Teach Soap

...does your likelihood of being sued go up to warrant the cost?

Let me be clear: I was a paralegal for 10 years. If anything can teach a person the importance of being protected from a lawsuit, its spending a decade around lawyers.

OTOH - boy, the numbers just don't add up. My first foray into researching this was to go to the Soapmaker's Guild...$500 a year! WTF...I can't see spending that much in SUPPLIES for a year, much less that much for insurance. So I'm still reeling from that sticker shock.

Even if I find a policy at half that price, $250, how does that make sense when you are a casual hobbyist that might make $200 in a year - tops? Plus you are only dealing with people you have known for years...I could probably just recoup my costs from friends and family and never give soap to someone I don't trust. But then I'd be spending nearly the same amount in insurance than I am in SUPPLIES - that makes my head hurt.

So - for you hobbyists that don't have an official business - please add your thoughts. If you are in that category of soap maker - do you have insurance? If so, what kind of premiums are you paying? I don't think anything over $50 a YEAR would make sense for a person like me, would it?

I did go to one of the other insurance website - crap, can't remember the name of it...but I'm totally embarrassed to contact them with a question like: "I don't have a business and don't plan on making more than $200 a year - what kind of policy should I get?" I am sure the underwriters sitting in front of their computers will have quite a chuckle at THAT email!!!!

I guess there are worse things than giving some white collar worker their laugh of the day.

If you are going to sell your soap or other products, you need insurance...period. I would rather spend $225 a year on insurance than have something happen and possibly loose everything. It's not a risk I'm willing to take.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

If you are a hobbyist, I would go with RLI. Their cost is about half of the guild.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

April, I had\have this same problem. Carried insurance for one year...then had to think, why am I spending soooo much to just give it away? I dropped the insurance, keep most soap for me, give some to my mom,dtr, sisters, aunts and a few close friends (because they beg for it). And I make them promise to keep it for themselves...no re-gifting! So the giving to the womens\homeless shelters has been halted and it makes me feel sad but until I can justify the cost of the insurance this is the way it has to be. I make only about 1 batch a week (2#) or less and because I come from a large family I still don't have a ton of soap sitting around.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

I gifted a lot of soap while I was perfecting my recipes. It wasn't until I actually started my business that I got liability insurance. If I had stayed as a hobby soaper with no selling, I wouldn't have gotten insurance.
But, if you're going to sell, even if it's just a craft fair, then you need insurance - some venues require proof of insurance before you can sell.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

The second my soaps started going to a wider circle than my immediate friends (so, when they started passing them onto their friends and family, work mates, etc), I got insurance. Costs me $900 a year.

I worked out what I have invested into my soaping adventures over the past 12 months, and I'm at the 5 figure mark. Well into it. I'm still nearly 5 figures before I break even... This was my "hobby" to begin with.

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The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

Has anyone ever heard of a soaper who got sued? I'm curious. Beekeepers usually carry some liability, too, but I have to say that never, ever have I heard of one being sued over honey, and I've been on a lot of forums and lists over the years.

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Lesli Sagan
Avital's Apiaries
Like us: http://www.facebook.com/AvitalsApiaries

I haven't heard of anyone, but there's always a first time. You would think it would have been Nancy Today....shuddering...

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Now the only thing left is to change my user name to No Soap for You or Don't Even Ask Me or "Nasty WWII German Soaper" (because Soap Nazi is too un PC - only Seinfeld can get away with Soup Nazi - but its SOOOOO CLOOOSE!!!! Only one letter off!).

BUT - I see there is no function to change one's user name! So I guess I have to start a new account! Crap.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I'm going through this too...I'm really not sure what to do. I started this hobby thinking it'd be fun to give soap to friends, family and a few charity's I help with. This isn't really a great hobby if you can't share. I've only been soaping 2 weeks now and I already have enough soap to last my household for well over a year. I really want to keep soaping, but I also really don't want to have tons of extra soap just hanging out around the house. I don't feel comfortable asking friends and family to pay for my soap, as I'm just now starting off....but I also can't afford the insurance (AND supplies). Not right now anyways, I'm about to lose my job at the end of the year *and* we're trying to buy our first home. It's highly discouraging...I'm not trying to open a business, not now, or anytime soon, I'm just trying to share my craft with people. This just isn't something I'm willing to go into debt for....yet....I'm not sure what to do...

I do hear everyone's frustration. As for a soapmaker getting sued... I have often wondered about that as well. On one of the other forums I read a post that a customer found out that a certain soapmaker HAD insurance and went about claiming that the soap had caused a case of cellulitis. I do not know if she ever got sued but it is the act of defending yourself that is the concern as well. For now I will stick to my plan of action... and thank God that I have a large family and enough close friends to share with.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!