability products, including product liability, as their top products of 2016.
“High Street is always fast with turnaround times, [has] great rates and [is] always very helpful,” one survey participant told Insurance Business. Another broker described High Street as “easy to deal with” and commended the business for its “fast response with hard-to-place occupations”.
Others similarly commented on the speed of turnaround times, competitive pricing and broad coverage offered.
Coming in second was Miramar Underwriting Agency, and Pen Underwriting was third.
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