If you sell in any of eleven specific Amazon categories and you’ve been staying under the radar because your monthly sales don’t hit $10,000, that shield disappears on November 2, 2026. Amazon is closing a loophole that let smaller sellers in higher-risk categories skip liability insurance entirely, and the change catches a lot of people who assumed “I’m too small for this to apply to me.”
Here’s what’s actually changing, who it hits, what it costs, and what you need to do before the deadline.
The loophole that’s closing
Amazon has required commercial liability insurance for a while now, but the trigger was sales volume. If you crossed $10,000 in gross proceeds during any single month, you had 30 days to get covered at a $1 million minimum. Stay under that number and you were exempt, no matter what you were selling.
That threshold is going away for a specific set of product categories that Amazon considers higher risk from a safety and liability standpoint. Starting November 2, 2026, sellers listing in these categories need $1 million in coverage regardless of how much or how little they sell. A seller doing $2,000 a month in a covered category now needs the same policy as one doing $200,000.
The logic isn’t hard to follow. Amazon has faced a wave of product liability litigation over the past few years, and courts have increasingly held the platform responsible when an overseas third-party seller can’t be located or sued directly after a customer is injured. Requiring insurance up front, before an incident happens rather than after, shifts that exposure back onto sellers and their insurers.
The 11 categories now on the hook
This is the part sellers most need to check against their own catalog, because the list is broader than “obviously dangerous products.” It covers:
- Children’s products (car seats, toys, infant sleep products)
- Consumable and ingestible products (supplements, OTC medications, cosmetics)
- Fire-related products (extinguishers, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms)
- General household devices (small kitchen appliances, air fryers, toasters)
- Home medical devices (walkers, respiratory supplies)
- Lithium battery products (e-bikes, power banks, smart devices)
- Outdoor power and heating equipment (generators, pressure washers)
- Personal safety equipment (helmets, climbing gear)
- Sleep products (mattresses)
- Transport-related products (tires)
- Water and marine safety products (life jackets, pool alarms)
Notice how many of these are things a smaller, side-hustle-scale seller might list without thinking twice, like a toaster or a phone power bank. If any part of your catalog touches these categories, the sales-volume exemption no longer applies to those specific listings, even if the rest of your store is unaffected.
What this actually costs
The coverage requirements themselves haven’t changed, just who has to carry them now. Amazon requires:
- $1 million per occurrence and $1 million in aggregate
- A maximum deductible of $10,000
- Occurrence-based coverage (not claims-made)
- Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates named as additional insureds
- Global claim handling capability
For most sellers, any insurer that can meet those specifications works fine, and you’re not locked into a single provider. The exception is sellers based in Mainland China, who will need to purchase through Amazon’s own Insurance Accelerator network for any policy submitted on or after November 2. Policies already in place before that date stay valid until they expire.
Actual premiums vary quite a bit by category and revenue, but small e-commerce sellers are generally seeing quotes somewhere in the range of $50 to $200 a month, and annual premiums for mid-size sellers ($500K to $1M in revenue) have landed anywhere from roughly $800 to $2,200 a year depending on the product line. Lithium battery and children’s product categories tend to run higher because insurers price in the claim history for those categories specifically. Worth noting: at least one provider has been declining coverage outright for products manufactured in China, so shop around early rather than waiting until you’re up against the deadline.
The clock Amazon put on this
If your listings fall into one of the affected categories and you’re currently under the old $10,000 threshold, you’re not automatically locked out on November 2. Amazon’s process is to email affected sellers directly once the rule takes effect, and you’ll get 45 days from that notice to submit proof of compliant coverage. Miss that window and the listings in question get deactivated until you’re covered.
The smarter move is not waiting for that email. Pull your catalog now, cross-check it against the category list above, and if you’ve got anything that qualifies, start getting quotes this month. Insurance underwriting isn’t instant, especially for higher-risk categories, and you don’t want your first quote request happening during the 45-day countdown when everyone else affected is doing the same thing at the same time.
If you already carry a policy because you cleared the old $10,000 threshold, don’t assume you’re covered and move on. Check that it actually names Amazon.com Services LLC and its affiliates as additional insureds, meets the $1M/$1M minimums, uses your correct legal entity name, and is occurrence-based rather than claims-made. Policies that were fine under the old rule can still miss one of these specific requirements.
Frequently asked questions
Does this apply to me if I sell under $10,000 a month?
Yes, if any of your products fall into one of the 11 enhanced safety categories. The sales threshold that used to exempt low-volume sellers no longer applies to those categories starting November 2, 2026. Sellers outside those categories are unaffected by this specific change.
What happens if I don’t get insured in time?
Amazon will notify affected sellers by email and give 45 days to submit proof of a compliant policy. If you miss that window, the listings in the affected categories get deactivated until you provide coverage, which means lost sales and potentially lost Buy Box eligibility on those ASINs.
Can I use any insurance provider, or does it have to be through Amazon?
Most sellers can use any insurer that meets Amazon’s coverage specifications (the $1M/$1M minimum, occurrence-based, Amazon named as additional insured, and so on). The exception is Mainland China-based sellers, who need to go through Amazon’s Insurance Accelerator for policies submitted after November 2, 2026.
My product isn’t obviously dangerous, like a toaster or a power bank. Am I really affected?
Possibly, yes. The category list is broader than high-risk items like car seats or fire extinguishers. General household devices (small kitchen appliances), lithium battery products, and several other everyday categories are explicitly included. Check your full catalog against the list rather than assuming based on how risky the product feels.
If you’re not sure whether your catalog is exposed here, or you want a second set of eyes on your broader Amazon strategy heading into Q4, Depu works with FBA sellers on exactly this kind of thing (PPC, listings, compliance headaches, and the rest of the growth stack) as a freelance consultant. Feel free to reach out.
Sources:
EcomCrew: Amazon’s New Insurance Rules Hit Small Sellers in 11 Categories
Seller Essentials: Amazon Seller Insurance Requirements Change Nov 2, 2026
EcommerceBytes: Amazon Updates Insurance Requirements for Sellers
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