Plasterboard Importer, $20M Public and Products Liability

An importer of building products came to us for liability cover. Their business was importing plasterboard into Australia and distributing it to wholesalers - no storage of dangerous goods, with product delivered directly to wholesalers. They moved 20 to 40 containers a month on revenue of around $7 million, and the principal had 25 years of industry experience.

They needed $20 million public and products liability. Because they import the product rather than make it, the products liability side carries real weight - under the Australian Consumer Law, an importer can be treated as the manufacturer where the overseas maker has no presence here.

We built a detailed picture of the operation - the import volumes, the direct-to-wholesaler model, the country of origin and the quality controls - and took it to liability markets, including specialist underwriting agencies.

• We approached six markets across our liability panel for $20 million public and products cover.
• Several markets referred or stepped back on appetite; imported-product risks at this limit sit with a narrower set of markets.
• We set out the quality control process - manufacturer testing during production and the client's own pack testing on each container - so underwriters could see how product risk was managed.

Getting an importer to a $20 million products limit comes down to presenting the supply chain and the controls clearly to the markets that write this kind of risk.

Imported product is a narrower market than domestic manufacturing or general liability. At a $20 million limit, the field of insurers with appetite tightens further, so several markets referred the risk or could not assist.

We also had to tidy up the scope. The client held interests in related businesses and distributed other product lines that did not need cover under this policy, so we confirmed with the underwriter exactly what was in and out to keep the cover clean.

We placed $20 million public and products liability through About Underwriting, a specialist market with appetite for imported building products.

The importer had the high products limit their position called for, with the cover scoped to the actual business rather than the wider group.

This case shows what matters for importers. The products liability exposure is the real risk, and reaching a high limit takes specialist market access and a clear account of the supply chain and quality controls.