Amazon DSP Insurance for Delivery Service Partners
An Amazon delivery company insures a fleet of vans, a crew of hourly drivers and helpers, and a full day of packages. Here is how each policy fits and what Amazon expects you to carry.
What a DSP owner is insuring
A Delivery Service Partner is an independent company that delivers Amazon packages with its own employees and its own fleet. Amazon’s program brochure describes owners who hire and coach hourly drivers and helpers, and it sizes a fully ramped company on standard or rural routes at 20 to 40 vehicles. Each piece of that operation raises its own insurance question: the vans, the people driving them, the packages on board and the station where every shift begins.
Amazon’s setup checklist for new owners includes getting motor carrier operating authority and applying for vehicle insurance before the first route goes out. We place fleet auto for DSPs, together with the workers’ compensation and general liability that sit beside it, so a new owner can line up the whole package in one pass instead of chasing three separate quotes.
The coverages below follow the order most owners meet them: the vans first, then the vehicles you borrow or rent, then the crew, then the things that go wrong away from the road.
Fleet auto for the vans you run
Commercial auto is the largest line on most DSP budgets. Its liability section answers for injuries and property damage your drivers cause to other people, and physical damage coverage addresses repairs to the vans themselves after a collision. A route van spends the day pulling to the curb, reversing out of driveways and merging back into traffic, so the liability side carries most of the weight.
Many DSPs drive Amazon-branded vans leased through Amazon’s vehicle partners, and some add vans they own outright. Every one belongs on the schedule, and that schedule changes often as vans go in for repair or join for peak season. Amazon’s program manager tells partners that a leased van carries two ID cards: the company’s own auto policy card, which the driver hands over after an accident, and a master policy card listing Amazon Logistics as owner for registration. Keep both in every cab.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist limits deserve attention as well. Amazon’s program manager lists state-required minimums for that coverage, and New Hampshire’s sits at $1,000,000, so a limit that works on routes in one state falls short in another. If your company runs routes across a state line, check the figure for each state before you settle on a number.
Hired and non-owned auto, and the packages on board
Hired and non-owned auto liability reaches vehicles your company uses without owning or leasing them long term. For a DSP that usually means a rental van brought in while a regular van sits in the shop. It also reaches a manager’s personal car used for a bank run or a parts pickup, where the company gets named in the lawsuit after a crash. Our guide to hired and non-owned auto walks through how that coverage works.
Cargo coverage protects the parcels your drivers carry. Amazon’s DSP program writes cargo legal liability with a limit of up to $25,000 for loss or damage in transit from fire, collision or a load striking something. A van full of electronics on a December route can hold more value than that, so ask what cargo limit your agreement calls for and how the insurer values a lost load.
Workers’ compensation for drivers and helpers
DSP drivers and helpers work for your company, not for Amazon, so their work injuries belong on your workers’ compensation policy. California requires employers to carry it even with a single employee, and most other states set comparable rules. Delivery work produces a steady run of claims: back strains from lifting, falls on wet steps, dog bites and knee injuries from climbing in and out of a cab dozens of times a shift.
Premium follows payroll and job class, so the split between route staff and office staff matters. Amazon’s program allocates payroll 95 percent to drivers and 5 percent to clerical unless the owner sets another split, and it bills each month on the prior month’s payroll. Whatever insurer you use, report payroll by role accurately, because the audit at the end of the term settles any difference.
Your claim record shapes the price over time through the experience modifier. A DSP that reports injuries the same day, brings people back on light duty and keeps vans in good repair builds a cleaner record each year. Our workers’ compensation page explains the basics of the policy.
General liability at the station and on the doorstep
General liability handles injuries and property damage that do not involve driving. A driver who cracks a customer’s glass storm door, a package left on a step that trips a visitor, or a helper who knocks over a planter while walking a route are general liability questions rather than auto questions.
The station, and any yard or office you rent, adds premises exposure, and landlords usually ask for proof of liability coverage before you move in. Amazon’s program manager lists general liability among the products DSPs need, next to commercial auto and workers’ compensation, so plan for it from day one rather than as an add-on.
What Amazon requires, and how to show it
Your DSP agreement sets the coverages and limits each partner must carry, and Amazon’s insurance program was built to match them. The program manager lists commercial auto with cargo legal liability and hired and non-owned auto, general liability and workers’ compensation as the required lines. Read the insurance exhibit in your own agreement for the exact limits, and send that exhibit with every application so each quote is built to the same schedule.
Amazon presents its negotiated insurance as one of several services for new owners, and its brochure states that a delivery company is not required to use those third-party deals to join the program. Owners who want a second set of numbers can compare the program with an independent broker. Our page on the Amazon DSP program versus a broker sets out the trade-offs.
Keep the proof current. Certificates go to Amazon and to anyone else who asks, such as a landlord, and the auto ID cards ride in every van. Marketplace sellers face a separate rule set, which our Amazon seller insurance hub covers in full.
What to send for a DSP quote
A complete submission produces a usable quote sooner. Send the vehicle list with VINs, marking which vans are leased through Amazon and which you own, plus the driver roster so the insurer can pull motor vehicle records.
Add payroll by role for drivers, helpers and office staff, the address of each station you work from, the number of routes you run, and three to five years of loss runs where you have them. A new DSP without loss history should describe the owner’s management background and the fleet safety plan in place for launch.
Finally, attach the insurance exhibit from your DSP agreement and any current declarations pages. With those in hand we can quote fleet auto, workers’ compensation and general liability together and check each one against what Amazon asks for.
A few useful answers
Common questions
Do I have to buy DSP insurance through Amazon's program?
No. Amazon’s DSP brochure says partners are not required to use its negotiated third-party deals, and insurance is one of them. Whatever you buy has to meet the coverages and limits in your DSP agreement.
Which policy responds when a DSP driver damages a customer's property on foot?
That is a general liability question: a broken gate or a scratched door away from the van. Damage caused by driving the van belongs to the commercial auto policy.
How should a DSP handle a rental van during a repair?
A rental used while a regular van is out of service is a hired auto exposure. Tell your insurer about long-term rentals and peak-season additions so each van is scheduled correctly.
Does Mithril1 insure Amazon DSP fleets?
Yes. We place fleet auto for Delivery Service Partners, along with workers’ compensation and general liability, and quote them against the insurance exhibit in your DSP agreement.
How is workers' comp priced for a delivery company?
By payroll in each job class, with route staff rated higher than office staff, adjusted by your experience modifier once you have a claim record. An audit after the term compares estimated payroll with actual payroll.