Industries

Manufacturing & Wholesale Insurance

Products liability, property, business income and transit coverage for small manufacturers, food producers, importers and wholesale distributors.

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Small manufacturers and metal or wood fabricators
Food and beverage manufacturers
Specialty food producers and co-packers
Importers of consumer and industrial goods
Wholesale distributors
Food and grocery distributors
Contract packagers and assemblers
Private-label suppliers to retailers

When you make, import or distribute a product, your liability follows it out the door. A defect, contamination or labeling error can lead to injury claims, customer chargebacks or a recall, sometimes years after the product shipped.

We help manufacturers, food producers, importers, and distributors across the U.S. review the risks involved in making, storing, selling, and moving their products. We start with what you make or sell, where it comes from, who buys it and how it moves.

Larger customers often set insurance terms in vendor agreements: required limits, vendors endorsements (which extend your products coverage to the retailers that sell your goods), proof of recall coverage and certificates. We review those requirements alongside the risks of your own operation.

Common risks

Products liability

Injury or property damage caused by a product you made, imported or sold can lead to claims against everyone in the supply chain. When a foreign manufacturer can't be reached, the importer can end up treated like the manufacturer.

Product recall

Most general liability policies exclude the cost of recalling, withdrawing or replacing products. If a recall would be costly for your business, or a customer asks for proof of recall coverage, ask about separate product recall or contamination insurance. What these policies include varies widely.

Property and business income

A fire, roof collapse or major machinery breakdown can stop production for months. Business income coverage can help replace lost income and continuing expenses, but the limit and time period need to reflect how long rebuilding and replacing equipment would really take.

Goods in transit

Products on your own trucks or with common carriers may fall outside your property policy once they leave your location, and a carrier's liability for your freight is often limited to well below its value. Transit coverage, a type of inland marine insurance, can help fill that gap.

Vendor and retailer contract requirements

Retailers commonly require being added as additional insured under a vendors endorsement, minimum products limits and sometimes recall coverage. Vendors endorsements carry their own exclusions, such as relabeling or repackaging by the vendor, so the wording matters.

Warehouse operations

Forklifts, racking, loading docks and stored inventory create injury and property risks. If you store goods owned by others, ask about warehouse legal liability, which can respond when you're legally responsible for damage to their goods in your care.

Coverage to consider

Insurance options depend on your business, location, licensing requirements and carrier availability.

General Liability InsuranceProducts-completed operations liability for what you make, import or sell, plus vendors endorsements for your customers.
Commercial Property InsuranceBuilding, machinery, stock and business income, with options such as equipment breakdown and spoilage.
Inland Marine InsuranceGoods in transit and property at other locations. If you store goods owned by others, ask about warehouse legal liability for their property in your care.
Product recallAsk about product recall or contamination coverage if a recall would be costly or a customer requires it. General liability usually excludes recall expenses.
Workers' Compensation InsuranceInjuries on the production floor and in the warehouse; requirements vary by state.
Umbrella & Excess Liability InsuranceHigher liability limits that retailers and distributors often require on top of general liability and auto.
Commercial Auto InsuranceDelivery trucks and vans, plus hired auto for rented vehicles and non-owned auto for employees' own vehicles used for work.
Cyber Liability InsuranceRansomware and system outages that can halt ordering, production and shipping.

How quoting works

01
Start with your business
Tell us what you do, where you work and what you want to protect — or send your current policy.
02
Explore your options
We approach insurance companies that consider your type of business and explain the available choices.
03
Talk it through
A licensed ALP agent reviews coverage, limits, deductibles and price with you before you decide.

Written by ALP Insurance

Common contract and certificate requirements

Retailer or distributor added as additional insured under a vendors endorsement
Minimum products-completed operations aggregate and umbrella limits set by the vendor agreement
Proof of product recall coverage, often requested by larger food buyers
Waiver of subrogation and primary and non-contributory wording in supply agreements
Certificates for landlords and third-party warehouses where your inventory is stored

A certificate is evidence of insurance; the policy and its endorsements provide the coverage. Send us the insurance section of your vendor agreement and we'll compare it with your policy.

Certificate Center →

Helpful information for a quote

A description of your products, with sales by product line
Where products are made or sourced, including imported goods and countries of origin
Annual sales, payroll and number of employees
Building details, equipment values and inventory values by location
Quality control, labeling and recall procedures
Current policies and loss runs (claims history reports) for the last 3–5 years, if you've been insured before
Vendor agreements and insurance requirements from your key customers

Have what you can — we'll ask for anything else an insurance company needs. Starting a new business? You can begin without prior policies or loss runs.

Upload your current policy

Frequently asked questions

Does general liability include product recall?

Usually not. Most general liability policies exclude the cost of recalling or withdrawing products. If recall is a concern, or a customer asks for proof of recall coverage, ask about separate product recall or contamination insurance.

What is a vendors endorsement?

It adds a retailer or distributor as an additional insured for claims arising from your products they sell. It typically excludes things like repackaging or changes the vendor makes to the product, so the exact wording matters.

I import products made overseas. Am I treated like the manufacturer?

You can be. When a foreign manufacturer has no U.S. presence or insurance, claimants often pursue the importer, so insurance companies look closely at your suppliers, contracts and quality controls.

We store goods for other companies. Does our property policy protect them?

Often not fully. Property policies focus on your own property and often limit property of others. Warehouse legal liability can respond when you're legally responsible for damage to customers' goods in your care, and your storage agreements affect that responsibility, so ask us to review the coverage alongside those agreements.

Does my property policy reach inventory at a third-party warehouse?

It depends on the policy. Many property policies limit coverage at unlisted locations and in transit, so list every warehouse and ask us to review your transit coverage.

How should I set my business income limit?

Estimate how long it would take to rebuild, replace equipment and win back customers, then project lost profit and continuing expenses over that period. A business income worksheet helps, and we can walk through one with you.