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LifeScienceRisk to Offer Proposition 65 Insurance Coverage for Herbal Product and Dietary Supplement Industry

LifeScienceRisk (LSR) has announced that it now offers Proposition 65 insurance coverage for the herbal product and dietary supplement industry. Developed in collaboration with the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), LSR is the first insurance company to offer Proposition 65 specific insurance for this industry, which can be bundled on top of another more comprehensive insurance policy. The coverage is offered with a choice of limits and deductibles to fit a range of budgets.

Insurance coverage for Proposition 65 claims has always been problematic. At least one court has concluded that there is no coverage under commercial general liability policies because Proposition 65 claims do not allege physical bodily injury. (See Ulta Salon v Travelers Property Cas Co of America, 197 Cal.App.4th 424 (2011).) In 2015, Wells Fargo Insurance began to offer policies covering Proposition 65-listed plasticizers. LSR’s Proposition 65 insurance is unique in its coverage of Proposition 65 claims involving dietary supplements. With this industry being a frequent target of Proposition 65 enforcement actions, this coverage may be very useful for dietary supplement manufacturers.

LSR’s insurance product covers six listed chemicals that may be found in dietary and herbal supplements: lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, chromium and PCBs and dioxins in fish oils. According to AHPA’s press release, coverage includes “client specific service, tailored coverage forms, and collaborative risk assessment.”

Those interested in learning more about the policy can contact Michael Garofalo, Product Development Director, LifeScienceRisk, at [email protected], 312.366.3158.

This blog article was researched and written by Brown University Class of 2018 student Aisha Keown-Lang. Ms. Keown-Lang is studying biology and political science at Brown University with the goal of going into bioethics and public health. Her special interest in genetics stems from her research in the Li Lab at UCSF and the Gerbi Lab at Brown. After having worked with children in the Providence school system for nearly three years, her commitment to improving scientific literacy and expanding health services in underserved communities remains strong. Ms. Keown-Lang is currently a writer for Brown’s Science Cartoon Program (SciToons), which aims to communicate scientific research and ideas to a diverse audience.

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Ms. Grimaldi maintains a diverse environmental law practice focusing on chemical and product regulation and litigation defense. Her practice areas include Proposition 65, California's Safer Consumer Products Regulations, California's Rigid Plastic Packaging Container Act and the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. Ms. Grimaldi graduated from the University of California Hastings College of the Law magna cum laude and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Bacteriology from University of California, Davis. Prior to attending law school, she worked as a research assistant in laboratories at the University of California, San Francisco Cancer Research Institute and at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.