Amazon product liability insurance becomes mandatory within 30 days of the month your gross proceeds pass $10,000. Amazon’s policy page states that you “must obtain and maintain commercial liability insurance 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” (Commercial Liability Insurance Requirements, checked 2026-08-02). The minimum limit is “at least USD 1 million per occurrence and in aggregate,” and the policy must name “Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates and assignees” as additional insureds.
Two things there do most of the damage. The trigger is gross proceeds — not profit, not net payout, so one good month can cross it. And “or if otherwise requested by us” lets Amazon impose the requirement on a seller nowhere near $10,000.
This is a compliance-orientation guide, not legal or insurance advice. Every rule below is quoted from an Amazon page with its check date.
Fact Block: What These Claims Rest On
| Source | What it establishes |
|---|---|
| Commercial Liability Insurance Requirements — Seller Central help, checked 2026-08-02 | The trigger, the 30-day clock, the eleven policy criteria |
| Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement — section headed Insurance, checked 2026-08-02 | The contractual obligation; the defined terms “Insurance Threshold” and “Insurance Limits” |
| A-to-z Claims Process for Property Damage and Personal Injury — Seller Central help, checked 2026-08-02 | What Amazon does when a claim arrives, with and without proof of insurance on file |
| Policies included in Account Health Rating — Seller Central help, checked 2026-08-02 | The fifteen policies AHR scores. Insurance is not among them |
Insurance Requirements You Need to Know — Seller Forums, staff account Indy_Amazon, posted 2025-05-23 | Amazon’s own summary of the rules, in checklist form |
One source is deliberately absent: the Business Insurance page inside Seller Central, where certificates are filed and the claims-made carve-out FAQ lives, returns a sign-in wall to a public fetch (checked 2026-08-02).
The Gate: Do You Need Amazon Product Liability Insurance Yet?
Four questions, in order.
| # | Question | If yes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Have your gross proceeds exceeded $10,000 in any single month? | The 30-day clock has started |
| 2 | Has Amazon requested insurance from you directly? | Same 30-day obligation, whatever your volume |
| 3 | Has a customer filed a property damage or injury claim against your product? | Amazon “may request that you obtain insurance”; you have 7 days to file proof |
| 4 | Do you hold a policy but never uploaded the certificate? | Amazon’s protections turn on proof being on file, not on the policy existing |
A “no” to all four means the requirement has not triggered — not that you carry no exposure. Amazon’s claims process “does not expand your existing financial exposure for product liability”; that exposure was always yours.
Gross proceeds is the metric that surprises people. The agreement ties the obligation to “the gross proceeds from Your Transactions,” not to disbursements: referral fees and FBA fees come out after that number is measured. A seller netting $3,000 can be past the threshold — check it against your own referral fee schedule.
What the Agreement Says, and Why It Reads Differently
The Business Solutions Agreement prints no dollar figures in its insurance clause. It uses two defined terms, and the numbers live in the definitions section (all checked 2026-08-02):
If the gross proceeds from Your Transactions exceed the applicable Insurance Threshold during any month, or otherwise if requested by us, then within thirty (30) days thereafter, you will maintain at your expense throughout the remainder of the Term for each applicable Elected Country commercial general, umbrella or excess liability insurance with the Insurance Limits per occurrence and in aggregate […] with policy(ies) naming Amazon and its assignees as additional insureds.
- “Insurance Threshold” = “Ten Thousand U.S. Dollars ($10,000) (if the Elected Country is the United States)” and the same figure in Canadian dollars for Canada.
- “Insurance Limits” = “One Million U.S. Dollars ($1,000,000) (if the Elected Country is the United States),” the Canadian equivalent for Canada, or “Other amounts that for specific products categories that Amazon may require” — so $1 million is a floor, not a ceiling.
Two phrases in that clause are easy to miss:
- “throughout the remainder of the Term.” The obligation is not scoped to the months you stay above $10,000; once triggered, it runs to the end of your selling relationship.
- “for each applicable Elected Country.” A US policy does not automatically satisfy the Canadian requirement, which carries its own CAD threshold and limit.
The additional-insured wording differs between the two documents; follow the help page. The agreement says “naming Amazon and its assignees as additional insureds”; the help page requires the exact string “Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates and assignees.” A broker who copies the agreement’s shorter phrasing produces a non-compliant certificate.
The Eleven Criteria Amazon Publishes
The help page lists these as things your policy “must” satisfy “unless otherwise required by applicable law or regulation.” The right-hand column is this guide’s reading of where each tends to fail — not Amazon’s text.
| # | Amazon’s criterion (verbatim, checked 2026-08-02) | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “The insurance policy type can be either commercial general, umbrella, or excess liability” | A products-only or E&O policy does not qualify |
| 2 | “The policy must be written on an ‘occurrence basis’” | Cheap online quotes are often claims-made |
| 3 | “The policy limit must be at least USD 1 million per occurrence and in aggregate” | A $1M aggregate with a $500K per-occurrence sublimit fails half the test |
| 4 | “The deductible … must not be greater than $10,000. Any deductible amount must be listed on your Certificate of Insurance” | Deductible compliant, but absent from the certificate |
| 5 | “The policy must cover all sales from products you have listed on the Amazon.com store” | Category exclusions in the fine print |
| 6 | “The policy must name ‘Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates and assignees’ as additional insureds” | Named as certificate holder instead of additional insured |
| 7 | “The policy must not have any sunset clause” | Common in low-cost e-commerce programs |
| 8 | Insured name must match “the ’legal entity’ name you provided to Amazon in your Account Info” | Policy in a personal name, account in an LLC |
| 9 | Provider must have “global claim handling capability and a financial rating of S&P A- and/or AM Best A- or better” | Small regional carriers and unrated MGAs |
| 10 | “The policy must be completed in its entirety and signed by an authorized representative of your insurance provider” | An unsigned quote or binder submitted as the policy |
| 11 | “Your insurance provider must give Amazon at least 30 days’ notice of cancellation, modification, or non-renewal” | Standard forms often carry shorter notice periods, especially for non-payment |
Two carve-outs sit alongside the list. On occurrence basis: “If you cannot procure an ‘occurrence-based policy’ for certain product categories that are outlined in the Frequently asked questions, reach out to your insurer for a ‘claims-made policy’.” That FAQ is inside Seller Central and could not be read publicly on 2026-08-02, so the eligible categories are not reproduced here. On the list as a whole: “Amazon will consider exceptions to these requirements on a case-by-case basis if you are unable to secure a policy that meets these requirements.”
Single-member LLCs get one accommodation. Where the legal entity name differs from the trade name, Amazon states “it is also acceptable for your insured name to match your trade name” — a DBA on the certificate is fine in that one case only.
Certificate of Insurance: What to Check Before Uploading
Amazon publishes no rejection-reason list. In this guide’s reading, criteria 4, 6 and 8 are the ones a certificate shows on its face, which makes the certificate — not the coverage — the usual point of failure:
- Insured name matches your Account Info legal entity character for character
- The additional insured box reads Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates and assignees — not “Amazon”, and not the certificate holder field
- The deductible appears on the certificate and is $10,000 or less
- Each-occurrence and general aggregate limits both show $1,000,000 or more
- The form shows occurrence, not claims-made
- Effective dates are current and the cancellation notice period is 30 days
- The certificate is signed by an authorized representative
Amazon also names its own procurement route: “we have worked with an insurance broker to create Amazon Insurance Accelerator, a network of insurance providers who will evaluate and, if appropriate, offer liability insurance at competitive rates to qualifying sellers.” Using it is optional — the A-to-z page states that “you may secure insurance independently.” Amazon publishes no pricing for it, so none is quoted here.
What Actually Happens If You Do Not Have It
From the A-to-z Claims Process for Property Damage and Personal Injury page (checked 2026-08-02):
| Claim size | Proof of insurance on file | No proof on file |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 or less | Amazon resolves it as a concession and “will not request reimbursement from you or your insurer” | Amazon expects reimbursement and “may withhold funds from your disbursements in the amount of the concession” |
| Above $1,000 | Amazon “will notify you of the claim and transfer the claim directly to your insurer for handling” | Amazon notifies you directly; respond within 7 days and handle it yourself |
The window is short: once notified of a claim, “we will ask you to provide proof of your insurance within 7 days (if you have not already done so through the Business Insurance page).”
The account-level consequence is in the same page’s FAQ: “We may also restrict you from selling in a particular category or even suspend your account until you provide proof of insurance.” That is an ordinary suspension appeal, resolved by uploading a compliant certificate.
Insurance is not scored by Account Health Rating. The AHR policy list enumerates fifteen policies (checked 2026-08-02), and Commercial Liability Insurance is not among them. A missing certificate will not move your Account Health Rating — which is exactly why sellers watching only that number get blindsided. Enforcement runs through claims and disbursement withholding.
Common Mistakes
- Reading the threshold as profit. Thin-margin sellers cross it long before it feels like a $10,000 month.
- Assuming the requirement lapses when sales fall. The agreement says maintain coverage “throughout the remainder of the Term.”
- Treating “certificate holder” as good enough. Certificate holder means notified; additional insured means covered. Only one satisfies criterion 6.
- Letting a broker set the wording. Few brokers know Amazon’s exact required string. Send it in writing.
- Buying once and forgetting. Renewal produces a new certificate, and the criteria are checked against whatever is on file when a claim lands.
- Confusing this with product compliance. A liability policy pays claims; it does not satisfy safety documentation. EU GPSR and hazmat review are separate obligations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Amazon product liability insurance if I sell under $10,000 a month?
Not automatically. But the policy page adds “or if otherwise requested by us,” and the A-to-z page states that where a customer files a claim against an uninsured seller, “we may request that you obtain insurance.” Below the threshold it is discretionary, not absent.
Does the requirement go away if my sales drop back down?
The agreement’s wording does not provide for that. Once the threshold has been exceeded, it says you “will maintain … throughout the remainder of the Term” (checked 2026-08-02). Amazon publishes no procedure for having it lifted after sales decline.
What exact name must appear as additional insured?
“Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates and assignees,” per the Commercial Liability Insurance Requirements page (checked 2026-08-02). The Business Solutions Agreement uses the looser “Amazon and its assignees”; the help page string is the one to give your broker.
Will Amazon accept a claims-made policy?
Only as a stated carve-out. The requirement is an occurrence basis, with an exception for “certain product categories that are outlined in the Frequently asked questions” on the Business Insurance page. That page requires seller login, so the eligible categories could not be verified publicly on 2026-08-02 — check it in your own account first.
Does a missing certificate hurt my Account Health Rating?
No. Commercial Liability Insurance does not appear on Amazon’s published list of policies included in AHR (checked 2026-08-02). Consequences run instead through claim reimbursement, disbursement withholding and — per the A-to-z page — possible category restriction or account suspension.
What happens to a claim that lands while I am uninsured?
For claims of $1,000 or less, Amazon settles with the customer and seeks the money back from you, and “may withhold funds from your disbursements in the amount of the concession.” Above $1,000 you handle it directly and must respond within 7 days. Buyer-side mechanics: the A-to-z Guarantee claims framework.
Conclusion
The rule is short: exceed $10,000 in gross proceeds in one month, and within 30 days you owe a commercial general, umbrella or excess liability policy on an occurrence basis, at $1 million per occurrence and in aggregate, naming “Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates and assignees” as additional insureds, with the deductible printed on the certificate.
The asymmetry is what makes it worth handling early. With a certificate on file, claims of $1,000 or less cost you nothing and larger ones route straight to your insurer. Without one, the same claims become disbursement deductions and a rule Amazon can enforce by suspending the account — none of which shows up on your Account Health Rating first.
All figures and quotations here were checked against Amazon’s published pages on 2026-08-02. Amazon revises policy pages without notice; verify against the linked sources before acting.