As an Amazon seller, it is important to protect your business from the unexpected. That's why Amazon seller insurance is a necessity for any business operating on the platform.
Getting the right business insurance provides comprehensive coverage for any potential liabilities that may arise in the course of selling on Amazon.
In this blog post, we will provide an overview of what Amazon seller insurance covers and how you can protect your business with it.
Read on to learn more about Amazon seller insurance and how it can help you protect your business.
Why You Need Amazon Seller Insurance
Apart from the reasons listed below, Amazon actually requires you to have insurance once you hit $10,000 per month in gross sales.
Amazon has a policy called the Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement which covers the topic of seller insurance requirements.
Specifically, Amazon states that sellers need Commercial Liability Insurance within 30 days of exceeding $10,000 USD of gross sales in one month. They may also request at any time that sellers take out insurance.
Apart from Amazon's requirements, here's a some of the scenarios where insurance may save your behind:
- Claims against you, from a customer, that your product caused injury or harm
- Property damages caused as a result of using your product
- Copyright infringements and other claims made against your company
Now this doesn't mean you can go and break the law or act recklessly in your business. Like any sort of insurance claim, the insurance company is going to investigate and they may refuse to pay out a claim if you are in the wrong.
This is why it's important to discuss your insurance requirements with a qualified professional.
Different Types of Insurance
Without crossing the line into providing "advice", I'd like to briefly cover the different types of insurance available to Amazon and eCommerce sellers.
Every situation is going to be different but in a nutshell, here's an overview of the types of insurance you may need to consider as a professional Amazon seller:
Commercial Liability Insurance
Often referred to as General liability insurance or Business liability insurance, Commercial liability insurance is the type of policy that Amazon requires you to have once you exceed $10k in gross sales in one month.
This type of policy generally covers injury or damage claims from customers using your products however, it is different to product liability insurance as explained below.
Product Liability Insurance
If you're manufacturing or private labeling your own product for Amazon, you might be at risk of claims against you if your products cause injury or loss to a customer. This policy differs to commercial liability insurance in the way that it generally covers issues that arise from the design and manufacturing of products.
3PL & Warehouse Insurance
If you've hit the big-time and you run a warehouse or a third party logistics business as part of your Amazon empire, this type of insurance policy is going to be something you'll want to have in place.
Inventory Insurance
If you're storing inventory for your Amazon business and it gets stolen or damaged, an inventory insurance policy might cover you in this scenario.
Workers Comp Insurance
Even if you're not running a bustling warehouse to store your inventory, you may be at risk for worker injury claims. Even things like carpel tunnel syndrome could be an issue if you have administrative staff doing online based work for you.
Cyber Liability Insurance
In this day and age, cyber attacks are becoming more common and sensitive customer information is always at risk. Cyber Liability Insurance is designed to help you manage the fallout from data breaches that might occur.
Cargo Insurance
Sometimes referred to as freight insurance, this kind of policy covers issues such as damage, loss, or theft, when transporting your inventory.
Amazon Seller Insurance Policy Requirements
We've already mentioned that Amazon requires you to have a Commercial liability insurance policy once you exceed $10,000 USD gross sales in one month, but what are the specific requirements of the policy?
Well, to save myself from re-inventing the wheel, I've pulled the following information directly from Amazon's insurance requirements policy inside of seller central:
Your commercial liability insurance policy must meet all of the following criteria, unless otherwise required by applicable law or regulation:
- The insurance policy type can be either commercial general, umbrella, or excess liability and be occurrence based, except for certain product categories that are outlined in the Frequently asked questions;
- The policy limit must be at least USD 1 million per occurrence and in aggregate, and cover liabilities caused by or occurring in conjunction with your business operations, including products, products/completed operations and bodily injury;
- The deductible for any policy(ies) must not be greater than $10,000. Any deductible amount must be listed on your Certificate of Insurance;
- The policy must cover all sales from products you have listed on the Amazon.com store;
- The policy must name "Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates and assignees" as additional insureds;
- Except for single-member LLCs, your insured name must match the “legal entity” name you provided to Amazon in your Account Info. For single member LLCs, where your legal entity name is different than the name you publicly use to identify your business (“trade name,” “doing business as,” or “DBA”), it is also acceptable for your insured name to match your trade name;
- Your insurance provider must have global claim handling capability and a financial rating of S&P A- and/or AM Best A- or better (if S&P or AM best is not valid or used in the country where you are required to obtain insurance, a local equivalent is allowed);
- The policy must be completed in its entirety and signed; and
- Your insurance provider must give Amazon at least 30 days’ notice of cancellation, modification, or non-renewal.
What is the Amazon Insurance Accelerator Program?
In typical Amazon form, the ecom giant has also expanded into the insurance space with its Amazon Insurance Accelerator program.
Amazon is not providing the insurance policy directly, but I would bet that they are making a cut if you take out a policy after they have referred you.
Inside of seller central there is an application form you can complete if you want to take out insurance via the Amazon Insurance Accelerator program.
Basically, the Amazon Insurance accelerator is a network of trusted partners that Amazon recommends for insurance.
Amazon does make it clear that sellers are free to take out a policy with any insurance company, just as long as the policy meets Amazon's requirements.
Finding the Right Amazon Insurance Provider
There's a lot of different insurance companies to choose from, so my recommendation to you is to do your research and find a solution best suited to your specific situation.
I've personally met Ashlin Hadden at an Amazon conference or two and she seems to do a great job helping sellers with their insurance needs.
Take a look at her website over at ecom.insure and be sure to tell her that Chris from Clear The Shelf sent you! 🙂
In doing a quick bit of research, the following insurance companies came up quite a bit.
There might be many more insurance providers that you can look at, but the most important thing is that they understand your needs and can match you with a policy best suited to your business.
Amazon Seller Insurance Cost
Because every single Amazon seller situation is going to differ, most insurance companies will want to assess your situation and provide you with a custom quote.
Ashlin Hadden Insurance lists the following prices on her website:
These prices are easy to understand and appear to be very transparent, but make sure you submit an obligation-free application on the website to discuss your situation fully.
Frequently Asked Questions
An insurance company is generally always going to assess your individual situation and provide a with a custom quote, but on a site like Ashlin Hadden insurance you can see that policies start from around $20 per month.
You can either do a Google search, or you might like to try an insurance comparison site like Simply Business to compare different seller insurance options.
Amazon requires you to have commercial liability insurance coverage.
Amazon only requires you to have insurance coverage once you exceed $10,000 in gross sales in one month however, having insurance for your business is always a good idea. Be sure to look into getting business insurance to see if it's going to benefit your current situation.
Summary - Amazon Seller Insurance
Generally speaking, Amazon seller insurance is a must-have for any seller on the platform. Aside from being required by Amazon once you exceed their sales threshold, it is designed to protect you from unforeseen circumstances.
While I can't personally give you advice on the matter, we have a huge group of Amazon sellers on Facebook that would be happy to give you some further recommendations if you are looking for a good insurance company to help with your needs.
Thanks again for reading, all the best.
