Brand protection

Drug recalls have continued to increase year-over-year by more than 10%, mostly due to mislabeling, technological advances in testing and unintentional cross-contamination.

As regulators become more collaborative in their oversight activities, increases in pharmaceutical product recalls and enforcement actions are bound to follow.

Medical device product recalls have increased 10% year-on-year for the past five years – driven by increasing product safety regulations, technological advances in identification of new pathogens and increasing technology dependencies. Recalls due to software faults have risen by 37% in the past year and are expected to accelerate with further digitization of the industry.

Advancements in technology are both a boon and a challenge for product recall and remediation issues. Whilst, offering opportunities to improve the quality and traceability of products, they are also creating new risks.

Technology itself is becoming a bigger driver of product recalls, whether in the form of cybersecurity upgrades or the introduction of innovative but untested advances, such as AI, nanotechnology, or biotechnology.

Automotive product recalls and remediations can have a substantial impact across the supply chain, from parts manufacturers to the consumer. The implications of a recall range from reputation damage to significant financial loss.

As automakers share product platforms and supply chain partners, defects will affect multiple manufacturers and models. The technological shift toward EV and autonomous mobility is already creating further in-market challenges.

Industrial product recalls are growing in size and number, predominantly driven by the increasing complexity of global supply chains, the concentration of components across a smaller number of suppliers, and tougher regulations.

This has resulted in huge increases in risk and the emergence of a ‘ripple effect’ where a single product recall can impact numerous manufacturers, brands and countries – causing reputational damage and large financial losses.

Global supply chain management is challenging in the best of times. Managing a network of manufacturers, specialized ingredient or component suppliers, retailers and regulators presents significant risks and challenges.

Whether it is a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer of a wide range of goods – from electrical appliances to clothing – a company can be left in ruins if it does not manage a consumer product recall or remediation well.

In response to numerous high-profile product recalls and rising consumer expectations regarding product quality and safety, regulatory scrutiny has been increasing globally.

Following a number of fatal outbreaks, food manufacturers face increased scrutiny and enforcement for safety issues including undeclared allergens, toxins, manufacturing errors, mislabeling or unintentional cross-contamination and environment contamination.

Building a brand and reputation is hard, keeping it during and after a crisis is harder. Sedgwick’s brand protection experts know what it takes to resolve in-market business and product crises in a way that upholds the brand and lives up to commitments to customers, supply chain partners, industry groups and regulators.

One company’s action in a critical event such as a product recall, has the potential to create a ripple effect with disastrous consequences for everyone in that category.

Over the past 25 years, we’ve partnered with industry trade organizations and their member companies to support compliance with safety standards, promote continuous advancement in product-safety best practices, and protect the interests for everyone in the product category.

Product safety and quality concerns can often trigger insurance policies from general product liability and recall insurance to Directors and Officers liability coverage.

Since 1995, underwriters, brokers, and their clients, have relied on us for comprehensive solutions to managing global risk, product recall, and remediation – including the retrieval of in-market product, processing and tracking returns, working with governing regulatory agencies, and more.

Tougher regulation brings more product recalls, more product-safety issues and more litigation. Regulatory scrutiny is increasing as many countries implement stricter product-safety laws.

Trusted by leading law firms, Sedgwick provides proven strategies and expertise to guide clients through international recall and remediation programs to meet regulatory compliance, as well as health, safety and environmental standards.

Over the past 25 years, we’ve built strong working relationships with jurisdictional and industry regulators around the world. We have managed product recalls and remediation programs across industries in 60+ countries and 20+ languages.

Protecting businesses, their customers and our environment requires insight into evolving product safety, health and environmental standards, as well as expertise in meeting those standards before, during and after any incident.