Global Supply Chain Contagion: Product Recall Risks for the Australian Importer

In today’s interconnected global economy, a single product defect can rapidly evolve into a widespread liability event affecting manufacturers, importers, distributors and brand owners across multiple jurisdictions. As supply chains become increasingly complex, businesses are facing a growing challenge: risk contagion.

Join us for an insightful webinar exploring how risk contagion is reshaping Public & Products Liability exposures under Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and what insurers, brokers and businesses need to understand when assessing these evolving risks.

Risk contagion occurs when a failure at one point in a supply chain spreads downstream, impacting multiple products, customers or markets. While the original defect may appear isolated, the resulting consequences can be far-reaching, generating bodily injury claims, property damage, class actions, product recalls and regulatory investigations on a significant scale.

Under a typical Australian Public & Products Liability (PPL) policy, cover is generally provided for third party bodily injury and property damage arising from products manufactured, imported, distributed, supplied or sold by the insured. However, the real underwriting challenge often lies in understanding how a single upstream event can generate a large accumulation of losses across multiple policy years and jurisdictions.

The webinar will also examine the unique challenges posed by Australian Consumer Law. Many Australian businesses are surprised to learn that importers can be deemed manufacturers under the ACL. As a result, even where an overseas supplier produced the defective product, the Australian importer can become the primary target for legal action. In practice, contractual indemnities from overseas entities may offer little protection if those suppliers are insolvent, uninsured or otherwise beyond the reach of Australian courts.

This webinar will provide practical insights into identifying these exposures, understanding policy responses and navigating the intersection between Australian Consumer Law and Public & Products Liability insurance. The session will offer valuable perspectives on one of the most significant emerging challenges facing the liability market today.

Join us as we unpack how a single supply chain failure can become a global liability event, and what organisations can do to better understand, manage and insure against the growing threat of risk contagion.

Webinar: Global Supply Chain Contagion: Product Recall Risks for the Australian Importer

Date: Wednesday 7 October at 1:00pm AEDT

Registrations: Click here to register and be part of the session