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Mid-market insurance
Consumer brand insurance is a programme for businesses that design, source and sell their own goods, combining product liability, recall, stock, property, cyber and overseas cover. It matters because the brand usually carries the legal risk even when manufacturing is outsourced.
Part of: Commercial insurance
In short
Consumer brands that design, source and sell their own goods through stores, wholesale and online carry the producer's risk even when manufacturing is outsourced. Under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, a business that puts its name on a product or imports it into the UK can be liable for defects. A sound programme usually combines product liability with the right territory, product recall, stock throughput across factories, transit, warehouses and concessions, property and business interruption, cyber and crime for online trading, and directors' and officers' cover, with intellectual property and overseas cover added where the model needs them.
A brand that designs, sources and sells its own goods through stores, wholesale accounts and its own website usually needs product liability with the right territory, product recall, stock cover across the supply chain, property and business interruption for offices, stores and warehouses, cyber and crime cover for online trading, and directors' and officers' liability. Intellectual property and overseas cover are added where the business model calls for them.
| Exposure | Typical cover | Point to check |
|---|---|---|
| Injury or damage caused by products | Products liability | Territory, especially US and Canada sales, and retailer contract requirements |
| Withdrawing or recalling products | Product recall | Trigger, costs included and whether customers' costs are covered |
| Stock at factories, in transit, at 3PLs and in stores | Stock throughput or property plus transit | Peak values by location and when risk passes |
| Store, office and warehouse damage | Property and business interruption | Indemnity period and supplier extensions |
| Website outage, data breach, ransomware | Cyber | Business interruption from system downtime and payment data |
| Payment diversion, stock theft by staff | Crime | Social engineering limits |
| Claims against directors | Directors' and officers' | Investor and lender requirements |
Outsourcing manufacture does not outsource liability. Under section 2 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, liability for damage caused by a defective product can fall on the producer, on a business that holds itself out as the producer by putting its name or trade mark on the product, and on the importer into the United Kingdom. A brand selling goods made by a contract factory under its own label is usually in at least one of those categories. A retailer or distributor that cannot identify its supplier when asked can also become liable.
Territory matters as much as limit. Many UK liability policies cover sales worldwide but treat the US and Canada differently, through exclusions, lower limits or separate terms. Sales through a website or marketplace can put goods into those territories even without a distributor there; see US product liability for UK exporters.
Wholesale and retail customers commonly set minimum liability limits in their supply terms, ask for contractual indemnities and ask to be noted on the policy. Check that the policy can respond to what the contract promises, because an indemnity wider than the cover leaves the gap with the brand. For more on own-label risks, see own-brand products insurance and product liability insurance.
The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 set the baseline for consumer goods not covered by sector rules. According to Business Companion guidance for distributors, distributors must not supply products they know, as professionals, are dangerous, must notify their supplier immediately if a product poses risks, must inform local Trading Standards where contacting the supplier is difficult, and must keep traceability records for at least six years. Enforcement authorities can issue a recall notice where voluntary action by producers and distributors is insufficient.
The government's product safety notification guidance says recalls and modification programmes are routinely notified and published, so a recall is usually public. Product liability insurance generally does not pay for withdrawing stock or contacting customers; recall cover can, depending on the wording, including notification, retrieval, disposal and sometimes replacement or lost profit. Some policies also cover the costs your retail customers incur in clearing shelves. Sector rules, such as those for electrical goods, toys or cosmetics, can add further duties. The product recall scenario shows how a recall unfolds.
Consumer brands typically hold stock at overseas factories, in containers, at third-party logistics sites, in their own stores, in department store concessions and on sale or return with wholesale customers. Insuring each location separately invites gaps. Stock throughput insurance follows the goods through the supply chain under one policy, with declarations that can reflect seasonal peaks.
For a brand that sells online, a website outage is a trading interruption. Cyber insurance can cover incident response, data restoration, notification costs and loss of profit from system downtime, depending on the wording. Customer data and payment handling bring regulatory exposure: data protection in the UK is overseen by the Information Commission (formerly the ICO) from 30 September 2026. See cyber for retailers and ecommerce for card data points, and commercial crime insurance for payment diversion and supplier invoice fraud.
Intellectual property cuts both ways. A brand can be accused of copying a design, logo or product name, and may want to enforce its own rights against copies. General liability policies usually give little or no cover for IP infringement, though some include limited advertising injury cover. Specialist IP defence and pursuit cover exists for brands where design or trade marks are central to value.
Where goods are made overseas, the factory's local insurance is unlikely to protect the UK brand. Contract terms with the factory should cover quality, indemnities and the factory's own insurance, but the brand's policy is what responds to UK claims. Importer insurance covers related points.
Brands with overseas subsidiaries, warehouses or stores may need locally issued policies in some countries, co-ordinated with UK cover through a global insurance programme. Marine cargo or stock throughput cover handles goods moving between territories, and goods in transit insurance can cover domestic deliveries where stock throughput is not used.
A homeware brand finds that a glaze used by its contract factory on one range may crack under heat. It withdraws the line from its website and asks wholesale customers to clear shelves. Product liability would usually respond only to injury or damage claims. Recall cover with a suitable trigger might pay notification, retrieval and disposal costs, and possibly customers' costs, subject to the policy terms.
Bring a list of products and where they are made, sales by channel and country, retailer contract terms, peak stock by location and your recall procedure. An insurance programme review can test whether the covers fit together.
Apex arranges insurance programmes for consumer brands; a broker reads every enquiry.
Usually, yes. Under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, a business that puts its name or trade mark on a product, or imports it into the UK, can be liable as if it were the producer. The factory's own insurance is unlikely to protect you, so most brands hold product liability in their own name.
Generally not. Product liability usually covers your legal liability for injury or damage to property caused by a product. The costs of withdrawing stock, notifying customers, retrieving and disposing of goods are typically covered, if at all, by a separate product recall policy, depending on its trigger and wording.
It is worth checking. Many UK liability policies exclude or restrict claims brought in the US or Canada, and online sales can put goods into those territories without any local distributor. If you ship there, tell your broker the volumes so the policy territory and limits can be set to match.
Usually you do. The host store's policy commonly protects the host's own property and liability, not a concession holder's stock or fit-out, and concession agreements often require you to insure both and hold public liability at a stated limit. Check the agreement and make sure the location is in your stock cover.
Many cyber policies include business interruption cover for loss of profit when your systems are disrupted by a cyber event, subject to a waiting period and the policy terms. Outages at a third-party platform or hosting provider may be covered more narrowly, so check how the wording treats dependent systems.
Send us your current schedules or renewal pack and we will review the whole programme and tell you plainly what to keep and what to change. No fee and no obligation. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Book a programme review Get a quoteApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
