Amazon Insurance Rules Hit Nov 2: Who Needs $1M Coverage

What Changed on November 2

Amazon layered two new rules on top of its existing insurance policy, both effective November 2, 2026. The old rule stays in place too.

• Existing rule (unchanged): Sellers whose gross proceeds exceed $10,000 in any single month must get and keep commercial liability insurance within 30 days, with at least $1 million per occurrence and in aggregate.
• New rule one: Sellers listing in enhanced-safety categories must carry the same $1 million policy covering those products, regardless of whether they ever cross $10,000 in a month. This applies to new and existing listings.
• New rule two: Sellers based in Mainland China must obtain insurance through Amazon\'s own program instead of any qualifying third-party provider.

The existing $10,000 trigger is rooted in Section 9 of the Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement. That part is not changing. What changes is who else gets pulled in.

The Threshold Is Gone for These Categories

For most sellers, the category rule is the bigger story. Under the old setup, a seller doing $2,000 a month in toys or supplements never needed a policy. From November 2, that changes.

If you list in an enhanced-safety category, you need coverage from your very first sale. A seller doing a few hundred dollars a month in a children\'s product or a lithium battery accessory is now in scope. Volume does not protect you anymore.

• The rule covers existing listings, not just new ones.
• A handful of in-scope ASINs is enough to trigger the requirement, even if those listings earn almost nothing.
• You still keep the $10,000 rule too. If you cross that in any category, the standing requirement applies as before.

Which Categories Are In Scope

Amazon\'s announcement names three examples: children\'s products, cosmetic and ingestible products, and lithium battery products. Independent monitoring of the update puts the full list at roughly 11 categories.

Beyond the three highlighted examples, the tracked list extends to items like supplements, small kitchen appliances, mattresses, and tires. Do not assume your product is safe based only on the three examples Amazon called out.

This table is not the authoritative full list. Pull Amazon\'s own enhanced-safety category page and check it against every ASIN in your catalog directly. The current list is what matters, not a summary.

The China Seller Rule

The second rule is narrower but more consequential for those it covers. From November 2, Amazon will reject newly submitted insurance policies from Mainland China-based sellers unless those policies came through Amazon\'s own insurance program.

There is a grace provision. A valid third-party policy that meets the coverage requirements and was submitted before November 2 stays usable until it expires. After it expires, renewal has to go through Amazon\'s program.

• Sellers everywhere else keep the option to bring their own insurer. Amazon\'s program stays optional for them.
• China-based sellers lose the choice for new policies after the deadline.
• Check your expiration date now if you are in China. A currently valid, previously submitted policy buys you time, but only until it lapses.

Amazon frames this as helping sellers avoid policy rejections and making sure claims get supported. The practical effect is that Amazon now controls which insurers can cover a large part of its seller base.

What the Coverage Must Include

The requirements themselves have not changed. But if you are buying a policy for the first time because of the category rule, the specifics matter. Get these wrong and the policy can be rejected.

• Commercial general, excess, or umbrella liability insurance covering at least $1 million per occurrence and in aggregate.
• A maximum deductible of $10,000.
• The policy must be occurrence-based.
• It must cover every product you list on Amazon.
• It must name "Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates and assignees" as additional insureds.
• The insured name must match the legal entity on your Amazon account exactly.
• Your provider needs global claim handling capability.

What It Might Cost

Costs vary. Industry reporting on Amazon\'s insurance program found quotes ranging from $837 to $2,200 annually for a seller in the $500,000 to $1,000,000 revenue range. One provider in that reporting refused to insure products manufactured in China at all.

Those figures predate this policy change, so treat them as a rough sense of scale, not a promise. A small seller newly pulled into the requirement should expect real underwriting time and real cost, not a same-day formality.

Your Do-This-Week Checklist

Here is the actual sequence. Do it this week, not in late October.

• Pull Amazon\'s enhanced-safety category list. Check it against every ASIN you sell, including low-volume listings you may have forgotten.
• Confirm whether you now need coverage. If any in-scope ASIN is live, you need the $1 million policy regardless of sales volume.
• If you need coverage, get quotes now. Underwriting and policy issuance take real time. A deadline that arrives before your policy is active can mean suspension.
• If you are China-based, check your policy expiration. A valid, previously submitted third-party policy stays usable until it expires, then renewal must go through Amazon\'s program.
• Match the fine print. Confirm the $1 million limits, the occurrence-based structure, the $10,000 max deductible, the additional-insured wording, and the exact entity name.

Why Amazon Is Doing This

This fits a pattern running through 2026. Amazon has tightened product compliance verification, expanded categories that require direct validation instead of seller-submitted certificates, and now put in writing which product types it considers risky enough to require insurance from the first unit sold.

The through-line is simple. Amazon is moving product safety risk upstream, away from itself and onto sellers and their insurers, with less discretion left to the seller at each step. That is the real shift behind the November 2 date.

Will It Actually Be Enforced

Enforcement is the open question. Amazon tightened insurance rules back in 2021, and enforcement was widely described as nonexistent. Whether November 2 brings actual listing suppressions or another unenforced requirement is not yet clear.

Do not bet your account on weak enforcement. The downside of getting covered is a few hundred dollars and some paperwork. The downside of ignoring it, if Amazon does enforce, is a suspended listing right before Q4. That math favors acting.

Conclusion

The move is straightforward. Check your catalog against Amazon\'s enhanced-safety list, confirm whether you are now in scope, and if you are, get a compliant $1 million policy before November 2. China-based sellers should confirm their policy path and expiration date too.

While you are auditing your listings, it is a good moment to tighten the rest of your catalog. See our guides on Amazon listing optimization and keeping your account health strong so a compliance fix does not become the only thing standing between you and your sales.

References

1. Amazon Seller Central: commercial liability insurance requirements help page
2. Amazon Seller Central: product categories with enhanced safety listing requirements
3. Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement (Section 9)