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Posted on: June 5, 2025 by Huntersure
Innovation moves fast in product design, and legal complications are keeping pace. With tighter timelines, integrated systems, and more crowded markets, intellectual property (IP) disputes have become a common challenge for design professionals.
For insurance agents, this environment underscores the importance of understanding how professional liability insurance for product design firms can address IP-related risks. This coverage is especially important today, with the U.S. product design and development market set to double from $3.4 billion in 2022 to nearly $6.8 billion by 2030.
In product design, intellectual property typically refers to patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade dress. These legal protections may apply to how a product works, how it looks, or how it’s presented. Even small details, such as interface layouts or the shape of a component, can trigger legal protection.
The challenge is that infringement doesn’t have to be intentional. A firm might unintentionally mirror a protected feature, especially in a competitive industry where function often drives form. And it’s not just core designers at risk. System integrators, consultants, and firms advising on product selection may also be liable if their contributions resemble or replicate protected material.
If a new product resembles something already on the market, a claim might follow, either from a competitor or from a client who believes their IP has been compromised. Many general liability and standard errors and omissions (E&O) policies exclude direct IP infringement lawsuits. However, firms can still face professional liability if they’re accused of negligence during the design process.
These situations can bring serious costs. Legal defense, reputational damage, and settlements can be especially costly, especially for smaller firms. Agents should help clients understand the distinction between uncovered IP disputes and errors or omissions that fall under professional liability.
Professional liability insurance is essential for product design firms, particularly when their services go beyond basic design. Engineers, ergonomics consultants, system integrators, and firms offering product selection or technical training all face risks that standard product liability insurance may not address.
Huntersure’s professional liability program is designed to handle this variety. It covers third-party claims tied to professional negligence and offers the following options:
This kind of flexibility is particularly valuable for firms working internationally or meeting specific client contract terms.
As design processes become more collaborative and technology-driven, IP disputes are becoming harder to avoid. Even the most careful firms may find themselves named in disputes due to contractual obligations or third-party accusations.
Insurance agents who can identify and explain these exposures provide more than policies. They become trusted advisors. With Huntersure’s focused underwriting, responsive quoting, and understanding of design-sector risks, agents can support clients in navigating one of the more nuanced areas of liability coverage.
Contact us today to learn how Huntersure’s customized professional liability insurance can help protect your product design clients from the legal and financial risks of IP disputes.
Huntersure LLC is a full-service Managing General Agency that has provided insurance program administration for professional liability products to our partners across the United States since 2007. We specialize in providing insurance solutions for businesses of all sizes. Our program features can cover small firms (grossing $2.5 million annually) to large corporations (grossing $25 million annually or more). We make doing business with us easy with our breadth and depth of knowledge of E&O insurance, our proprietary underwriting system that allows for responsive quoting, binding, and policy issuance and tailored products to meet the needs of your insureds. Give us a call at (855) 585-6255 to learn more.
Posted in: Product Design Product Design Liability Professional Liability Insurance