Insurance for Connecticut Manufacturers and Defense Suppliers: Products, Recall, Equipment, and CMMC

Short answer: A Connecticut manufacturer needs products and completed operations liability matched to what it makes and who uses it, property and business income for plant and equipment, equipment breakdown, inland marine for goods in transit, workers' compensation, product recall where relevant, and cyber. Suppliers in the aerospace and defense chain also need aircraft products liability if parts go into aircraft, and should align cyber coverage with the Defense Department's CMMC requirements, which began phasing into contracts on 10 November 2025.

Products liability is shaped by the end use

• General products and completed operations covers injury or damage caused by your products after they leave your control.
• Aircraft products are excluded from most general liability policies. A machine shop making components that end up in aircraft or engines needs aviation products coverage.
• Medical device and marine components may also need specialty products forms.
• Contract terms: OEM and prime contracts usually require specific limits, additional insured status and indemnity. Read them before you quote a job.

Recall, rework and your customer's loss

General liability does not pay to recall, replace or rework your defective product, or your customer's cost to remove and reinstall it. Product recall and "product withdrawal" coverage, and in some cases manufacturers' errors and omissions, fill that space.

Plant, equipment and supply chain

• Property at replacement cost for buildings, machinery and tooling, including customer-owned tooling in your care.
• Equipment breakdown for CNC machines, compressors, electrical systems and boilers, including spoilage and business income from a breakdown.
• Business income with an extended period, plus contingent business income if one supplier or customer drives most of your revenue. See business interruption.
• Inland marine for goods in transit and at outside processors such as heat treaters and platers.

Cyber and CMMC

The Defense Department's CMMC program became enforceable through contract clauses on 10 November 2025. Phase 1, running until November 2026, requires Level 1 or Level 2 self-assessments as a condition of award, and Phase 2, from 10 November 2026, adds third-party Level 2 assessments. Insurers increasingly ask about these controls. A cyber policy should cover incident response, business interruption from ransomware on production systems, and contractual obligations to notify primes. See cyber liability.

Workers and environment

Workers' compensation class codes and experience modifications drive a large share of a manufacturer's premium; see why loss costs fell but premiums did not. Pollution from coolants, plating and solvents is excluded from general liability; a pollution policy addresses it.

New England Insurance, an independent Connecticut agency in Bridgeport since 2012, works with manufacturers across Fairfield and New Haven counties. See manufacturing insurance or request a review.