Selling cosmetic products - fear of getting sued / liability insurance?

[vmg]

My store will sell skincare products such as vitamin C serum. As I near launch date I can't help but think worse case scenario--e.g., someone maliciously sues claiming some sort of skin reaction. A few questions on this:

- Is there a skincare focused 'terms and condition' template around? - would this offer enough protection generally speaking?

- Is liability insurance recommended?

- Generally is this a common and valid fear or statistically is possibility of it ever happening simply too little?

[WayneR]

It's definitely a common fear as any of us get close to launch date especially - you start to think of all the negative possibilities sometimes! 

You may wish to speak to a lawyer, but I imagine it might be difficult to find a lawyer that has the type of experience you're looking for. I'm not an expert in skin care, but I would spend some time looking at T&C of competitors, make sure that you have any bottle/packaging requirements met, along with any general guidelines you need to meet with the product itself. I would imagine there are standard disclaimers regarding allergic reactions, etc? 

[Pixeo]

Hello vmg! I am new to Shopify, trying to create my hair care brand. I came across your question as I was searching for insurances... I wonder if you have concluded on an insurance by now. Any advice would be deeply appreciated. Cosmetics ecommerce is very confusing as regulations aren't the same for all the countries, so insurance is definitely needed. By the way, I've checked out your shop and it looks great!

[PiersPiper]

Hello there. I can surely say that there is nothing to be afraid of. Being sued for what? For creating your own business with your own domain name? That's so silly. I'm a lawyer and I can surely say that no one can sue you for having products with your domain name. You just need to have evidence that it's really your product that's all. For example, I have had a friend that has an online shop by the way you can check it out it has very nice skincare products https://aenoacne.com/collections/acne-products  and she had a fear of getting sued but after discussing all of this with me, she understood that there is nothing to be scared of.

[ypacia1]

Hi PiersPiper,

I have the same fear, my product is food.  I migrated my store to Shopify, and I remember Amazon required Insurance Liability.  My supplier has insurance, of course, but I am concerned I don't.  What are your thoughts?  Thank you

[Brinichri]

would recommend liability insurance for sure. Also do not forget to sign a contract with the supplier that he takes all the risk if the product will be harmful and indicate yourself just as a reseller. Never take responsibility for yourself and everything will be alright.

[TeamBlanka]

Hi @vmg ,

Try us out at Blanka and you won't have to fear those things because our products are certified and safe. But definitely, the possibility of that ever happening is slim to none. Also, you'd be providing the ingredients of the products in the description so it would be the users responsibility to know if they are allergic or not.

We recently launched a new skincare line so please do check us out at Blanka - Private Label Beauty. Oh and yes, we offer private labelling too and we're the direct supplier.

Reach out to us at hello@blankabrand.com for any questions!