Product Liability in Tennessee

Tennessee’s Products Liability Act imposes two separate timing rules. First, a product-liability action must be brought within six years after the injury; any shorter applicable limitations period can still control. Second, the outside product-age bar is the shorter of 10 years after first purchase or one year after the product’s anticipated life expires. The statute has specific asbestos and breast-implant exceptions.

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. Read the national Product liability guide.

What to Watch for With Product Liability in Tennessee

  • Record first purchase and expected product life

    Tennessee’s outside product-age bar is the shorter of 10 years from first purchase or one year after the anticipated life expires. It is separate from the six-year injury deadline, and a shorter otherwise-applicable filing period may also control. Preserve both injury and purchase/service-life dates. 1,2

  • Do not assume the six-year rule overrides repose

    The six-year deadline runs from injury; the product-age bar separately runs from first purchase or anticipated-life expiration, whichever produces the shorter statutory limit. An older product report can therefore raise a different timing question from a recently occurring injury. 1,2

  • Flag specialized product categories

    Tennessee’s time bars expressly exclude asbestos exposure and provide a separate period for silicone gel breast implants. Identify these product categories at placement so the broker can confirm whether ordinary product-liability terms address the relevant claims. 2

Which Product Liability Providers Have Tennessee License Records?

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

  • Vouch

    Insurance producer, Surplus-lines broker · checked 2026-09-28

    Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC

    Vouch’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. 14

    Vouch lists product liability among the core coverages in its technology-company programs.

Who Regulates Insurance in Tennessee?

Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance

TDCI regulates and licenses insurance companies, agents, brokers, surplus-lines agents, and public adjusters. Its complaint process accepts complaints about agents or companies when the policy was written in Tennessee, and its property/casualty unit reviews filed policy rates, rules, and forms. 3,4,5

Surplus-Lines Tax and Stamping Office in Tennessee

Reported tax rate. 5% of gross premium plus 0.175% SLAS transaction fee 6,7

For Tennessee-home-state surplus-lines policies, TDCI lists a 5% tax on gross premium and a 0.175% SLAS transaction fee on gross premium; the agent receives an invoice and pays both through SLIP. The sources reviewed do not establish that the fee is always separately charged to the policyholder or resolve guaranty-association treatment, so ask your broker to itemize charges and review the policy notice.

Questions to Ask Before You Buy Product Liability in Tennessee

  1. Which entities design, import, manufacture, label, distribute, install, or sell our products in Tennessee?
  2. What product dates, warnings, warranties, and change records should we preserve for claims in Tennessee?
  3. How do the policy’s product wording, reporting terms, and defense provisions apply when a claim involves several product-chain businesses?

Product Liability Insurance in Tennessee: Frequently Asked Questions

What is Tennessee’s outside filing deadline?

Generally the claim must be filed within 10 years after first purchase or within one year after the product’s anticipated life expires, whichever is shorter, subject to statutory exceptions and the separate injury-based deadline. 1,2

How do Tennessee’s injury deadline and product-age cutoff differ?

The six-year deadline runs from injury. Separately, the outside product cutoff is the shorter of 10 years after first purchase or one year after anticipated life expires, with statutory exceptions. 1,2

Product Liability Insurance Guides for Other States

Other coverage in TennesseeEvery coverage guide for Tennessee, plus the regulator and surplus-lines details.

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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