Tips to Prevent Product Recalls

A product recall can have long-lasting and costly consequences for your business – affecting your reputation, productivity, employee morale and bottom line.  Thirty years ago if you had a little problem, the chances of people knowing was slim.  Now, with Social Media and how quickly news travels, it's bound to be noticed extremely fast.  There are several steps you can take to help prevent a product recall.  In addition, having the right insurance coverage in place can help minimize the impact.

Familiarize yourself with product safety standards and regulations within your industry – and remember they may change with evolving trends
·         Know the product safety standards and regulations within your industry
·         Establish a compliance team to ensure you meet standards and laws
·         Train employees to be sure they know product safety is a top priority

Scrutinize and verify all partners and processes within your supply chain
·     Fully assess manufacturing partners, particularly foreign companies, before doing business with them, including checking claims and litigation history, requesting references, testing products manufactured for others, and confirming company's financials and insurance coverage
·         Inspect all third-party parts, materials or ingredients before using them in your products
·         Require that suppliers meet quality standards, pass quality audits by independent third parties, and sign contracts that hold them responsible for errors

Establish and conduct robust quality controls
·         Perform quality checks at multiple points of the manufacturing process
·         Have the quality control program audited by an independent third party
·         Create an open culture so employees feel comfortable raising safety concerns

Be prepared
·         Have a plan in place should a complaint or claim be filed against your company
·         Retain records that allow traceability throughout the supply chain
·         Perform mock recalls to test recall plans
·        Give us a ring to be sure you have the right coverage in place to help you recover from a product recall

Our carriers offer tailored product recall coverage for manufacturers, food industries, craft brewers, technology companies, retailers and more.  Having the right insurance coverage in place can help minimize the impact of a recall by covering the costs to investigate complaints, communicate the recall, collect, repair and dispose of the products, lost profit, legal fees and penalties.

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