Why Liability Insurance Is Important in the Vending Business
A product recall of 2010 is an excellent example of why liability insurance is important to people with even small vending routes. This recall involved children’s toys imported from China, these products were found to contain high levels of cadmium which is a toxic metal. Ironically cadmium is used as a substitute for lead which is also toxic. Heavy metals are health hazards that are particularly dangerous to children who were the primary users of these products. Although in this case the charm bracelets that were found to contain cadmium weren’t used in vending machines, this example is very close to a case from 2004 that significantly impacted the vending machine business.
In 2004, four of largest importers of children’s jewelry sold in vending machines experienced an FDA recall. These importers supplied over 90% of all vending jewelry, so this was a major recall that ended up affecting 150 million jewelry pieces. All of this product had to be immediately removed from machines to protect the health of children.
In 2009 there was an FDA recall of pistachios due to a salmonella outbreak. This recall directly impacted me as I had several vending machine heads filled with pistachios. When I woke up to this news in the paper and on TV, my heart almost stopped. I was relieved to find out that the pistachios I bought at Sam’s Club weren’t part of the recall, but clearly this made me realize the value of a liability insurance policy.
It doesn’t matter what you are vending, food or novelty toys, virtually anything can create a potential liability. If you think that food is the only liability, then you are wrong. All vending business owners should have a minimum liability insurance policy to protect their business interests. If you think that it’s too expensive, it’s really not. For just a little over $200 a year, you can get about $1,000,000 in coverage.
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