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GETREADYANDJUMP.COM · BUILT IN DETROIT

INSURANCE.

Which cover your role usually carries, and what to ask for. GRAJ does not underwrite, broker or sell any of it — and earns nothing if you buy it.

ASKED FOR BEFORE ANYONE WILL TRADE WITH YOU

A retailer, distributor or 3PL will usually ask for a certificate naming them before your first delivery. Not having one stops the deal, not the risk.

General liability
Third-party injury or property damage arising from your operations. The certificate almost every buyer, distributor and landlord asks to be named on.
Ask for: occurrence form, the limits, and whether they can add an additional insured endorsement.
Product liability
Harm caused by the product itself once it has left you — the one that matters most for food, beverage, supplements and anything ingested or applied.
Ask for: whether it covers your actual category, and what a recall does or does not trigger.
Certificate of insurance (COI)
Not a policy — the one-page proof of the policies above. This is the document a partner is actually asking for when they say "send me your insurance".
Ask your broker to issue one naming that specific partner.
IF YOU MOVE OR HOLD GOODS

For shippers, storers, distributors and any brand shipping its own freight. Goods in transit and goods sitting in somebody else's building are two different problems with two different policies.

Cargo / goods in transit
The freight itself while it is moving. A carrier's own liability is limited by law and by their tariff, and is usually far below what the goods are worth.
Ask for: whether it is all-risk, the per-shipment limit, and what happens to temperature-controlled loads.
Warehouse legal liability
Goods you are holding for somebody else. Building insurance covers the building, not other people's stock inside it.
Ask for: the limit per location, and whether it covers stock you do not own.
Motor truck cargo and auto liability
Required to hold operating authority if you run trucks. The FMCSA publishes the minimum filings.
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IF THE BUSINESS STOPPING WOULD HURT

Cover for the gap between the loss and being able to trade again. Usually bought alongside property cover rather than on its own.

Business interruption
Lost income and continuing costs while you cannot operate after a covered loss. Almost always needs a covered physical damage event first — read that trigger carefully.
Ask for: the indemnity period, and exactly what counts as the trigger.
Key person
Pays the business if somebody it depends on dies or cannot work. Common where one founder holds the relationships.
Ask for: who is named, and whether the business or the family is the beneficiary.
Cyber liability
Breach response, notification costs and interruption from a systems failure. Increasingly asked for by larger retail partners as a condition of onboarding.
Ask for: whether breach notification costs sit inside or outside the limit.
WHERE TO ACTUALLY GO

GRAJ has no broker relationship, takes no commission and recommends no carrier. These are the neutral places to start.

Find a licensed broker or agent
Every US state licenses insurance producers and publishes a lookup. Confirm anybody you talk to is licensed in your state before sharing anything.
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Check a carrier's financial strength
Whether the insurer behind the quote can actually pay a large claim. Ratings are public.
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Your state insurance department
Complaints, licence lookups and consumer guidance, state by state.
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SBA — insurance for small business
A plain overview of which cover types exist and when each applies.
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WE DO NOT CARRY YOUR RISK.
WE HELP YOU FIND WHO WILL.

GRAJ is not an insurer, a broker or an agent. It does not underwrite risk, bind cover, hold premiums or pay claims, and it earns nothing from anything on this page. Cover names, limits and exclusions vary by carrier, state and country — the only person who can tell you what you need is a licensed broker looking at your actual operation. Nothing here is insurance, legal or tax advice.

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