Product Liability Insurance in Houston, TX

Texas law defines manufacturers and commercial sellers, and gives qualifying nonmanufacturing sellers a conditional protection. That protection has exceptions — circumstances involving design, alteration, installation, warnings, representations, knowledge of a defect, and whether the manufacturer is available to a Texas court. The statute also addresses manufacturer indemnity in specified circumstances.

Read that in both directions. It does not mean every seller is automatically liable, and it does not mean a distributor can ignore the exposure. What it means for insurance is narrower: the submission should describe the business’s role accurately, because the role is an underwriting fact.

This page provides general insurance information, not legal advice. Legal counsel interprets the statute and the contracts against your facts; nothing here assesses anyone’s liability.

Source: Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code — Chapter 82 (§§ 82.001–82.003). Verified 28 July 2026.

A product-injury claim, the cost of replacing defective inventory, and a product recall are three separate insurance problems — frequently discussed as one, which is how a business ends up assuming it has an answer it never bought.

Standard CGL generally does not pay the cost of withdrawing a faulty product, work or impaired property from the market. Recall coverage may be available by endorsement or under a separate policy, depending on the product and the market.

A recall form can address specified first-party costs — withdrawal, inspection, notification, disposal, replacement, crisis response, business impact — but only when its own trigger and terms are satisfied. Do not assume every recall, voluntary withdrawal, regulatory action, lost sale or reputational cost falls inside one.

If recall expense is part of what worries you, say so at the beginning of the conversation rather than at the end. It needs its own answer.

Source: TDI — commercial general liability insurance guide. Verified 28 July 2026.

A product can stay in a customer’s hands long after the policy that was in force on the day it shipped has expired. That makes coverage timing a real question rather than an administrative one.

Occurrence coverage When the harm happened

Generally looks to when the bodily injury or property damage occurred, subject to the policy terms — which can be years after the sale.

Claims-made coverage When the claim arrived

Depends on when the claim is made and on the policy’s retroactive and reporting provisions. A move between forms, a gap in dates, or a discontinued line can change the analysis.

Have prior policies, retroactive dates, acquired product lines and discontinued products identified before changing anything. Which form is right is a fact-specific decision, not a universal preference.

Source: TDI — commercial general liability insurance guide. Verified 28 July 2026.

Start with the product and the business’s role — that is enough to open the conversation. For the licensed-agent call that follows, it helps to know:

• The product list, its intended use, and its intended end users.
• Your role in the chain — designing, manufacturing, fabricating, assembling, importing, private labeling, distributing, wholesaling, retailing, installing or repairing — and whose name or brand appears on the product.
• Contract manufacturers, component suppliers and countries of origin.
• Annual sales by broad product group, and the states or countries where the products are sold.
• Channels — online, wholesale, retail and export — and the highest-severity foreseeable use or failure.
• Testing, inspection, quality-control, certification and traceability practices.
• Warnings, instructions, manuals, warranties, and how design review works.
• Previous claims, known defects, withdrawals and recalls, at a high level — better discussed than discovered.
• Discontinued products, acquired product lines and retained liabilities.
• Customer and supplier requirements — indemnity, hold-harmless, vendors coverage, additional-insured wording and required limits.
• The current CGL basis, products aggregate, exclusions and any retroactive date, plus whether recall expense is part of the concern.
• Requested limits, the effective date, and any certificate deadline.

The public form only starts the conversation. Do not send confidential formulas, proprietary designs, customer lists, bank or payment information, Social Security numbers, detailed legal files or full claim documents through it. If we need documents, call (281) 484-8320 and staff will give you an approved transfer method.