Learn how cosmetics manufacturers insurance helps cosmetics & pottery industry manufacturing businesses protect themselves against the many complex risks they face every day. Whether your business is large or small, or you make one or many products – you need the right commercial insurance program to protect you.
Cosmetics Manufacturers Insurance
Cosmetics Manufacturers Insurance. Cosmetic manufacturers produce items designed to enhance the appearance or smell of the human body. Products include makeup; hair care products such as shampoos, conditioners, gels and hair dyes; skin care products from sunscreens to exfoliates to anti-aging creams; dental products from toothpaste to whiteners; nail products; perfumes and fragrances; deodorants and antiperspirants; and shaving products for both men and women.
Raw ingredients include organic, chemical, or synthetic substances. Processes may include aeration, blending, cooling, crushing, filtering, heating, molding, tinting, washing, or pressurizing of aerosol containers. Many cosmetic manufacturers have laboratories for product development, testing, and quality control. The industry is regulated by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Some cosmetic products that claim to have medicinal qualities are regulated by the FDA as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs.
As a cosmetics manufacturer, it’s likely that you produce a wide variety of products, from lipstick to foundation, and from eye shadow and mascara. It’s also likely that you work with a broad range of clients, from independent consultants to large retailers. Of course, you do your best to ensure that you are providing the very best and safest products possible. Furthermore, you must make sure that all of your hard-working employees are working in a safe environment and that the commercial space you operate out of is taken care of.
To sum it up, there are a lot of things that you have to tend to as a cosmetics manufacturer. Despite your best efforts to certify that your business is running smoothly and all of your responsibilities are taken care of, there’s always a chance that something could go awry. In order to safeguard yourself from unexpected incidents, it’s important that you have the right type of cosmetics manufacturers insurance coverage.
The Importance Of Insurance For Cosmetic Manufacturing
What would you do if a supplier or any other third-party were to sustain an injury on your property and file a lawsuit? How would you handle a work-related accident that an employee might suffer if a piece of machinery malfunctions? What would happen if one of your biggest clients claimed that the beauty products you manufactured were tainted and caused serious allergic reactions in countless customers? All of these types of situations have serious financial repercussions. As the owner of your cosmetics manufacturing business, you are responsible for paying any medical bills, damages, and legal fees that are associated with any of the aforementioned situations – and various other liabilities.
The costs of various liabilities can be exorbitant, and if you had to pay them out of your own pocket, you could be in serious trouble. Not only could you end up going bankrupt, but there’s also a very real possibility that you could lose your entire business. In order to avoid financial devastation, having the right insurance coverage is crucial. If you have cosmetics manufacturers insurance, instead of paying these expenses yourself, your provider will help to pay for the costs of covered risks.
Types Of Insurance For Cosmetics Manufacturers
There are a number of insurance policies recommended for cosmetics manufacturers, including the following:
- Products Liability – The very core of your business is producing cosmetics products. Despite the fact that you work diligently to ensure that you are producing the safest products that adhere to the highest quality standards, problems can arise. If an ingredient is tainted, for example, an entire batch of cosmetics could end up being tainted and injure those who use it. If this type of situation or something similar occurs, you could be looking at multi-million dollar lawsuits. Product liability insurance will help to protect you from the financial risks that are associated with legal claims if your products malfunction and cause injuries.
- Commercial General Liability – This type of insurance is also a must for cosmetics manufacturers. It protects you from any third-party injuries or property damages that you or one of your employees may cause. For instance, if a client slips and falls on a puddle, suffers an injury, and takes legal action, commercial general liability insurance will cover the costs.
- Commercial Property – This form of coverage protects the physical structure of your business, as well as the contents within it, from things like storm damage, fire damage, theft, and acts of vandalism. If a tree falls on your building and damages the roof an siding, as well as some of the machinery within it, your commercial property insurance will help to cover the cost of repairing and replacing the damages.
- Workers’ Compensation – If an employee suffers a work-related injury or illness, workers comp coverage will cover the cost of his or her medical care and lost wages. It can also assist with legal fees should the employee decide to take legal action.
The above are just some of the types of cosmetics manufacturers insurance coverage that cosmetics manufacturing businesses should invest in.
Cosmetics Products Manufacturing’s Perils And Risks
Property exposures include offices, processing areas, and warehouses for raw materials and finished goods. Ignition sources include electrical wiring, heating and cooling equipment, overheated production machinery, buildup of static electricity, escape of fumes from storage tanks, and refueling of forklifts. The large draft spaces in storage warehouses can contribute to the spread of a fire. Hair sprays, nail polishes, nail polish removers, perfumes, and colognes are highly flammable.
Cosmetics are very susceptible to spoilage and may have little salvage value if contaminated by heat, smoke, or water. Cooling equipment may contain ammonia, which can explode if not property monitored. If there is a laboratory, Bunsen burners and chemicals may ignite or explode. Firms that use animals for product testing may be subject to vandalism in connection with protests.
Appropriate security controls should be taken including physical barriers to prevent entrance to the premises after hours and an alarm system that reports directly to a central station or the police department.
Business interruption exposure can be high because a large loss can result in lengthy downtime for repairing or replacing production equipment.
Equipment breakdown exposures include breakdown of building systems, cooling equipment, conveyors other production machinery, electrical control panels and other apparatus. Breakdown and loss of use to the production machinery could result in significant loss, both direct and indirect, notably, time element.
Crime exposures are chiefly from employee dishonesty and theft of money and securities. The exposure may be substantial for manufacturers of name brand or high-end cosmetics. Employees may act alone or in collusion with outsiders in stealing money, raw materials, trade secrets, or finished stock. Background checks should be conducted on all employees. There must be a separation of duties between persons handling deposits and disbursements and handling bank statements.
Inland marine exposures include accounts receivable if the manufacturer offers credit to customers, computers (which may include computer-run production equipment), goods in transit, and valuable papers and records for customers’ and suppliers’ information as well as quality control testing results and proprietary formulas used for products. Goods in transit may be damaged by fire, theft, collision and overturn, spillage, contamination or aerosol explosion.
Premises liability exposure can be severe, especially if aerosols are stored on premises. The manufacturer may have a showroom for sales representatives from vendors, or may conduct tours. Visitors may be injured by slips, trips, or falls, or may be exposed to toxic or caustic chemicals. Ingredients may be reactive or toxic. Dust particles from dryers and fumes, fires, or spills or leaks from tanks may cause serious injuries to passersby or damage neighboring properties.
Products liability exposure tends to be limited to skin rashes and minor eye infections from irritants, allergic reactions, chemical burns, and contamination during use (for example, diseases transmitted by the sharing of a product). Although products must comply with FDA standards, for cosmetics these standards are generally limited to labeling and purity. Advertising or packaging showing that products are “anti-aging,” “hypoallergenic,” “alcohol free,” or made from “natural” ingredients may be misleading as the FDA has no standards for these terms.
Unless the products claim medicinal qualities (in which case they are monitored by the FDA as over-the-counter drugs), the prime product considerations are the manufacturer’s safety, testing, labeling, and overall quality control methods.
Environmental impairment exposure can be moderate to high. Sudden or cumulative discharges of chemicals used as additives may contaminate air, surface or ground water, or soil. Disposal procedures must adhere to all EPA and other regulatory standards. Processing may cause thermal or noise pollution. There may be tanks on premises with the potential for spillage and contamination. If there are underground tanks, a UST policy may be required.
Commercial auto exposure may be very high if the manufacturer transports raw materials or finished products. Manufacturers generally have private passenger fleets used by sales representatives. There should be written procedures regarding the private use of these vehicles by others. Each driver should have an appropriate license and an acceptable MVR. All vehicles must be well maintained with documentation kept in a central location. Transport of aerosols is hazardous because the products need to be kept at cooler temperatures. Refrigerated trucks used for this purpose should be well maintained to prevent overheating and explosion.
Workers compensation exposures may be high. Injuries from production machinery are common, as are burns, cuts, slips, trips, falls, hearing loss from machinery noise, and back injuries from lifting. Employees should be provided with safety training and protective equipment. Ergonomically designed workstations can prevent repetitive motion injury. Aerosol containers may explode and injure workers. Exposure to chemicals could result in skin and eye irritations and respiratory problems.
Chemicals should be labeled so that workers and their supervisors are aware of the contents and can be aware of early warning signs of problems. Drivers of forklifts and vehicles may be injured in accidents.
Cosmetics Manufacturers Insurance – The Bottom Line
We hope this article on cosmetics manufacturers insurance has been informative. To find out about any other policies you should have and how much coverage you should carry, consult with a reputable insurance broker.