Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance vs Harper: How Do They Compare for Product Liability Insurance?

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance lists manufacturers and distributors, including discontinued products. Harper arranges product liability for makers, importers and sellers and says it can align additional-insured status and limits with vendor agreements. 6,9

What Is Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance?

BHSI provides commercial and specialty insurance in the U.S., with product-specific industry lists that include healthcare, energy and technology. Online quote and application submissions are nonbinding. 1,2,3,4

Read the Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance profile

What Is Harper Insurance?

Harper suits hard-to-place businesses such as contractors, care providers, manufacturers and transportation firms; standard small businesses seeking direct quotes should compare online carriers. Its workers’ compensation service helps classify payroll for audits. 7,8

Read the Harper profile

Read the Harper Product Liability Insurance page

What Is Product Liability Insurance?

Product liability can cover claims that a product you make, import, distribute or sell injured someone or damaged property. If your business handles products, describe every role in the supply chain and ask how the quote treats product damage and recall costs. 11,12,13,14,15

Read the full coverage guide

Key Differences in Product Liability Insurance

What the Published Offering Defines

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance identifies manufacturers and distributors, including discontinued-products exposures, as targets for primary product liability. Harper says makers, importers and sellers may face claims even if they did not manufacture the item, and offers to match policy terms to retailer or marketplace agreements, including additional-insured status and specified limits. A seller facing a vendor contract can give Harper’s stated service a direct test; a legacy manufacturer should ask Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance about discontinued products. 6 9

Buying and Policy Details to Resolve

Harper describes a specialist reviewing the business and shopping one application across insurers that write the product class. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance identifies a primary casualty product but its reviewed record does not describe contract matching or the submission path. If an online marketplace requires a certificate quickly, ask Harper which terms it can match and ask Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance whether the same certificate, limit and additional-insured wording are available in its placement. 9 5

What to Confirm in Product Liability Insurance Quotes

  • Can Harper match the exact vendor agreement limits and additional-insured language? 6 9
  • Does Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance accept the products and discontinued operations named in your application? 6 9

Review Scores

These averages can combine ratings for different products, locations, and customer groups, including approximate BBB grade conversions. Read each review for the sources, scope, and calculation.

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

-/ 10

Review Score

No reviews found

The public ratings for Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance are low but thin: Trustpilot shows 2.1 out of 5 from 9 reviews and BBB shows 1 out of 5 from 6. Both mix travel and commercial customers, so we don't count them in a score.[5][7]

Read Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance reviews

Harper

-/ 10

Review Score

No reviews found

We found no customer star rating for Harper. Its Trustpilot page has 0 reviews, and BBB shows 0 customer reviews and 2 complaints.[4][6]

Read Harper reviews

Offering Details

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance vs Harper: Product Liability Insurance: documented features by provider

CriteriaPrimary products/completed-operations liabilityHarper Product Liability Insurance
Role in This Line

Confirm in your quote.

Harper places product liability coverage as a broker: it says a specialist reviews the business and approaches insurers on the client's behalf rather than underwriting the policy itself. 9Company-reported. Product liability page's 'Why Harper' section; describes Harper's placement process, not a specific insurer or policy.

Issuing Insurer

Confirm in your quote.

The reviewed product liability page does not name the insurer or insurers that would issue a given policy; Harper says it places the coverage with 'real insurers' generally rather than a named carrier for this line. 9,10Not publicly disclosed. Checked the product liability page and the coverage directory on 2026-09-23; neither names a carrier for this specific line.

Who It’s For

BHSI identifies manufacturers and distributors, including discontinued-products/IBNR exposures, as products-liability targets. 6Company-reported. Selected US products/completed-operations risks. Material limitation: A target class is not a guarantee of eligibility; discontinued-product exposure has distinct underwriting.

Harper says the line is for makers, importers and sellers of physical products, and that importers, distributors and retailers can be named in a product claim even when they didn't manufacture the item. 9Company-reported. Product liability page introduction and FAQ answer on non-manufacturer exposure.

Coverage Features

BHSI markets primary products/completed-operations liability as a distinct casualty product. 6Company-reported. BHSI US commercial primary products/completed-operations liability. Material limitation: This does not establish product-recall expense insurance.

Harper describes the coverage as responding to injury claims from a product, property damage the product caused, and the legal defense costs of those claims. 9Company-reported. Product liability page's four coverage tiles (Injury claims, Property damage, Defense in depth, Vendor agreement compliance); the issued policy and its exclusions control actual scope.

Limits and Retentions

The casualty appetite guide names Products Liability, primary GL and lead umbrella/excess as lines, and states capacity and minimum-premium guidance for selected casualty accounts. 5Company-reported. Selected US casualty submissions in the guide. Material limitation: The shared guide parameters do not promise product-specific limit availability; contract wording controls.

Harper names product category, sales volume and sales channel as what drives product liability pricing, but the reviewed page does not publish specific limit, retention or premium figures. 9Not publicly disclosed. Product liability FAQ 'What does it cost?'; figures are unavailable on this public page and would appear on a quote.

Risk Services

Confirm in your quote.

Harper says it will write the policy to match a retailer or marketplace vendor agreement, including additional-insured status and the specific limits those contracts require. 9Company-reported. Product liability page 'We know this' section and FAQ on additional-insured requests; a service Harper describes performing, not an independently verified outcome.

How to Apply

Confirm in your quote.

You request a quote through Harper's online form or by phone; Harper says one application is then shopped across the insurers that write the applicant's product class. 9Company-reported. Product liability page quote form and 'Why Harper' process steps.

Full Comparison

More Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance vs Harper Comparisons

Other Product Liability Insurance Comparisons

Sources

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

  1. At A Glance. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; United States section, zero-based PDF pages 49–53 (viewer pages 50–54): product/industry lists on pages 49–50; U.S. disclosure/version footer on page 53 is 2026-8-03 A. The 2026-09-14 A footer is on preceding European page 48, not the U.S. section. Accessed 2026-09-29.
  2. About Us. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; About BHSI; company profile page re-opened through official site on 2026-09-28; company says it is part of National Indemnity group. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  3. Terms of Service. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; Important Information Concerning Use of this Web Site, paragraphs 2–4; nonbinding submissions, contracted-agent authority, state variation, product availability and policy-specific terms. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  4. Public Disclosure — Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Singapore Branch. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; Singapore branch public disclosure, Company Profile ¶¶ 1–2; direct page opened 2026-09-28. ¶ 1 identifies BHSIC as a Nebraska-domiciled direct P&C insurer; ¶ 2 states BHSIC is wholly owned by National Indemnity Company, itself wholly owned by Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  5. Casualty Appetite Guide - U.S. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; Casualty appetite PDF page 1: $50K minimum premium, GL/products/lead umbrella/excess lines, selected $10M excess capacity, placement forms and target/avoided classes; guide dated 2026-07-15. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  6. Casualty. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; US casualty product lines and features: Primary General Liability lines 10-34; Primary Products/Completed Operations Liability 35-44; Lead Umbrella and Excess Casualty 46-63. Accessed 2026-09-28.

Harper

  1. Text Messaging Terms and Conditions. Harper Global Enterprises Inc.; Effective August 24, 2026; sections 1–3 (entity, consent and service messages), 5 (message costs), 9 (delivery) and 11 (coverage confirmation). Accessed 2026-09-15.
  2. We're Announcing $47M to Build the Insurance Company Every Business Deserves. Harper / Dakotah Rice; February 26, 2026 article: brokerage identity; AI-assisted submissions and follow-ups; 24–48-hour coverage statement; more than 165 underwriters; plans for additional direct appointments. Accessed 2026-09-15.
  3. Product Liability Insurance. Harper; Know your coverage: What is Product Liability insurance?; Injury claims, Property damage, Defense in depth, Vendor agreement compliance; Why Harper (specialist, market access, recommendation, same-day certificates); FAQs on importers/distributors/retailers and pricing drivers. Accessed 2026-09-23.
  4. What We Cover. Harper; Coverage directory list including Product Liability; intake selector categories. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Product Liability Insurance Guide

  1. Get business insurance. U.S. Small Business Administration; Six common types of business insurance table. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. Facts + Statistics: Product liability. Insurance Information Institute; Product liability insurance opening definition (manufacturer, distributor, or seller; defective condition causing personal injury or damage); Product recall insurance sentence. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  3. Product liability, recall and contamination insurance. Insurance Information Institute; Product liability opening (design/manufacture/distribute/sell; injury, property damage or death; added to GL or stand-alone); What could go wrong? (roles; directions/warnings); Covering the costs of a product recall; Contamination insurance. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  4. Commercial Insurance Guide. California Department of Insurance; Commercial General Liability Coverage: premises, products liability and completed operations; major exclusions including damage to your work, impaired property, sistership liability and failure to perform; Limits of Insurance products and completed operations aggregate; glossary Sistership Liability. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  5. Commercial General Liability Coverage Form. ISO Properties, Inc.; specimen hosted by Hiscox; Recall exclusion p.5; Supplementary Payments pp.8–9; Section III limits p.10; V.16 and V.21 p.15, warnings/instructions continue p.16. Accessed 2026-09-16.

Updated . Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this research and works in the commercial insurance market. The comparison applies the same criteria to both providers. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with the page URL and supporting source.

Get Help With Insurance Buying and Renewals.

Get help buying coverage and managing renewals, with less paperwork for your team. Start with a free consultation.

Talk to Spot