Originally published on July 24, 2017, updated April 30, 2020
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As an eCommerce professional, you know how important it is to be proactive about things like product liability and the risk of suspension. Do you have the insurance that you need to protect your Amazon business?
Matt Lovell and Lori Jurans from WELL Insurance shared some tips about eCommerce insurance in a recent webinar. Topics discussed include:
You can watch the webinar above or check out the show notes below for the recap and a full transcript.
As an Amazon seller, you know that your business can be risky. That’s why this webinar is so important! Liz Fickenscher sits down with Matt Lovell and Lori Jurans from WELL insurance to discuss the benefits of different types of insurance, including suspension insurance (yes, that wonderful product now exists!). You won’t want to miss this!
“General liability is designed to protect the company’s assets,” Lovell explains. “[It will] pay for any financial obligations due to losses from injury, negligence and accidents that could occur. A general liability policy can protect a business from bodily injury, property damage, legal fees, judgments, any settlements that could be awarded, should you be successfully sued.”
That’s incredibly valuable! If you don’t know much about insurance, however, you might be wondering: what kinds of businesses need this type of coverage? “That’s a pretty easy answer — it’s every business. We live in a sue-crazy society these days. If you think your business is low-risk and it’s not worth paying the small fee associated with a policy, you’re fooling yourself.”
While premiums can range between $500-$2000 depending on the type of business and risk associated with it, this relatively small investment can save you from losing hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, if you face a lawsuit. “Plus, you’ve got the cost of hiring legal counsel,” Lovell says. “Which typically is included in a general liability policy.”
Often included in general liability policies, product liability provides coverage to manufacturers or the sellers “in the event that one of their products were to cause bodily injury or property damage to a third party due to a defect, malfunction, just anything that can happen to that product that it could injure somebody.”
“This could be a product of any type,” Lovell explains. “Food, could be a machine, could be a toy, any other good sold by the business to the public. Types of typical products liability claims include: production or manufacturer flaws, design defects, defective warnings or instructions.”
Less than two years ago, Jurans met with Lovell and asked a very important question: is there an insurance policy that protects Amazon businesses in the event of a suspension? By combining Jurans’ experience as a successful private label seller with Lovell’s 18 years of experience in the industry, they were able to come up with a solution for a modern retail problem.
Now, WELL offers the first-ever insurance for online sellers to help pay for normal operating expenses should their online store be suspended. There are five plans available and coverage starts at $1,000 a day. Lovell states, “we’ve worked really hard to bring you affordable, scale insurance that is just right for your business.”
The webinar does a great job of providing a crash course in general liability, product liability and suspension insurance. It also provides a highly useful overview of the following:
