Who needs wholesaler or distributor Insurance?

Wholesalers and distributors who deal with the below should consider commercial insurance protection: Commercial & Industrial Machinery Industrial Supplies Hardware & Tools Metals Service Centers Motor Vehicle Component Parts Electronic Parts · Office Equipment Paper & Packaging Supplies Furniture & Home Furnishing Clothing & Footwear

Insurance for Wholesalers

Why choose insurance from Zurich for a wholesale business?

Wholesale organizations operate within complex distribution networks shaped by supply chain concentration, inventory aggregation and regulatory compliance requirements. Digital ordering platforms and integrated logistics systems introduce additional operational and cyber exposures. Insurance structures should reflect these evolving distribution and portfolio risk considerations.

Zurich understands the potential exposures that wholesale businesses face running their operations. We offer an array of products and pre- and post-claim services to help address those exposures:

Core commercial insurance coverages such as Property, General Liability, Inland Marine, Ocean Cargo, Auto, Workers’ Compensation, Management Liability, Cyber and International Insurance
Risk Engineering insights and service that can help reduce the frequency and severity of risk
Exceptional claims handling and customer service

Targeted classes for Wholesale Businesses

Commercial & Industrial Machinery
Industrial Supplies
Hardware & Tools
Metals Service Centers
Motor Vehicle Component Parts
Electronic Parts
Office Equipment
Paper & Packaging Supplies
Furniture & Home Furnishing
Clothing & Footwear

Wholesale Business resources

Zurich Wholesale Industry Coverage Benefits Fact Sheet

Insurance solutions for Wholesale Businesses

Property Coverages

Zurich’s broad all-risk Property form addresses exposures wholesale businesses face, including:

Selling price on merchandise and stock
Brands and labels included
Flexible Transit and Unnamed locations limits available
Unintentional Errors or Omissions
Better Green™ - coverage to rebuild to same or higher green standard automatically included via sublimit after a covered loss
Flexible Accounts Receivables, Valuable Papers, Electronic Data Processing Equipment, Media, and Fine Arts limits
Ordinance or law applies to all covered property and time element loss, not just buildings
Equipment breakdown coverage included with no sub-limit
Real property definition does not exclude insured’s interest in underground pipes, flues, drains and foundations of buildings, machinery or boilers

General Liability

Broad Named Insured (includes Partnerships, Joint Ventures, and Limited Liability Companies)
Blanket Additional Insured vendors coverage when required by contract
Automatic Additional Insureds
Leased and temp workers included by definition
Bodily Injury includes mental anguish, mental injury, shock, fright or death

Workers' Compensation

Flexible options include:

Level and variable dividend options available.
Loss sensitive programs available.

Auto

Broadening coverage endorsement that adds 23 extensions in one form that includes:

Loan / lease gap
Employees as insureds
Fellow employee
Hired car loss of use
Hired auto-worldwide coverage
Waiver of subrogation when required by contract

Cyber

Wholesalers may do business abroad or are planning to leverage opportunities outside of the U.S. As a leading global insurer, Zurich’s worldwide network of Underwriting, Risk Engineering, Claims and Compliance services — aided by innovative, proprietary digital tools — can help your business build a robust global risk-management program.

Multinational

Regionally-based multinational underwriting teams with expertise in navigating foreign legal, licensing and tax requirements
Exporter solutions
Coverage for domestic companies moving into the global arena
Zurich Envoy®
- Coverage for companies with an established foreign presence
Zurich Travel Assist
- Provides concierge services (e.g., forgotten prescription, lost passport) and facilitation for medical and security needs

Meet our Wholesale specialists

Kate Bernay

Head of Manufacturing, Retail, and Wholesale
U.S. Middle Market
Mobile: 610-308-0043
kate.bernay@zurichna.com
Maribel Barranco
AVP, Industry Practices Director
Manufacturing, Retail, and Wholesale
U.S. Middle Market
maribel.barranco@zurichna.com
Tom Doyle

AVP, Industry Practices Director
Manufacturing, Retail, and Wholesale
U.S. Middle Market
tom.doyle@zurichna.com

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Risk Engineering

Through Zurich Resilience Solutions, we provide specialized insights and tools to support our customers with solutions addressing traditional and evolving risks – above and beyond insurance.

Learn more

Claims Services

Zurich Claims specialists are strategically deployed in the U.S. and around the globe to help customers mitigate and respond to loss events, and to gain insights into becoming more resilient against future losses.

Learn more

FAQs

This is coverage designed to help protect wholesale businesses, their owners and employees against potential risks that could occur during the course of business operations. They include risk-transfer products that help protect property, business operations, autos, workers, reputation and more.

Like all business, wholesalers can face a host of unexpected risks. Fire is still the top cause of property losses, but litigation due to auto accidents has become increasingly more expensive, product liability claims can involve anyone in the chain of commerce, and a worker injury claim can have long-term implication to both employer and employee. Any of these scenarios, and others, can significantly impact a wholesaler’s day-to day-operations and overall operational profitability.

Wholesalers and distributors who deal with the below should consider commercial insurance protection:

Commercial & Industrial Machinery
Industrial Supplies
Hardware & Tools
Metals Service Centers
Motor Vehicle Component Parts
Electronic Parts · Office Equipment
Paper & Packaging Supplies
Furniture & Home Furnishing
Clothing & Footwear

Wholesalers and distributors often consider: Property, General Liability, Auto, Workers’ Compensation, Cyber and international insurance coverages. Additionally, they may combine these coverages with risk mitigation programs which help identify and reduce certain risks.

Wholesale distributors face general liability exposure arising from third-party bodily injury or property damage, property exposure related to warehouses and inventory and workers’ compensation obligations. Cargo and transit exposures may also arise from goods in distribution.

Supply chain exposures may involve supplier concentration, transportation interruption and inventory aggregation risk. Coverage structures may reflect business interruption exposure, contingent business interruption and cyber risk considerations.

Product liability exposure arises because wholesale distributors could be considered part of the chain of distribution and can be held responsible for bodily injury or property damage allegedly caused by the products they sell. As a result, distributors need a clear understanding of how their product liability coverage is structured, what it does—and does not—protect, and where limits or gaps may exist.