LifeScienceRisk expands Prop 65 coverage for more chemicals, tea

The company has also expanded its coverage for the tea industry after working with Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association. 

Mike Garofalo, product development director for LSR, told NutraIngredients-USA that pulegone; beta-myrcene; goldenseal root powder; Aloe Vera, non-decolorized whole leaf extract; and naphthalene have been added to lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, chromium, and PCBs and dioxins for fish oils.

Prop 65​

LSR unveiled the new insurance product earlier this year, which offers tailored coverage by a separate insurance policy that can be bundled with other LSR insurance coverages.​

Dietary supplement companies could previously receive coverage from Prop 65 via sub-limited coverage on a product liability policy offered by LSR, but that has a limit of $100K, explained Garofalo. With the average Prop 65 settlement coming it between $80-90K there was a need for a, “separate policy with a separate set of limits with specific coverage dedicated to Prop 65,”​ Garofalo told us.

The new coverage offers two limits: $500,000 or $1 million.

Prop 65 and the State of California​

Prop 65, known officially as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, is a California state law that mandates warnings on foods, dietary supplements, and other consumer products about exposures to certain substances, even at very low levels, when these are "known to the State of California" as carcinogens or reproductive toxins.

Prop 65 warnings are required for many chemicals that are commonly present in a wide variety of everyday products as well as for substances such as pesticides, gasoline, car exhaust, and cigarette smoke. As a result, warnings can be seen not only on product labels but also posted throughout California in restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, stores, buildings, parking garages and other locations.

LSR’s standalone Prop 65 coverage now includes 11 chemicals that may be found in dietary supplements and herbal products as well tea products. LSR provides a full-service platform for this coverage, which includes client specific service, tailored coverage forms and collaborative risk assessment.

The Prop 65 coverage was developed in collaboration with Lloyd's syndicates who represent AM Best Security of "A+XV" and is distributed through select retail and wholesale brokers who recognize their client's risk in this evolving space. The new coverage offers a choice of limits and deductibles that can fit almost any budget.