MyMamaMadeIt

Hi all you crafty mamas out there! Do any of you carry liability insurance? I've been looking into sending samples out to some diapering sites and they all ask for a proof of liability insurance! Should I be worried that I might get sued while making cloth diapers?

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My Mama Made It A sewing blog from Dewdrop Handmades.

Dewdrop Handmades: Naturally Inspired Cloth Diapers, Nursing Necessities, Baby Wraps, & Boutique Clothing and Accessories.

stufffromthebunker

people sue for all sorts of strange reasons. I don't carry liability insureance. According to our insurance man even though the studio is on our property as long as I do under a set dollar amount our home owners will cover anything that might happen. It did raise our insurance rate a little bit to have coverage for liability and to cover all our tools and supplies.

It could be with the new laws covering items for children they are simply covering their @ss. Seems strange they would want it just to look at your samples. I have started putting on all of my items, Not a toy, Not intended for children. Even my jewelry now has that on it because of the new laws. Our accountant recommended we do that. I will also have signs up saying that at the craft shows we do from now on.

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KathyL22

I'm brand new to this forum but an old hand at the crafting biz. Are you asking about actually product liability insurance or business insurance? Product liablity insurance will not be covered in your home owners policy. It will ensure you against most problems that may arise from your product itself. Business insurance will insure you against things like damage to your booth or a neighbors booth caused by you (if you do shows), or someone injuring themselves in your booth. And remember, of you are not a formal business, or your business is set up as a sole proprietor, if someone sues you and you do not have insurance, your personal assets are not protected. Not to sound like a major downer, but without business insurance at the very least, your home and all you own can be part of a law suit. I've seen fellow artists/crafters learn this the hard way, and I just hate to see it happen when it's preventable.

Kathy

MyMamaMadeIt

Does anyone have an insurance company recommendation? My homeowners insurance is through State Farm and they said they would not underwrite a company such as myself and I need to look at some of the independent companies? I'm not sure where to start -

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My Mama Made It A sewing blog from Dewdrop Handmades.

Dewdrop Handmades: Naturally Inspired Cloth Diapers, Nursing Necessities, Baby Wraps, & Boutique Clothing and Accessories.

DangerMouse

Good grief! This makes me a bit worried about sending out my 'floaters'!
"Warning, do not let children eat this wooden box"

DM

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ambersmith59

Things are likely a little different here in Canada but I have to have a separate insurance for my home based business because my home owners insurance won't cover any professional loss in case of fire, theft etc. Nor will they cover any insurance claims if say a postal/courier company got injured on my property and they were here because of my work, or if someone decided to sue me over my product.
I have coverage from my State Farm Insurance agent, it's a small annual premium of I think $275 and we pay it monthly with our house and car payments (broken into monthly payments it's really not hard at about 22 bucks). It also protects any of my work that's off property, so if I have items that are on exhibit or have a craft show then everything is covered in case something awful happens.

Breconeer

One of the events next June, for which I need to book in the next week or so, requires me to show my certificate of Public Liability Insurance at the time I make the booking - which I guess means I'll have to take out the necessary insurance six months before I actually need it. Fortunately it doesn't cost much (£48 for £5million cover for 12 months), but I guess i am likely to encounter the same requirement on a few other stall bookings, in which case I'll probably be paying each year anyway.

The two best quotes I've had (which compare with others 3-4 times higher) are £48 at CMTIA (Combined market Traders Insurance Association), and £55 for the same cover at G.M.Imber & Sons Ltd.

It is basically to cover me against injuries or damage incurred by customers and others visiting or passing by my stalls. (Dropping my goods on their feet, scuffing their hands or clothes, tripping over lighting cables or guyropes, etc, etc.) The booking fee paid to the event organizer does include some level of insurance - but not sufficient apparently.

It is possible to purchase insurance event by event, for a lower premium. But that works out more expensive if more than two events per year are planned.