Amazon Seller Insurance for Sellers in Germany
Selling on Amazon.com from Germany? Here is how a US product liability policy sits beside your Betriebshaftpflicht, what Amazon checks on the certificate, and what we need from you to quote.
Why a German liability policy rarely answers Amazon.com
Most German companies carry a Betriebshaftpflicht, often with a Produkthaftpflicht module for goods they make, import or sell under their own brand. Those wordings are built for Germany and the wider European market. German insurance guidance on online shops says it plainly: product liability should reach worldwide, but exports to the USA and Canada usually need their own agreement.
Some insurers now sell that agreement as an add-on. HDI, for example, announced an optional cover for direct exports to the USA and Canada in its 2025 policy for online retailers, together with a vendors endorsement that extends the policy to sales platforms. If you rely on an extension like this, read whether it responds to suits filed in US courts and whether it names the exact Amazon entity rather than marketplaces in general.
Even a good extension often falls short on the details Amazon reviews. The certificate has to show limits in US dollars, Amazon as additional insured by endorsement, and an insurer rated A- or better, all in English. That is why many German sellers keep the home policy for European sales and add a separate US policy for Amazon.com. We place US product liability for sellers based in Germany, so the certificate reads the way Amazon expects.
When Amazon’s rule reaches a German seller
Amazon applies its insurance rule by where you sell, not where your company is registered. Under section 9 of the Business Solutions Agreement, a seller needs commercial liability insurance within 30 days after gross proceeds on Amazon.com pass $10,000 in a month, or whenever Amazon asks for it. A GmbH in Stuttgart with a strong Prime Day crosses that line the same way a seller in Ohio does.
The policy has to carry at least $1 million per occurrence and in the aggregate, and the additional insured endorsement has to use Amazon’s wording, “Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates and assignees”. Our Amazon seller insurance requirements page walks through each point. Before you pick a deductible, read the limit Amazon shows in Seller Central today and make sure the certificate states the figure you chose.
From November 2, 2026, listings in Amazon’s enhanced-safety categories need the policy regardless of sales. Trade coverage of Amazon’s September notice names children’s products, cosmetics, ingestibles and lithium-battery goods, and reports that the list reaches small kitchen appliances and tires too. For a German brand selling cordless tool batteries, kitchen machines or wooden toys, the policy now comes before the first US order rather than after the threshold.
CE marking, the GS mark and what a US underwriter asks
Your European product file is a strong start. Sellers already keep safety documentation for the EU General Product Safety Regulation, which has applied from 13 December 2024, and an underwriter reads that file as a sign that product safety has an owner inside the business.
CE marking and the GS mark show conformity with European rules, though, and a US underwriter asks how the product meets US rules. Expect questions about the lab reports behind a Children’s Product Certificate for toys, a UN 38.3 test summary for lithium cells and packs, and a UL or ETL listing for anything that plugs into the wall. Send those reports with the application and you avoid a second round of questions. Our lithium battery products guide covers the battery questions in more depth.
Instructions and warnings count as much as test reports. A manual written in German and machine-translated reads poorly to a US claimant’s lawyer, and underwriters ask to see the English instructions and warning labels exactly as they ship in the box.
Paperwork from a German company
The named insured on the US policy has to match the legal name on your Amazon seller account, legal form included. “Muster Kuechen GmbH” and “Muster Küchen GmbH” read as two different companies to a reviewer, and so do a UG (haftungsbeschränkt) and the GmbH it later became. Check the spelling in Seller Central before we bind, since a certificate that differs by one character is a common reason for a rejected upload.
For the application we ask for a current Handelsregister extract, Amazon.com sales for the last twelve months, the product list with ASINs, the country where each line is made, and your claims history. If you ship to FBA yourself, your EORI number and the name of your freight forwarder help us describe how goods move from the factory to the US warehouse.
Tell us who acts as importer of record. A June 2026 executive order directs US Customs and Border Protection to tighten the rules for foreign importers of record, including how their bonds work, so ask your customs broker how your entries are set up now. The answer also tells us which companies in the chain the policy should list.
Working with a nine-hour time difference
Germany usually sits nine hours ahead of the US Pacific coast and six ahead of New York. Europe and the US change their clocks on different weekends in spring and autumn, so for about a week each time the gap is an hour shorter. An Amazon request that lands during the US afternoon reaches your inbox overnight, and the 30-day clock is already running when you open it.
We keep the policy, the endorsement and the certificate together as one file, so a single upload answers Amazon’s request. German sellers can work with us entirely by email, which suits the time difference: you send documents at the end of your day, and our answers are waiting the next morning.
How Mithril1 helps German sellers
We work with hundreds of Amazon sellers, and German brands tend to arrive with tidy paperwork and one gap: a home policy that stops at the US border. We place US product liability for German companies selling on Amazon.com, with the additional insured endorsement and limits Amazon reviews, and we explain each line of the certificate before it goes to Seller Central.
To start, send your product list and Amazon.com sales figures through our contact page. For the wider picture of selling into the US from abroad, see our guide to Amazon insurance for international sellers, or return to the Amazon seller insurance hub for every guide in this series.
A few useful answers
Common questions
Can my Betriebshaftpflicht cover my Amazon.com sales?
Only if it carries a written extension for exports to the USA and Canada and also meets Amazon’s endorsement, limit and insurer-rating points. Most German sellers find a separate US policy simpler to show Amazon, and they keep the home policy for European sales.
Does the US policy have to be in the name of a US company?
No. We place US product liability for sellers based in Germany, with the German company as named insured. If you also run a US subsidiary, list both so the policy matches how you sell.
Is CE marking enough for a US quote?
It helps, but underwriters ask for evidence against US rules as well: lab reports behind a Children’s Product Certificate for toys, a UN 38.3 summary for batteries, or a UL or ETL listing for mains-powered goods.
Does the November 2026 China rule apply to German sellers?
No. The Amazon Insurance Accelerator rule applies to sellers based in Mainland China. The enhanced-safety category rule applies to every seller, including German brands with listings in those categories.
Will the policy show limits in euros?
No. The US policy states its limits in US dollars, which is how Amazon writes its requirement, so the certificate reads $1 million per occurrence and in the aggregate without any conversion.