Starting November 2, revised Amazon liability insurance requirements cover even years-old listings in enhanced safety categories, and sellers headquartered in Mainland China can only submit new policies bought via the Amazon Insurance Accelerator.
For years, a seller who never had a $10,000 month could skip Amazon liability insurance entirely. That pass expires on November 2 for anyone with even one ASIN in Amazon’s 11 enhanced safety categories.
The updated Amazon liability insurance requirements reach listings you created years ago, not just new ones, and a missing policy can get those listings deactivated. A wholesale air fryer or a rechargeable gadget that sells a few units a month is enough to put your account on the hook.
What the New Amazon Liability Insurance Requirements Change on November 2
Amazon told sellers on September 3 that it’s adding two rules to its commercial liability insurance policy, both taking effect November 2. Amazon’s Commercial Liability Insurance Requirements page reflects the changes, which Amazon says are meant to protect customers and limit sellers’ financial exposure after product-related incidents.
Under the existing Amazon requirements, a seller who passes $10,000 in Amazon.com gross proceeds in one month has a 30-day window to get coverage with $1 million limits. The first new rule removes that threshold for enhanced safety categories like children’s products, cosmetics and ingestibles, and lithium battery products, and it applies to listings already live as well as new ones.
The second rule applies only to sellers based in Mainland China, whose new policies must come through the Amazon Insurance Accelerator, a panel of insurers Amazon assembled with Marsh. Amazon says this should reduce rejected certificates and help claims get paid.
China-based sellers with a compliant outside policy on file before November 2 may keep it until it lapses. After that, renewals must go through the Accelerator, while sellers elsewhere can still choose any insurer that meets Amazon’s standards.
| Who it affects | What changes | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
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Sellers with any ASIN in an enhanced safety category
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A policy with $1 million limits is required at any sales level, including on listings already live
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November 2, 2026
|
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Sellers headquartered in Mainland China
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New policies are accepted only if bought through the Amazon Insurance Accelerator
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November 2, 2026, with compliant older policies honored until they expire
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All other sellers
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No change to the $10,000 trigger, the $1 million limits, or insurer choice
|
Current rules continue
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Small Sellers Lose Their $10,000 Buffer on Amazon Insurance
Trade coverage of the update, including EcomCrew’s breakdown, treats the threshold change as a bigger shift for the average seller than the China rule. A store selling a couple thousand dollars a month in toys or vitamins never needed Amazon insurance before, and that exemption ends November 2.
The enhanced safety list spans 11 categories, reaching well past toys into small kitchen appliances, mattresses, and tires. For sellers buying coverage for the first time, Amazon’s published requirements spell out what every policy must include.
- Commercial general, excess, or umbrella liability
- $1 million limits for each occurrence and in total
- A deductible capped at $10,000
- Occurrence-based coverage for every product in the Amazon catalog
- “Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates and assignees” listed as additional insureds
- An insured name identical to the legal entity on the seller account
- A carrier with worldwide claims handling
Certificate details can cause rejections on their own. For example, My Amazon Guy’s product insurance walkthrough shows a first submission that failed because the policy dates didn’t match Seller Central. Sellers working with an Amazon agency can have their account team check existing certificates against this list before November 2.
On cost, the same report cites earlier Insurance Accelerator quotes of $837 to $2,200 a year for a seller doing $500,000 to $1,000,000, collected before the new rules were announced. Enforcement is still an open question after the largely unenforced 2021 update, though Amazon’s 2026 push on third-party lab testing in these categories points to a stricter approach.
Low-Volume and Dormant ASINs Carry the Heaviest Premium Burden
High-volume brands in these categories already carry a policy, so November 2 changes little for them, according to Nova Analytics COO Maxime Huet. The impact lands on accounts with a handful of slow category ASINs, because one forgotten listing can make the entire account subject to the rule while the premium stays flat no matter how few units it sells.
A worked example in the same analysis puts a $1,400 premium against four supplement ASINs that sell 1,800 units a year at $4.10 of contribution each. That premium absorbs 19% of the $7,380 total, or roughly $0.78 per unit.
Sellers can run the same math by dividing the annual premium by the units those ASINs actually sell and comparing the result with the contribution margin. If the premium erases that margin, removing the listings is a reasonable business decision.
Current insurance status and Accelerator quotes are available under Settings, then Account Info, then Business Insurance in Seller Central. China-based sellers who get a compliant outside policy on file before November 2 keep their insurer options open for one more policy term.
Every Enhanced Safety Category and the Reason Behind the China Rule
Amazon’s full category list sits behind a Seller Central login, but Seller Essentials published it in full. Amazon says the list will keep growing as it adds categories.
| Enhanced safety category | Examples |
|---|---|
|
General household devices
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Air fryers, coffee makers, toasters, blenders
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Lithium battery products
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Rechargeable electronics, smart home devices, portable power supplies, e-bikes
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Personal safety equipment
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Bike, sports, and construction helmets, harnesses
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Transport-related products
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Auto and motorcycle tires
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Sleep products
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Mattresses, adult portable bed rails
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Outdoor power and heating equipment
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Pressure washers, generators, outdoor heaters
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Home medical devices
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Walkers, rollators, home respiratory supplies
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Fire-related products
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Fire extinguishers, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
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Water and marine safety products
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Life jackets, pool alarms and covers
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|
Children’s products
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Toys, car seats, infant sleep products
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|
Consumable and ingestible products
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Supplements, over-the-counter medicine, cosmetics
|
The list reaches wholesale and arbitrage staples like appliances, helmets, and tires, not just toys and supplements. According to the same report, Amazon will email affected sellers and give them 45 days to submit proof before their enhanced safety listings can be deactivated.
The China rule is about collecting on claims, since China-based sellers made up more than half of all active Amazon sellers in 2025, according to Marketplace Pulse. When an injured US shopper can’t reach an overseas seller, cases like Bolger v. Amazon and a 2024 CPSC ruling show liability shifting to Amazon.
The Accelerator requirement doesn’t apply to US brands sourcing from Chinese factories. It depends on where the seller’s business is located, not where the factory is.
