Amazon Insurance for New and Small Sellers
A first Amazon policy is easier to buy before Amazon asks for it. Here is when the rule reaches a new or small seller, what a starter policy holds and how to get one in place calmly.
When the rule reaches a small seller
For most new sellers, Amazon’s insurance clause sits quietly in the background at first. Section 9 of the Business Solutions Agreement switches it on once gross proceeds from Amazon.com pass $10,000 in a single month, the trigger as of 2026. From then the seller has 30 days to have commercial liability coverage in force. Amazon can also ask before sales get that far, and a request in Seller Central starts the same 30-day clock.
Gross proceeds means what buyers pay, not what reaches your bank after Amazon’s fees and ad spend. A seller working on thin margins can cross the line well before the business feels big, and one holiday month, a deal event or a listing that suddenly ranks can carry an ordinary month past it. Watching the monthly sales figure in Seller Central is the simplest way to see the trigger coming.
Category can bring the date forward. From November 2, 2026, Amazon asks sellers with products in its enhanced safety categories, including children’s products, cosmetics, ingestibles and lithium battery goods, for the policy whatever their sales, on new listings and on listings already live. A one-product supplement brand in its first month is inside the rule from that date. Our page on Amazon’s insurance requirements lists every condition in full.
What a starter policy looks like
A first policy for an Amazon seller is usually commercial general liability, with its products-completed operations part covering the goods you sell. Amazon wants limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $1,000,000 in the aggregate, its own entity named as additional insured by endorsement, an insurer rated A- or better and an occurrence form for most categories. The deductible has to stay within Amazon’s cap and show on the certificate.
For a small seller, that one policy is often everything Amazon requires. Seller-insurance providers and seller education sites publishing in 2026 place a basic $1 million policy for a small seller between about $500 and $1,500 a year, with higher-risk categories above that band, and our guide to Amazon product liability insurance cost shows how sales, category and deductible move it. Because liability is rated on sales, a first-year premium is built on a modest forecast and grows only as the business does. We can offer monthly payment options, which keeps the first bill small while cash is tied up in an opening inventory order.
Two additions deserve an early look. Stock kept at home is a gap many small sellers miss, because a homeowners policy gives business property only a small limit; our page on homeowners insurance and an Amazon business explains why. And a first container from an overseas supplier travels under carrier liability limits that seldom match what the goods cost, which is the gap cargo insurance for Amazon sellers fills.
Tell the insurer about every place you sell, not only Amazon. Sales through your own website, Etsy or a wholesale account belong on the application from the start, so one policy answers for the same product wherever a buyer found it. A small seller who leaves a second storefront off the form tends to learn about it at the first claim, which is the worst moment to find out.
Why buying early avoids a rushed purchase
Thirty days sounds generous until the paperwork starts. An insurer wants a product list, sales to date and a forecast, the country of manufacture and sometimes test reports, and an enhanced safety category can take longer to place. A seller who starts in the final week tends to accept the first policy offered, even when its rating class, deductible or form suits the catalog poorly, and then carries that poor fit into every renewal.
Certificates are the other trap. Amazon checks that the insured name matches the legal entity in Seller Central, that additional insured status comes from an endorsement rather than a line in the holder box, and that the insurer name typed in matches the certificate. A hurried certificate with one of those errors gets rejected, and the deadline keeps running while it is fixed. For the November 2026 category rule, trade press reports that Amazon allows 45 days for proof before listings in those categories can be deactivated.
Early coverage also protects units already in buyers’ homes. An occurrence policy answers for injuries that happen while it is in force, whenever the product was sold, and a lamp shipped in March can overheat in September. Each month without a policy is a month in which an injury from something you already sold has no policy behind it.
Growing out of the starter policy
A starter policy is written for the business as it stands, and small sellers change quickly. Tell us before a new product line goes live, especially one in an enhanced safety category, so its class is on the policy before the first unit ships. A Walmart Marketplace store brings its own rule, a $2,000,000 aggregate once sales there pass $100,000 over 12 months. Hiring someone in California to pack orders brings workers’ compensation into the picture, which our workers’ compensation page covers.
After each term, the insurer compares the sales you forecast with the sales you made and adjusts the premium. Keeping the forecast honest through the year, and letting us know when a product takes off, heads off a surprise bill once the term ends.
Getting your first quote
We work with hundreds of Amazon sellers. To request quotes, send your legal entity name as Seller Central shows it, your product list, sales so far with a 12-month forecast, where the goods are made and stored, and the Amazon notice if one has arrived. Not sure which category a product falls in? Include the listing link and a photo, and we will describe it to insurers in their own terms. We request quotes from insurers we work with, and each insurer decides after reviewing the products and sales.
A seller with one simple product sold mostly on Amazon can also use the Instant Quote button at the top of this page, which opens NEXT Insurance, a carrier we work with, to see a price and buy online. For ways to keep that first policy within budget, read our guide to affordable Amazon seller insurance, and the Amazon seller insurance hub gathers every guide in this series.
A few useful answers
Common questions
Should a new seller buy a policy before Amazon asks?
It helps. Buying early leaves time to compare quotes and fix a certificate before the 30-day clock runs, and products in enhanced safety categories need coverage from the first sale after November 2, 2026.
How much does a first Amazon seller policy cost?
Sources published in 2026 show about $500 to $1,500 a year for a basic $1 million policy on a small seller’s catalog. Higher-risk categories cost more, and your own quote sets the price.
Is the $10,000 counted before or after Amazon’s fees?
Before. Gross proceeds are what buyers pay, so Amazon’s fees and your ad spend do not lower the figure Amazon watches.
What if Amazon’s notice arrives before I have a policy?
You have 30 days from the notice or the month you cross $10,000. Send us the notice with your product list and sales so far, and we start requesting quotes. The insurer decides after reviewing the file.
Can a new seller with no sales history get a quote?
It can, once an insurer has looked over the forecast and accepts it. Insurers quote new sellers on a forecast, so a realistic 12-month estimate and a clear product list stand in for the history you don’t have yet.