Sham: Liability Insurance for Dietary Supplements

This post is a short, bitter gripe about a problem that may drive one company right out of business in the USA. That is, the cost of liability insurance for dietary supplements.

One major manufacturer, a top science-based Euro supplier of herbal products, was recently told that their cost of liability insurance would be over $3 a box of tablets because of the underwriter's fear of the "legal crisis in the USA and unrestrained lawsuits." When you add in the cost of liability insurance that the importer has to pay as a marketer of these same products, the cost is over $6.00 for every box of a product that sells for less than $20 US. This is a figure that makes you wonder if it is even possible to stay in business and make a profit.

Most frustrating is that these products are from a company with thirty years of history and not a single adverse event or lawsuit. On top of that, the herbs themselves are completely safe, and have been used for 2,000 years in humans.

I'd call it "highway robbery," wouldn't you? Stay tuned, and I'll let you know the impact of this problem later on the company later in the summer.

Dave