A caravan that injures someone does not produce a claim against the factory. In most markets the company that placed the unit on the market — the importer — answers for it, standing in the manufacturer's position. That exposure has to be insured in your own name, and the arrangement belongs in the order file before the first container is booked.

The factory's policy stays with the factory

No document a Chinese factory issues transfers its liability cover to your company. A product liability policy responds to claims against its own policyholder, so it defends the factory, not the dealer or importer who bought from it. Regulatory practice points the same way: an importer bringing goods into the European Union is treated as a producer, in the United States an importer carries the same duties as a domestic manufacturer — which is why the safety regulator names the importer, not the overseas plant, as the responsible party when a recall is ordered — and Australia's consumer law defines "manufacturer" to include the importer where the maker sits outside the country.

Liability to an injured customer cannot be contracted away, so the only protection available sits upstream: an indemnity from the factory, plus a policy in your own name. General public liability cover is not a substitute, because it normally excludes injury caused by products you supplied. Confirm how each market treats the importer with your own adviser.

What is covered, and what is quietly excluded

Product liability responds to death, personal injury and damage to property other than the caravan itself. Damage to the unit and lost profit on the sale fall outside it and belong to warranty and contract — a different risk, funded from a different line. Recall and field-action costs are usually excluded too: parts, freight, technician time and running the campaign is a separate cover. Your cargo policy finishes when the goods are delivered and touches none of it, so budget three risks: transit while the container moves, liability once you sell, recall when a batch has to come back.

Settle four points before the order goes out

• Evidence of cover. Ask for the certificate of insurance rather than an assurance: policyholder, limits, territory and renewal date, since the policy is annual and the file goes stale.
• A written indemnity. An indemnity from the factory for liability arising from the unit as built, checked each time the factory reissues its standard terms.
• Unit and batch traceability. Records tying every unit to its build, so a fault can be isolated to one batch instead of your whole stock position.
• Defect notification and cooperation. Who tells whom, within what time, and who funds a field fix — agreed before the first unit is sold.

Price it into the landed cost

Cover is priced on the range, the markets you sell into and your volumes, so the broker conversation belongs before the first order, with every model disclosed rather than only the volume seller. Keep what a claim would need: purchase records naming the producer, the specification sheet behind each unit, and the owner list your dealers supply. Importers building an off-road caravan distributorships business should budget this as product cost.

A liability file starts with what you ordered. The 16ft hard-top models in the range carry an ATM of 3,000 kg, and the plate figures, the specification sheet and the owner's manual have to agree on every unit, model by model. Send the market you sell in and the models you are considering, and we will return the specification, plate data and documentation set for that configuration. Documents go to [email protected]; WhatsApp: +86 186 6381 3961 if you would rather talk it through; the published range is at www.lgloader.com.

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