LIFE SCIENCES CASE STUDY
Maternity Therapeutic Device Hire Business
Standard insurers declined on the combination of medical device hire and consumer-facing exposure. We placed PL and Product Liability with a specialist market.
THE SITUATION
A specialist maternity support business came to us needing cover for a hire-and-reward model. The business supplies low-voltage therapeutic devices to expectant clients for use during pregnancy, labour and early recovery.
The devices themselves are manufactured overseas and imported. The Australian business doesn't manufacture. They inspect, prepare, hire out and recover each unit, and handle the client-facing relationship directly.
On the risk side, this placement sits at an awkward intersection. It's not quite a retail product business, it's not quite a clinical service, and it's not quite a straight equipment hire. Standard business pack policies aren't built to price this combination of exposures, and most standard markets decline on occupation.
OUR APPROACH
Two things had to be true for this placement to work. The submission had to make the hire model explicit (not dressed up as retail sales, and not dressed up as a clinical consultation), and the broker had to reach markets that actually underwrite medical device distribution.
We built the submission around:
- The exact description of the hire-and-reward model
- Evidence of manufacturer compliance and the low-voltage safety classification
- The client-facing protocols around fitting, instructions and support
- The recovery, inspection and maintenance cycle between hires
From there, we went to specialist markets that will write imported medical device distribution and consumer-facing product exposure on one policy.
THE CHALLENGES
Multiple standard insurers declined before the submission landed with a specialist market. The reasoning was consistent. Mainstream insurers didn't want to write medical device exposure, and the ones that were comfortable with medical device exposure wanted a manufacturer, not a hirer.
The second challenge was the overseas manufacturing link. Any time an Australian business stands behind a product that was made overseas, insurers want comfort on the compliance paper trail. We worked with the client to surface the relevant certificates and specifications before going to market.
THE OUTCOME
We placed Public Liability and Product Liability cover on the hired therapeutic devices through a specialist underwriter. Annual premium came in at around $2,800 for the full programme.
The client now has a policy that responds to the hire-and-reward model they actually operate, rather than a stretched business pack wording that would have fallen over at the first claim.
For anyone operating in medical device hire, distribution or import, the insurance answer almost never sits in the retail business pack market. It sits in specialist life sciences markets that understand hire-and-reward and imported device compliance. See our life sciences insurance hub for more on how these placements work, or read our guide to product liability insurance.
Put this placement in context
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A few declines doesn't mean you're uninsurable. It usually means the submission hasn't reached the right market yet. Talk to our team about how we place life sciences, biotech, medical device and consumer chemical risks.