If you are in business, for example as a wholesaler, importer or exporter, you will more than likely have a bespoke wholesalers insurance policy in place.
This will give you the cover that you would normally need, the most important one being for your stock. Without this (your stock) your business would not survive.
There are other covers though that you will need to have in place because, in the event of a loss, the business could suffer financially. One of these products liability insurance, if you supply a product, even if you have not made it yourself, then you need to have this cover. Not legally though, the law does not insist on this, but a sensible, prudent business will have a suitable policy.
If you export, then your insurers need to be aware of where you export to. In the EU is fine but if you export to the United States and/or Canada, then insurers will start to ask a lot of questions. The reason being that claims settlements in North America and Canada are typically 10 to 15 times higher than the UK. A good proportion of this goes to the solicitors or lawyers but as insurers face potentially significant costs, they need to know all about this.
Whether or not you can get the cover depends on the type of products, where they are sourced from and the percentage of your turnover that relates to these exports.
You may hear horror stories of minimum premiums of £10,000 plus from certain business insurance companies. But, this is where good old Lloyds of London comes into it’s own. Find a broker that can access Lloyds on your behalf and you will likely find a much cheaper quote.