Canadian Soap-Maker Insurance

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Lindy

Lindy

Soap Diva Queen
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Okay after my little fiasco with my home insurance I have secured insurance (again) and this time it is straight Commercial general Liability Insurance. For 1 million Liability the cost is around $600 dollars per yaer. The company - The Cooperators - so those of you still looking for insurance coverage in Canada check them out!

Cheers
Lindy
 
So regular house insurance will not cover? even if I get extra insurance (I think they called it hobby insurance last time I checked)? I haven't gotten it yet because I'm still waiting for my name request to be approved. I don't know if that matters or not, but there has been alot of flooding here with all the rain/snow, and we live in a basement suite, so I was thinking I'd better get some insurance soon... cause that's alot of money to waste in product/supplies.
 
No - that was the route we originally went and added the home business to the policy - had it all in place and ticking along when our insurance people came back and said that we had to get commercial liability insurance as the underwriters wouldn't include this due to the risk of allergic reaction and people using the soap in a manner not recommended. So after a lot of frustration and searching I finally found a broker who specializes in commercial liability - they ended up with 2 quotes from 2 different insurance companies for me - I also contact The Cooperators. Cooperators came back with a quote of around $600 for $1million and the other two came back with $750 & $825.....

If you're going to sell you will need to have this insurance - if you're only selling through a farmer's market they may have a group insurance you can get.

You will also have to label your soap "Meant for external use only".

Cheers
Lindy
 
Hi Lindy. Thanks for all your information on the business side of things. I have still not found an insurance company that will take a look at me. I will check out the Cooperators. I love soaping, but am a little discouraged at this point - wish me luck!

Heather
 
Thanks for the info Lindy. I think I remember someone saying on here once not to tell the insurance company that you are operating out of your home.... or else your house insurance rate will go WAY up.

I know you are talking about liability insurance for your products here, but did you add anything on to your house insurance policy because you are operating from home?

I'm going to be looking into insurance really soon and I don't know whether I should tell them I'm operating out of my house or not. I'm scared my house insurance will go through the roof since I'm sure I saw someone mention something like that awhile back...

:?:
 
Hi Heather - Co-Operators are who I use and they are absolutely fantastic! Their pricing is the best I was able to find.

Ashley you need to disclose it to your home insurance company. I didn't get an increase in the house insurance at all - it seems that candle making is the kicker here because of the flashpoint of waxes. Since we don't do any "cooking" when we make soap there was no impact there. I did however have to provide proof of my general liability insurance to them. If they find out you're running a business out of your home then they can take your insurance coverage away or if something were to happen deny your claim. Not worth the risk. But then again I did not get any increase in my rates.
 
I've received replies back from 5 of 7 companies I contacted. Only one gave me a quote of $1000 per year. He apologized, but at least gave it an attempt. My homeowner's insurance said absolutely not, and made me sign two waivers regarding any business liabilities. Still waiting to hear from Cooperators.

I disclosed everything to the brokers. I figured I'd rather explain how lye is used in soapmaking, rather than omit it in my info. It's a bit of an uphill battle, but I'm up for it. :D

Heather
(in soap purgatory)
 
That sounds about right - you will find Cooperators to be significantly cheaper - I've heard from other soapers who tell me that they have their insurance through them plus that is the insurance company that our Farmer's Market uses as well.

Keep us updated....

Cheers
Lindy
 
does the Co-Op policy cover you for US sales?
or do you only sell in canada?
and I'm wondering which were the other two companies that quoted you?

I contacted Nacora Insurance brokers & thier program excludes US sales.
$665/year.

Did you access Co-Op directly? or through an Insurance broker?

You should always disclose everything to your broker.. at the end of the day, if you have a loss caused by something you lied about, they could deny your claim.
 
I contacted Cooperators directly through their branch office that was closest to me. The price you've gotten is pretty good - how much liability does that give you if I may ask? I too am limited on selling into the USA - so my web site will only accept Canadian addresses for orders. Since I went through a broker on the other quotes I don't know who they were but I do know I had the US limitation on them too.

I'm sorry I can't be more help but I will say that the price is a really god one!
 
Its $3mm liability, $50K in contents with a $1,000 deductible.
There are a bunch of frills, Business Income is on an ALS basis, stock spoilage is covered including off premises power failure, etc.

Its a pretty nice package for the price - downfall is that US sales is excluded.... POOH!
 

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