Insurance

Vendor liability insurance

Each farmers’ market sets its own insurance rules, and many require vendors to carry their own liability insurance naming the market — sometimes also the business association, city and regional district — as an additional insured; BCAFM’s group insurance for markets does not cover vendors. James Bay Market requires $2 million for all food vendors, the only 2026 amount found (Oaklands Sunset Market’s 2025 handbook asked $1 million of food service vendors). BCAFM’s daily-rate vendor insurance through Duuo ends on November 30, 2026, with no replacement named yet; its annual group rate through Western Financial Group comes with the $75 BCAFM Vendor Membership and starts at $175 (the same page also says $160).

Who issues it
Your insurer — most markets set a requirement

Do you need it?

You need it if

  • You sell at a farmers’ market that requires vendors to carry their own liability insurance — many do.
Where this comes from

Sources

How to get it

  1. 1

    Ask your market what it needs

    The amount, and who must be named as additional insured — sometimes the market, the city and the regional district.

  2. 2

    Join BCAFM’s vendor membership

    $75 a year; 2027 applications open in November. You must be 19 or older and sell at a member market.

  3. 3

    Apply for the group insurance

    Through Western Financial Group: a questionnaire, then the application. It costs $175 a year and expires each February 15; at least 60% of your income must come from farmers’ markets.

Where this comes from

Sources

Once you have it

  • BCAFM’s daily-rate option through Duuo ends November 30, 2026.
Where this comes from

Sources

Which businesses need it

Home-based food makersBaking or making food in your own kitchen to sell.Farmers’ market vendorsSelling at farmers’ markets, Christmas markets and craft fairs.

The rules behind this page

Last checked 5 November 2026. We check this guide regularly against Island Health, provincial and municipal sources, but regulations and laws change often and we can’t guarantee it is complete or current. Confirm with Island Health and your municipality before you apply, build or sell.

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