Amazon Seller Insurance Requirements: $1M for Safety Categories

November 4, 2026. Since Monday, November 2, 2026, Amazon's US store requires sellers with products listed in a category with enhanced safety listing requirements to carry commercial liability insurance of at least USD 1 million per occurrence and in aggregate, "regardless of whether they meet the USD 10,000 gross proceeds in a month threshold." The rule applies to new and existing listings. The same Seller Forums notice, posted on September 3, says sellers based in Mainland China must now buy their cover through the Amazon Insurance Accelerator (AIA), and that Amazon will reject newly submitted policies obtained anywhere else.

What changed on November 2

1. The $10,000 trigger still applies to every seller. Amazon's Commercial Liability Insurance Requirements page still cites section 9 of the Business Solutions Agreement: you must obtain and maintain cover "within 30 days after exceeding USD 10,000 in gross proceeds in sales in one month on Amazon.com, or if otherwise requested by us." The notice calls the new rules additions "to this existing requirement".
2. A category trigger is added on top. Sellers with products in enhanced safety categories must "maintain a commercial liability insurance policy that covers those products", at USD 1 million per occurrence and in aggregate, whatever their monthly sales. Amazon says "This change applies to both new and existing listings." Vanessa Hung, an e-commerce strategist quoted by PPC Land, opened her post on the change with "Zero sales no longer exempt you from this."
3. Mainland China sellers move to AIA. From November 2, Amazon rejects newly submitted policies not obtained through AIA. A valid third-party policy that meets the coverage requirements and was submitted before November 2 can be used until it expires; after that, the seller must buy through AIA. The requirements page adds "unless otherwise agreed in writing by Amazon."
4. Sixty days of notice. The forum post is timestamped Thursday, September 3, 2026, and the change took effect on Monday, November 2, 60 days later. PPC Land reported it on September 21.

Which products trigger the $1M requirement

Amazon's list of product categories with enhanced safety listing requirements showed 11 categories and 37 named product types when we read it on November 4, 2026. Amazon warns that the list "changes as Amazon adds new categories, and it does not cover all products with these requirements", and tells sellers to check Account Health.

One gap to watch. The notice names "children's products, cosmetic and ingestible products, and lithium battery products", but the category page we read lists dietary supplements, ingestible over-the-counter medication and ophthalmic drug products under consumables and does not use the word cosmetic. If you sell cosmetics, we would check Account Health and ask Seller Support in writing rather than assume you are outside the rule.

What the policy must say before Amazon accepts it

The requirements page lists the criteria a policy must meet "unless otherwise required by applicable law or regulation". A $1M policy can still be rejected if it misses one of them:

• Commercial general, umbrella or excess liability, written on an "occurrence basis". If you cannot get an occurrence-based policy for certain product categories named in Amazon's FAQ, Amazon says to ask your insurer for a claims-made policy.
• At least USD 1 million per occurrence and in aggregate, covering products, products/completed operations and bodily injury.
• A deductible of no more than $10,000, printed on the Certificate of Insurance.
• Cover for "all sales from products you have listed on the Amazon.com store".
• "Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates and assignees" named as additional insureds, and no sunset clause.
• An insured name that matches the legal entity name in your Account Info (a single-member LLC may use its trade name).
• An insurer with global claim handling and an S&P A- and/or AM Best A- rating or better (or a local equivalent where those ratings are not used), which must give Amazon at least 30 days' notice of cancellation, modification or non-renewal.
• A policy completed in full and signed by an authorized representative of the insurer.

Amazon says it "will consider exceptions to these requirements on a case-by-case basis" for sellers who cannot get a compliant policy. Sellers outside Mainland China can use any insurer that meets the list; AIA is a network of insurers Amazon set up with a broker, and the requirements page publishes no premiums.

How Amazon checks it, and what it does not say

For the listed categories, Amazon's category page says to get a Certificate of Insurance, submit it "through Business Insurance verification on Seller Central", and that "Once it meets the requirements, your selling privileges will be turned on." It also says products that do not comply "are subject to action", including "removing the relevant product listings." The insurance notice itself sets no grace period, and PPC Land noted that it "does not state what happens to a seller without compliant cover on November 2."

Insurance is not the only gate. The same category page requires a "direct product validation authorized" third-party testing, inspection and certification (TIC) provider to verify notified ASINs, and says products may be picked for testing "at any time". PPC Land points out that the insurance notice "says nothing about testing", which sits under separate requirements.

What it means for operators

For the listed categories, the catalog is now a trigger alongside revenue. In a hypothetical case, a seller turning over $800 a month with one portable power supply listed now needs the same $1M policy that a seller above $10,000 a month already had to carry. In our view the work, in order, is:

1. Map every active ASIN to the 11 categories. Export your listings and match them against the table above, then check Account Health, since Amazon says the list is not complete.
2. Decide whether each listed product is worth keeping. Amazon's criteria say the policy must cover all sales from products you list on Amazon.com, so the cost lands on the account. If one low-volume product is your only one in a listed category, compare the cost of cover with the margin it earns. Removing the listing is an option; selling it uninsured is not.
3. Read the certificate before you upload it. The exact additional insured wording, the deductible printed on the COI, an occurrence-based form and a legal entity name match are criteria a $1M policy must also meet.
4. Ask your broker about other channels. Amazon's criteria cover sales in the Amazon.com store. If the same products sell on your own store, we would ask whether one policy can cover both.
5. Mainland China sellers: plan the renewal now. A valid policy that met the requirements and was submitted before November 2 runs to its expiry date, and the replacement has to come through AIA.

If the audit shows how much of your revenue depends on a marketplace's rules, it may be worth growing a store you control. Our Shopify developers build and maintain those stores as part of our e-commerce services, and our Shopify app reviews compare the apps merchants run them on. For other changes that hit sellers this season, see our pieces on EU product identifiers and holiday shipping surcharges. This is general information, not legal or insurance advice.