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Craft insurance – Compare cheap liability insurance policies 

Whether you make handcrafted products that you sell at summer craft fairs and fetes, or you own a small craft shop or giftware in your local town or village, it might be a good idea to invest in a relatively cheap craft insurance policy in order to protect yourself against the risk of potentially costly liability claims.

Not only can this type of policy help you cover the costs if someone is injured while visiting your shop or market stall and you are held liable, but if a member of the public’s property or belongings are damaged crafters insurance can help with the legal expenses and compensation pay-outs in those cases as well.

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Does craft public liability insurance cover me for items I sell online?

No, not exactly.

The public liability insurance component of your craft insurance policy is designed to protect you against the financial impact of liability claims made by members of the public, either because they suffered an injury in your shop or at your stall and you are held liable, or because something happened to their property or belongings and the incident is considered to be your fault.

However, when you’re taking out craft insurance it’s usually possible to bundle a number of different add-ons with your policy, and one of those can help to protect you from liability claims if you sell online.

Product liability insurance protects businesses and sole traders against the risk of liability claims that might arise due to faulty products. If you sell your handcrafted jewellery, clothes, furniture, food or tableware via online marketplaces like Etsy, Folksy or Notonthehighstreet, this product liability add-on could product you if one of those customers sued you.

What other add-ons can I bundle with my crafter insurance?

In addition to product liability insurance, if you’re taking out a craft insurance policy you will often be offered the option to bundle several other add-ons with your cover. Some of the most common add-ons include:

• Employers’ liability insurance: Many jewellery makers, woodworkers, potters and ceramicists are self-employed, in which case this add-on might not be relevant. However, if you do employ staff you have a legal obligation to take out employers’ liability insurance, even if those employees only work for you on a part time basis.
• Professional indemnity insurance: While this add-on is often seen as a policy designed to protect consultants, financial advisers and other professionals who earn a living by providing their expertise to clients, it might be useful to protect some crafters as well, particularly those who might offer craft seminars and workshops to customers.

Is craft insurance legally required?

No, craft insurance is a type of public liability insurance, so from a legal standpoint you are under no obligation to take out a policy no matter what you do for a living.

However, many jewellery makers, potters, workworkers and cake makers sell their wares at craft fairs, garden shows, country fairs and other events, and in many cases the event organisers for those events will make it a contractual obligation that crafters sign up for a public liability insurance policy before the day of the event.

It’s also important to bear in mind that crafters that have their own craft shop or gift shop face a much higher risk of liability claims by members of the public than people making handcrafted items at home and selling them online, so if you do own a shop it might be a good idea to consider public liability insurance for crafters even though it isn’t mandatory.

Does this type of insurance cover me if I’m sued by a bride because there was a problem with her wedding cake?

No, as the name suggests public liability insurance for cake makers is intended to protect cake makers and cake decorators against the risk of a claim being made by a member of the public.

The two scenarios where such a claim might be brought is if a member of the public is injured or if their property or belongings are damaged.

A problem with a wedding cake you had been hired to make wouldn’t fall into either of those categories, although you could bundle product liability insurance with your public liability cover, which should then cover you if there was a problem with one of your cakes.

Would cake business insurance cover me if I gave a customer food poisoning?

Again, that would usually depend on whether or not you had bundled product liability insurance with your public liability cover, because most insurance providers will view food poisoning as arising from a faulty product.

Does craft insurance cover me against claims brought by my own employees?

The public liability insurance component of your craft insurance wouldn’t cover you if one of your employees sued you, but if you had chosen to bundle employers’ liability with your crafters insurance that that add-on should cover you in this instance.