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Product liability in Maine

Maine’s strict-liability statute covers physical harm from goods sold in a defective, unreasonably dangerous condition when the seller is in that business and the product reaches the expected user without significant change. The statute applies even if the seller exercised all possible care and the user had no direct purchase or contract relationship. Maine generally gives six years after accrual for civil actions unless another statute provides otherwise; preserve the product’s condition, handling and claim timeline. 1,2

What Is Product Liability?

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. Read the national Product liability guide.

What to Watch for in Maine

  • The product must reach the user without significant change

    Maine’s strict-liability statute requires that the product be expected to and actually reach the user or consumer without significant change in the condition in which it was sold. Preserve records of assembly, repairs, reconditioning, alterations, warnings and maintenance to understand the product’s path to the user. 1

  • Ordinary care and lack of a direct sale do not by themselves defeat the statute

    Section 221 expressly applies even when the seller exercised all possible care in preparation and sale and even when the user did not buy directly from or contract with the seller. Keep downstream distribution and customer records rather than treating lack of privity as a complete answer. 1

  • The general civil-action period runs from accrual

    Maine’s general limitation statute requires civil actions within six years after accrual, unless another statute specially provides otherwise. The text uses accrual rather than a product-specific delivery date; preserve the injury and discovery timeline and check whether another rule applies to the claim. 2

Who Regulates Insurance in Maine

Maine Bureau of Insurance

The Maine Bureau of Insurance licenses producers and companies, enforces Maine insurance laws, and investigates property and casualty complaints including commercial coverage complaints. You can use its state lookup or complaint service to check a license or raise an insurance issue. 3,4,5

Surplus-lines tax and stamping office

Reported tax rate: 3% of gross direct premium when Maine is the insured's home state Maine charges 3% of gross direct premium when it is the insured's home state; your broker handles the tax and may include it with the premium. Surplus-lines policies are outside Maine guaranty-association protection. Maine generally requires a diligent search, with an exempt-commercial-purchaser exception requiring broker disclosure and the purchaser's written request. 6,7,8

Providers With Documented State Licenses

These providers publish a national listing for Product liability; the state records document licenses for the entities and roles shown below. Some records rely on company-reported information rather than independent regulator verification. A national listing does not confirm the product is available in Maine. Check the regulator’s license lookup and confirm state availability for your business when requesting a quote.

  • VouchVouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLCInsurance producer, Surplus-lines broker · checked 2026-09-28Vouch’s licenses page, effective January 16, 2025, lists producer licenses in all 50 states and DC. Its separate surplus-lines table includes Idaho number 870820, while a footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses. Because those statements conflict for Idaho, this record keeps Idaho producer-only and does not treat the table number as established agency surplus-lines authority. The page is company-reported and does not establish product availability. 15

Questions to Ask Before You Buy in Maine

  1. Which parties sold, supplied, assembled or serviced the product, and did it reach the expected user without a significant change?
  2. Can we document the product’s condition at sale and any later modifications, repairs, maintenance, assembly or storage?
  3. When did the claim accrue, and has counsel checked whether a more specific Maine limitation provision applies?

Product Liability in Maine: FAQ

Does Maine strict liability require proof that the seller failed to use care? 1

No. Section 221 says the rule applies even if the seller exercised all possible care in preparing and selling the product. The statute still requires a defective, unreasonably dangerous product that reaches the expected user without significant change. 1

What is Maine’s general filing period? 2

Maine generally requires civil actions within six years after the cause of action accrues, except when another statute specially provides otherwise. 2

Product Liability in Other States

Other Coverage in Maine

Sources

  1. 14 M.R.S. § 221, Defective or unreasonably dangerous goods. Maine Legislature / Office of the Revisor of Statutes; Current codification, full text of § 221 and section history; current through October 1, 2025. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  2. 14 M.R.S. § 752, Six years. Maine Legislature / Office of the Revisor of Statutes; Current codification, general accrual-based limitation and exception clause; page extracted October 20, 2025. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  3. Maine Bureau of Insurance. Maine Bureau of Insurance; Homepage and commercial insurance resources. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  4. Insurance License Lookup. Maine Bureau of Insurance; State-designated producer/company search. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  5. File an Insurance Complaint. Maine Bureau of Insurance; State complaint process and contact. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  6. 36 M.R.S. §2531. Maine Legislature; 36 M.R.S. §2531(1)-(2), current page: home-state basis; 3% tax; producer pays on chapter 19 surplus lines. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  7. 24-A M.R.S. §4433. Maine Legislature; Surplus-lines contracts excluded from guaranty association. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  8. 24-A M.R.S. §2002-A. Maine Legislature; ECP disclosure and written-request procedure. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  9. Licenses. At-Bay; Current producer introduction and state table; At-Bay Insurance Services LLC; P&C and surplus-lines identifiers. Accessed 2026-09-21.
  10. Licenses and Carriers. Coalition; Licenses and Carriers, re-read 22 September 2026: Insurance Licenses table for Coalition Insurance Solutions, Inc., national producer number 18419475, with producer and surplus-lines numbers for all 50 states and DC including California 0L76155, Georgia 196479, Texas 2199630 and 2205589, Pennsylvania 815731 and 817452, Colorado 539028 and Wisconsin 3000108852. Insurance Carriers table naming, with NAIC numbers, Allianz Underwriters Insurance Company 36420, Arch Specialty Insurance Company 21199, Ascot Specialty Insurance Company 45055, Ascot Insurance Company 23752, Aspen Specialty Insurance Company 10717, Chaucer Insurance Company DAC, Coalition Insurance Company 29530, Fireman's Fund Indemnity Corporation 11380, Fortegra Specialty Insurance Company 16823, Lloyd's of London, MSIG Specialty Insurance USA Inc. 34886, MS Transverse Specialty Insurance Company 41807, Steadfast Insurance Company 26387, Vantage Risk Specialty Insurance Company 16275 and Zurich American Insurance Company 16535. Accessed 2026-09-22.
  11. Insurance Producer Licenses. Corgi Insurance; Current complete Insurance Producer Licenses table for Corgi Insurance Services, Inc.; 50 rows covering 49 states and DC (DC 3003091619); no New Mexico row; no NPN or as-of date shown. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  12. About Hiscox US Insurance. Hiscox; Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. NAIC 10200 as Chicago, IL domiciled insurer admitted or licensed in all 50 states and D.C.; Hiscox Inc. as general agent and Lloyd’s coverholder for Syndicates 33 and 3624; surplus-lines placements through licensed surplus-lines brokers; A.M. Best rating statement. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  13. Licenses. ERGO NEXT Insurance; Current entity-by-state license table reopened 28 September 2026: 50 rows under Next First Insurance Agency, Inc., including Washington, DC; New York rows instead list Next Insurance Services PC-1423070 and AP Intego BR-1198885. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  14. Insurance Licenses by State. TechInsurance; Current state table; identifies TechInsurance as a division of Specialty Program Group LLC d/b/a SPG Insurance Solutions; lists DC 3000041536 and labels Rhode Island “Individual licenses,” without an agency license number. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  15. Licenses. Vouch; Effective 16 January 2025: Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC, NPN 19926463; P&C table (50 states and DC); surplus-lines table includes Idaho 870820; footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses; Idaho retained as producer-only due to conflict. Accessed 2026-09-15.

Updated .

This guide is informational and does not determine whether a policy is available or meets your needs. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with a supporting source.

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