Do you carry insurance?

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

For the bowyers that sale their work, do you carry any kind of insurance?  Are you an LLC and what legality issues do you address?

[Mad Max]

I asked my Insurance agent If I wanted to sell $10,000.00 of bows per year what would the Insurance premium be?
$750.00
LLC Limited Liability Company
Check your state for exactly what that means?
How I understand it was If my employee made a bow and it broke I would be OK, but if I made a bow and it broke I would be Liable

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

Do you have it? My wife works in corporate law and is demanding I do my research before I sale anything and get all the facts on LLC.
Was curious as to what guys that sale do.

[Mad Max]

I have only sold 1 or 2 so far but I want to sell more.
I've been searching for the past 20 min. and found this for my State
"Keep in mind that every state has a major exception to the limited liability of LLCs. If you form a limited liability company, you will be personally liable for all negligence and wrongdoing that you commit during business operation. As an LLC owner, you can be held liable personally if you:

fail to treat the LLC as a separate legal entity rather than an extension of your personal affairs
perform reckless, fraudulent, or illegal actions intentionally during business operation that cause harm to an individual or the company
fail to deposit the taxes withheld from the wages of employees
purposely and directly injure an individual due to negligence during business operation
If it is found that both you and your limited liability company are liable for wrongdoing or negligence, your personal assets and the assets of your LLC may be seized by creditors to satisfy the judgment. It is thus vital that all LLCs and their owners have liability insurance".

I started using a CPA 1989 for my Businesses.
One was Incorporated, Two were Sole Proprietor
I asked him about LLC in Mississippi and he told me what I stated above in my first post.

[B-JS]

I'm in Germany.
I carry a insurance that covers harm to customers, if they may be injured by a bow failure.
It also covers damage at any activities i do in customers contact.
So, if i would accidantly shoot an arrow in someone or something while presenting or testing a bow, IT should ne covered.

[Crooked Stic]

LLC here means if someone sues you all that can get is your bow making stuff. Also the taxes are handled by my tax person thru the LLC.

[Tim Finley]

A LLC isnt good enough you still need liability insurance and  your insurance agent doesnt handle it you may find that out when you have an accident . There is only a couple of insurance company's in the US that sell liability insurance for archery related business and it is not cheap. Your homeowners will not cover it or any other insurance not specific for archery .

[Buggs]

Ironclad signed disclamer, coupled with your wife being a corporate attorney will probably yield a more favorable outcome than having to file a claim with an insurance company.

[Mad Max]

A LLC isnt good enough you still need liability insurance and  your insurance agent doesnt handle it you may find that out when you have an accident . There is only a couple of insurance company's in the US that sell liability insurance for archery related business and it is not cheap. Your homeowners will not cover it or any other insurance not specific for archery .

Now that has been said I believe it.
Lots of people rolling the dice
I wonder how much it cost?

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

Just spoke to my insurance agent. She is looking into this. Some upfront questions  were, projected annual sales, what equipment will you be using, what chemicals,  where is it located ( part of your house or separate), years of experience,  any training or certification you have, any employees,  how many products will you be offering. 

Will let everyone know what they come back with.

One of my issues is that my wife does work in corporate legal. There is no iron clad waivers. She handles all the litigation for one of the largest Dental supply companies in the world.

From frivolous lawsuits that would cost them more to defend than to pay to big product liability suits. One thing the "ambulance chasing " lawyers know is relatively where that fine line is on how much to sue for. How much their insurance company will cover before willing  to say, " we will go to court for that sum"

[Buggs]

So the insurance is not for covering a defective product and potential customer injury?

At the risk of sounding cynical, there are not any ironclad insurance policy's either. Insurance companies have the interest of two involved parties to consider. Yours and their own. The question is, who's interest comes first?

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

Yes, the policy will cover product liability and medical from injury resulting from me or my products. I should find out Tuesday if they can do it.

I had rather have insurance than none. True that nothing is iron clad, but your risk tolerance is solely up to you.

[Buggs]

As an alternative, you could create a shell company and use a pseudonym 

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

Bows by Buggs! I like it.

[Buggs]

Or you could put a paper bag on your head and be the "Unknown Bowyer"

[Bivyhunter]

I have liability insurance through Hobson's, and it is not cheap. Unfortunately, they really don't cater to small businesses. If I remember correctly, my policy is about $5,500 annually and it covers up to $1,000,000 in sales annually. If you sell more than that, your policy goes up. If you sell $10K in bows, you're still paying $5,500. If anyone finds something less expensive, I'd love to know!

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

Yes! My All-State agent came through! $1 mill coverage, $1.1k a year. Includes product liability.  Only longbows. Crossbows would have been a no go. Recurves were not mentioned...

Not sure who is under writing it. Forming an LLC she said helps that and may not hurt that I have an UMP with them already.

[Buggs]

Who is defining "Longbow"

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

 I stated 3 piece and 1 piece longbow when we talked. Next step is to finish up the LLC stuff and get a copy of the policy for my lawyer to look over.

[Buggs]

I joke, but if its something that gives you piece of mind and asset protection, then thats a small price to pay