I'm not sure about the approval marking thing. All I know is that it is illegal here in Canada to sell an electrical appliance that is not listed by one of the approved agencies.
I just always assumed that the insurance company would give you a hard time if your house burnt down and they concluded that the cause was an appliance fire from an unlisted appliance that you knew wasn't listed by an approved agency.
But I guess they give you a hard time about all claims anyway.
