The Common Situations That Insurance Covers For Candle Making Businesses

Candle making has become increasingly trendy in recent years thanks to the increasing consumer demand for artisanal candles. These candles function as both decorative and practical objects which can help turn a house into a home. Grand View Research has valued the global candle market at $3.45 billion in 2018. They have also noted that North America is the largest market for candles as they accounted for more than 30% of the revenue generated in 2018. 

Many people have begun a candle making or candle selling business to capitalize on the market and have found success in this enterprise. However candle making is not without risk and neither is the candle making business. Many things can go wrong with fire and hot wax and insurance can be there for candle making entrepreneurs when they need it the most. 

Candle Related Catastrophes 

Fire is inherently dangerous and also an inherent part of any candle. For example, a candle maker is selling their candles at a craft show and has several candles lit to demonstrate the pleasant scents which they emit. The candle maker reaches for a candle to show a customer but accidentally knocks one of the lit candles over and injures a customer in the process. This is a very unfortunate occurrence for everyone involved but a general liability insurance policy can be there to mitigate the damages caused. A general liability insurance policy covers a wide range of liabilities from legal fees to bodily harm. This would be incredibly useful in this scenario as the insurance policy would cover both the medical costs associated with the candle injury as well as any potential lawsuit which could originate from the incident. 

Fire is not the only dangerous part of the candle. For example, a candle maker is producing a candle and is heating and pouring hot wax into molds. The candle maker then loses their grip on the wax and accidentally pours it onto themselves causing a severe burn. If this candle maker were an employee of a candle making business the medical bills which would result from the incident would be covered by workers compensation insurance. This is a type of insurance which any business that has employees is legally required to take out for every employee of their business. Workers compensation insurance covers injuries which occur while performing duties of a job and a wax burn for a candle making company would certainly be included in this category. 

Other candle related injuries may occur even after the sale of a candle. For example, a candle may be the cause of a house fire or a child may eat a candle which could cause them to become sick. While these faults are not necessarily caused by the candle itself they could still be instigating incidents for lawsuits. Legal fees are expensive and in a situation like this product liability insurance would likely cover the risks involved and the potential legal fees. Product liability insurance can be purchased through what is known as a business owners policy or BOP. A BOP is a collection of different types of insurance at better rates than any of the individual policies could have been acquired at on their own. 

Another common situation which insurance can cover for candle making businesses is damage or theft in the property in which the business is conducted. For a situation such as this a commercial property insurance policy would be required. This can be the case even if a candle making business is operated out of a home as most homeowners insurance policies do not cover commercial workspaces. 

The Really Useful Information Company (TRUiC) has published a helpful resource on candle business insurance which contains additional information for those looking to insure their candle making business. 

Final Thoughts 

There are many unfortunate but common situations which a candle making business may run into. Thankfully there are a number of different insurance policies available to help candle making businesses reduce risk and mitigate the impact of unforeseen events on their business. These policies include: general liability insurance, workers compensation insurance, product liability insurance and commercial property insurance. Each of which has a function in protecting candle makers and ensuring that their business can continue to blaze a trail in the candle making industry.