business Insurance Inquiry (specifically in Toronto)

[sauce number 16]

Hello,
 
Happy 2019 to all! 
 
I was wondering if anyone can help us out with questions about purchasing liability insurance. We are in the process of shopping around for liability insurance but are having trouble picking out exactly what kind we need. 
 
Since we are still in our early stages is it necessary to purchase one now? We are in the process of sending out our product to have Nutritional labelling and shelf life tested. We are not currently selling batches at the moment but more so just to close family and friends. We do however, have plans of joining a food festival sometime in June, so I'm assuming having insurance by then would be beneficial.
 
We emailed an insurance company to get a quote and they have provided an application form. On the form it lists a bunch of questions we have no answers to as of yet. For example, the recall product question. How do we answer that? We are a little stuck. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Thanks,
 
Sauce Number 16

 

[CDNmatt]

I have no Idea how many Canadian sauce makers are here on THP and even down to just the Toronto area specifically but Pepper North is from The Shwa I believe..might be a good one to ask far as your post goes.
 
Best of luck with your sauces!!

 

[salsalady]

Greetings no.16, welcome to thp.

I am speaking from my experience in Washington state, USA.

In general, insurance is not needed until you get to the point of actually selling. At that point, talk to an insurance person who deals with business insurance, not your run of the mill auto insurance person. But do get more than one quote!

The first policy I had was for refrigerated salsa in plastic tubs. Then I added unrefrigerated hot sauce in glass bottles. Then they ask how many units mfg per year. And some other stuff...

When you are going to events and festivals, that is called "additional insured". For me, I call up the agent, tell them the event and details, they send me a certificate listing the event, print it out and send to the event. No charge.

Good luck and have fun!
SL

 

[sauce number 16]

Thank for the insight.
 
I will definitely keep shopping around for quotes.