Craft business insurance question

[iwantacountrylife]

A bit of advice/views appreciated here...

I'm about to start selling homemade, handmade home accessories (cushions, garlands, lampshades, bunting etc) and wondered whether I need any special kind of insurance - public liability, product liability etc. I know that, legally, I don't have to have it, but if you run this kind of business do you have these insurances? I'm going to be selling online - etsy, folksy, Facebook - and may try to do some local craft fairs (although presume the organisers of these will have public liability cover in place).

TIA.

I did. There's a few main suppliers. I've used Manor Insurance and Ian Wallace. The market traders federation (or something similar) is another one. The prices are roughly similar but the cheapest tends to depend on how many craft fairs you want to do, etc.

If you're planning on doing craft fairs it's worth knowing that many will insist you have your own public liability insurance and have a minimum cover amount (IME it was often 2 million or 5 million depending on size of fair)

the organisers of craft fairs may well NOT have cover for you
but these people www.nmtf.co.uk/ may well be able to help

Try the Artist network www.a-n.co.uk/ Artist +AIR membership
For practising artists, includes AIR membership, £5m Public and Product Liability insurance, full online access. Annual subscription £36
This represents the best value that I have come across

Most craft fairs do not cover you for public liability, only themselves as organisers - GM Imber do a good policy with various levels pf cover

I think it's a really good idea to have Product Liability Insurance, and probably not as expensive as you might think. I used TH March, because they had a specific Craft Policy which understood the specific risks of our type of business, such as leaving stock in a car and so on. My bank were always trying to sell me business insurance, but couldn't really understand the nature of what I did, and couldn't compete on price either!

If your selling anything to the public get insured. There will always be some dickhead who will try to screw you.

Sorry to jump in, but I'm in the same situation. Andi4asg: would the air
membership and insurance be suitable for crafts and sewing people or is it just for "proper" artists?