Starting any business can be a chaotic and stressful time. Additionally, Dietary Supplement companies have to worry about the additional risks that come from ingestible products. When you are a young company with a limited budget, what types of insurance coverage do you really need?
Check out Bolton’s Lisa Marcus, Vice President of Customer Experience, as she interviews Chris Morey, Associate Producer of Dietary Supplement Group about the best insurance choices for start-ups in the Dietary Supplement and Sports Nutrition industries.
Here is the transcript of the interview:
Lisa: Let’s say that I was coming out with a protein bar. I’m a startup owner without a lot of money. The first thing I’m going to tell you is “Do I really need this coverage?” How would you counsel someone like that?
Chris: For anyone who is bringing out a new product that someone is consuming, insurance should be one of their first thoughts. As soon as someone consumes your product, there is that risk that they could get sick, cause bodily injury, even die (worst-case scenario). In today’s suit-happy world, claims are very common. So, being a startup, regardless of cost, you should always be considering a product liability policy to protect your assets in the event of a claim.
Lisa: Product Liability is one area, but I know a follow-up question that someone will always ask is “What else should I be thinking of? I start off with product liability, but what other risks are out there?” What other risks are out there to be a startup in this space?
Chris: It’s all dependent on the size [of the company]. Though you might be a startup, you might have employees so that’s where worker’s compensation comes into play. If you are working out of a commercial space, either leasing a location or you own a manufacturing warehouse, a large space, you would look into property coverage. There are a whole bunch of coverages we could get into details on such as product recall [insurance], Directors & Officers coverage, but Product Liability is the first and foremost policy that I would recommend considering.
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Having appropriate coverage within the dietary supplements industry is crucial to protecting your reputation and business. For more information about common dietary supplement insurance issues, check out our resource page. If you have further questions, please feel free to reach out to me or Greg Doherty at the Bolton Dietary Supplement Group at 626.535.1459.
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