Manufacturers insurance checklist: what a manufacturer should carry

The manufacturer insurance checklist

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Manufacturers usually carry general liability, product liability and commercial property. Manufacturers make products that leave and liabilities that stay, run machinery that injures and breaks, and supply customers whose purchase agreements name limits, endorsements and sometimes recall coverage. The client's vendor desk and the lender ask for proof of each. The checklist below says what every item does, who requires it and how to check it on the policies you already have.

Reviewed by Michael LaBarbera, Licensed property & casualty agent, Provident Financial Group · Reviewed Oct 12, 2026 Updated Oct 14, 2026

Who asks a manufacturer for what

Who	What they usually want to see
Enterprise clients & vendor onboarding	General liability, professional or cyber liability, workers' compensation and often an umbrella
Banks, lenders & SBA loans	Property or auto physical damage with the lender as loss payee, and liability proof at closing and every renewal
Landlords & commercial leases	General liability with the landlord as additional insured, property coverage on tenant improvements and workers' compensation

Each of them wants a certificate, and most want it again at every renewal. A live certificate link from the wallet shows today's coverage to every holder and tells them when it changes.

How to check what you already have

General liability declarations page. Three liability numbers matter: each occurrence, general aggregate and the products–completed operations aggregate. Then the forms list: blanket additional insured, waiver of subrogation and primary and non-contributory wording satisfy every contract; scheduled forms satisfy one.
Products–completed operations. The aggregate, any vendors endorsement naming buyers as additional insureds, and exclusions for specific products or markets.
Property section. Limits for building, business personal property and tenant improvements against replacement cost, the coinsurance percentage, the deductible, and whether flood and earthquake are excluded (they usually are).
Workers' compensation information page. Item 3.A must list every state you work in, item 4 must carry the right class codes, and the employers' liability limits should meet what contracts ask. Check that the estimated payroll is close to this year's.
Equipment breakdown. The limit, the covered equipment, spoilage and business income under breakdown, and the deductible.
Business income. The limit or actual-loss-sustained wording, the waiting period, the period of restoration and whether extra expense is included.
Umbrella schedule of underlying insurance. Each primary policy listed with the limits the umbrella expects; a gap between the two is uninsured.
Pollution liability. Site-based or contractors form, claims-made or occurrence, the materials named (mold, asbestos, lead, fuels), and transport and disposal coverage.
Business owner's policy declarations. Liability limits on the first page, then the property section: building (if you own), business personal property, business income and the named extras such as spoilage, equipment breakdown or employee dishonesty. Confirm the property values are current.
Employment practices declarations. Limit and retention, third-party coverage for claims by customers, and whether wage-and-hour claims carry any defence sublimit.
Bailee coverage. The limit for customers' property at your premises and in transit, the valuation basis and any exclusions for specific items.

What usually goes wrong for manufacturers

Products sold into applications the carrier excluded without the carrier knowing.
Machinery breakdown and the weeks of lost production nobody insured.
Products sold into applications the carrier excluded (aircraft, medical, children's goods) without telling the carrier.
Tenant improvements insured by nobody, because the lease says one thing and the policy another.
Property values set when the doors opened and never raised.
A workers' compensation estimate set low in January and settled with a large audit bill in the spring.

What underwriters will ask a manufacturer

Products and markets, machinery values, staff and safety practice, customer agreements, and plant values
Products made, materials, any components sold to others and export share
Machinery values, maintenance and any pressure vessels
Square footage, whether you own or lease, the building's age and sprinklers
Replacement cost of the equipment, fixtures and stock on site
Payroll by class of work, headcount and turnover

Have the answers in the wallet before the renewal and the quote request fills itself in; CoverMatch sends one application to every eligible carrier and lines the quotes up against what you have.

Renewal timing

Workers' compensation is audited on actual payroll and liability on sales, so a busy year ends with a bill unless the estimates were kept honest; pay-as-you-go billing through your payroll company removes most of that. Renewal autopilot starts the comparison sixty days out, prefilled from the wallet.

Questions people actually ask

What does a customer's vendor agreement usually require from a manufacturer?

Products liability at a stated limit with the customer as additional insured, often an umbrella and sometimes recall coverage. The agreement's exhibit is the checklist; the wallet's contract checker reads it.

Is a machine breakdown covered by the property policy?

No; mechanical and electrical breakdown is excluded. Equipment breakdown coverage with business income under breakdown pays for the repair and the production lost while the line is down.

What does a buyer mean by a vendors endorsement?

An endorsement on your products liability that makes the retailer or distributor an additional insured for claims from your product. Most large buyers require it in the vendor agreement; CoverMatch issues the live certificate showing it once the endorsement is on the policy.

Doesn't my landlord's insurance cover my manufacturer?

It covers the building. The lease almost always makes you responsible for your own improvements, equipment and stock, for injuries inside your space, and for naming the landlord as additional insured on your liability policy. Read the insurance clause; the contract checker in the wallet will pull it out for you.

Can workers' compensation be billed from each payroll run?

Usually, yes. With carriers that offer pay-as-you-go, CoverMatch sets the billing to run through your payroll company, so premium follows actual payroll instead of an annual estimate and there is less to settle at audit. Ask for it on the quote request.