Do I need Product liability insurance when selling electrically items on ebay?

[Deleted User]

A bit of advice please , I have an Ebay business account selling mostly collectables and toys but have started to sell Hi fi gear including some high end valve gear which I normally buy from auction or private collections .

Do I need some sort of insurance to cover myself in case the item is faulty and hurts the buyer or their property ?

tacpot12

As a business seller, it would probably be sensible to have insurance. I'm not sure product liability insurance is the correct product though, as this usually covers products that you have built/manufactured yourself. It might be worthwhile seeking out an insurance broker who can advise you on what cover you need. 

OutdoorQueen

[Deleted User] said:

A bit of advice please , I have an Ebay business account selling mostly collectables and toys but have started to sell Hi fi gear including some high end valve gear which I normally buy from auction or private collections .

Do I need some sort of insurance to cover myself in case the item is faulty and hurts the buyer or their property ?

Any electrical goods you sell must meet legal safety requirements .  I don’t think any insurance will avoid this responsibility.  

https://www.businesscompanion.info/en/quick-guides/product-safety/second-hand-electrical-goods

https://www.tradingstandards.uk/news-policy-campaigns/news-room/2018/faulty-second-hand-electrical-goods-could-cost-lives-warns-ctsi/

RFW

OutdoorQueen said:

[Deleted User] said:

A bit of advice please , I have an Ebay business account selling mostly collectables and toys but have started to sell Hi fi gear including some high end valve gear which I normally buy from auction or private collections .

Do I need some sort of insurance to cover myself in case the item is faulty and hurts the buyer or their property ?

Any electrical goods you sell must meet legal safety requirements .  I don’t think any insurance will avoid this responsibility.  

https://www.businesscompanion.info/en/quick-guides/product-safety/second-hand-electrical-goods

https://www.tradingstandards.uk/news-policy-campaigns/news-room/2018/faulty-second-hand-electrical-goods-could-cost-lives-warns-ctsi/

Definitely familiarise yourself with the legal side of selling second hand electrical goods as a business. It's not something I do but I do know there's a fair bit to make sure you're doing it legitimately. It may be worth having a chat with your local Trading Standards, you can usually find them through your local council. Only when you know all the rules and have that covered should you look at insurance.

[Deleted User]

RFW said:

OutdoorQueen said:

[Deleted User] said:

A bit of advice please , I have an Ebay business account selling mostly collectables and toys but have started to sell Hi fi gear including some high end valve gear which I normally buy from auction or private collections .

Do I need some sort of insurance to cover myself in case the item is faulty and hurts the buyer or their property ?

Any electrical goods you sell must meet legal safety requirements .  I don’t think any insurance will avoid this responsibility.  

https://www.businesscompanion.info/en/quick-guides/product-safety/second-hand-electrical-goods

https://www.tradingstandards.uk/news-policy-campaigns/news-room/2018/faulty-second-hand-electrical-goods-could-cost-lives-warns-ctsi/

Definitely familiarise yourself with the legal side of selling second hand electrical goods as a business. It's not something I do but I do know there's a fair bit to make sure you're doing it legitimately. It may be worth having a chat with your local Trading Standards, you can usually find them through your local council. Only when you know all the rules and have that covered should you look at insurance.

 Thanks , spoke to an insurance provider today about cover and they said I need product liability cover ,  this is not available as a stand alone product so needs to be bought with Public liability .

The cover could not be got through a standard insurer as  the electronic items which I am selling are used , they were able to find a company to provide cover but it will cost me  £270 for a year which I was not expecting .. 95% of my sales are non electrically .

Still not 100% sure if it is requited though . 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

[Deleted User] said:

Still not 100% sure if it is requited though . 

I don't believe it's a requirement, rather it's to protect you from the risk of losing money if something you sell harms someone through no fault of their own so a personal choice of whether to insure that risk or bear it yourself.