Insurance for stores, online brands and marketplace sellers
Retail risk lives on the sales floor, in the stockroom, at checkout and on the delivery route. Aiden pairs an AI risk engine with licensed brokers to cover all of it, and to meet what your landlord and marketplaces require.
- 100+ Carriers
- 140+ Risk Signals
- 48-Hour Placement
Get your retail & e-commerce insurance quote.
Tell us about your business. A licensed broker compares 100+ carriers and comes back with real options for retailers and e-commerce brands.
Prefer to talk? Call (650) 292-2812
Quick answer: Retailers and e-commerce brands need general liability with products coverage, property and business income for stock and stores, cyber that addresses card data, crime for employee theft and fraud, employment practices liability, workers' comp, and hired and non-owned auto if anyone delivers. Premium is driven by sales, store count and locations, inventory values, payroll, how card data flows, and loss history. Customer injuries are a real cost: slip, fall and customer injury claims averaged $45,000 in The Hartford's 2025 small business claims analysis (opens in a new tab). Landlords and marketplaces set minimum limits and additional insured wording, and Walmart Marketplace (opens in a new tab) asks for $1 million per occurrence once a seller passes $100,000 in sales. Programs usually go wrong on private-label products sold without products cover, cyber that excludes card brand assessments, and staff delivering in their own cars with no business auto behind them.
Retail & E-Commerce businesses we insure
Aiden works with retailers and online sellers across these segments, each with its own exposure mix.
Independent brick-and-mortar stores
Customer injuries, theft and lease insurance clauses drive the program, often on a Business Owner's Policy.
Multi-location retail
Each lease sets its own requirements, property values are spread across sites, and EPLI and workers' comp grow with headcount.
DTC and e-commerce brands
Card data, customer data and website downtime make cyber central, and inventory often sits at a third-party warehouse your property policy must reach.
Marketplace sellers
Amazon and Walmart Marketplace set liability limits and additional insured wording once sales cross their thresholds.
Private-label and imported goods
If your brand is on the product or you imported it, you can carry the manufacturer's products liability exposure.
Why retail & e-commerce is hard to insure
Retail claims are frequent and close to the customer. In The Hartford's analysis of more than 1 million small business policies, burglary and theft and slip, fall and customer injury were each 20% of claims, per its 2025 release (opens in a new tab). Add card data, employment claims and delivery driving, and a store policy alone rarely covers it all.
A customer slips in the aisle
A wet floor or a fallen display injures a shopper, and the claim lands under general liability. Slip, fall and customer injury claims averaged $45,000 in The Hartford's 2025 analysis (opens in a new tab), and costs can run higher when a lawsuit follows.
A product you sold hurts someone
A private-label kettle overheats or an imported toy breaks into small parts. Retailers can be named in the suit, and if your brand is on the product, you may be treated as the manufacturer.
Theft and fraud from outside and inside
Retailers reported a 12.4% drop in shoplifting incidents in 2025, but 69% reported more phone scams and 40% more organized retail crime incidents, per the NRF (opens in a new tab). Employee theft and social engineering fraud need crime cover, not property cover.
A breach of card or customer data
The global average cost of a data breach reached $4.99 million in 2026, and the US average was $11.5 million, per the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report (opens in a new tab) as summarized by Baker Donelson (opens in a new tab). Merchants that take cards stay responsible for PCI DSS even when payment processing is outsourced, per the PCI Security Standards Council (opens in a new tab).
Employment claims from a large hourly workforce
The EEOC received 88,201 new discrimination charges in fiscal 2025 and recovered $528 million before litigation, per the EEOC (opens in a new tab). High turnover and many managers making hiring and scheduling calls make retail a frequent EPLI target.
A delivery in an employee's own car
An employee rear-ends someone while dropping off an order in a personal vehicle, and the injured driver sues your business. The Hartford (opens in a new tab) notes that a personal auto policy will not help with third-party claims against the business, which is what hired and non-owned auto covers.
The coverage retailers and e-commerce brands actually need
General liability with products coverage
Covers customer injuries in your store and injuries or damage caused by products you sell. Landlords and marketplaces require it, usually with them named as additional insured.
Watch for: If you sell private-label or imported goods, confirm the policy rates and covers you as the product's seller and brand owner, and ask suppliers to name you under a vendors endorsement on their policies. See our guide to general liability.
Property and business income
Covers inventory, fixtures, tenant improvements and lost income after a fire, burst pipe or storm. Water and freezing damage was among the most common small business claims in The Hartford's 2025 analysis (opens in a new tab).
Watch for: Check that peak season inventory is covered, that stock held at a third-party warehouse or fulfillment center is included, and who insures tenant improvements under your lease.
Cyber, including PCI
Card data, customer accounts and an online store that cannot go down make cyber a core retail line. A breach brings forensics, notification, liability and lost sales.
Watch for: Check whether the policy covers PCI fines and card brand assessments, social engineering losses, and business interruption when your e-commerce platform or payment provider is the one that goes down.
Crime
Covers employee theft, forgery and funds transfer fraud, which property and cyber policies often leave out.
Watch for: Social engineering losses, where an employee is tricked into sending money, usually need a specific crime or cyber endorsement with its own sublimit.
Employment practices liability (EPLI)
Retail employs large hourly teams with high turnover, and discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination and wage disputes follow. See our EPLI guide.
Watch for: Wage and hour claims are commonly excluded or sublimited, and third-party claims from customers alleging discrimination need to be added if they are not included.
Workers' compensation
Retail trade recorded 3.0 nonfatal injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers in 2024, per the BLS (opens in a new tab), from lifting, ladders, box cutters and stockroom work.
Watch for: Make sure class codes separate store, warehouse and office staff, and that seasonal hires are reported in payroll so an audit does not bring a surprise bill.
Hired and non-owned auto (HNOA)
If staff deliver orders or run errands in their own or rented cars, HNOA covers your business's liability when they cause an accident, per The Hartford (opens in a new tab).
Watch for: HNOA does not cover damage to the vehicle itself or injuries to your own staff, and it sits over the employee's personal auto policy. Regular delivery operations may need a full business auto policy. See our HNOA guide.
What retail & e-commerce insurance costs
There is no single price for retailers and e-commerce brands. These are the factors carriers weigh most when they quote one.
Sales and store footprint
General liability is usually rated on sales or square footage, so revenue, store count and foot traffic move premium.
What you sell
Products that are ingested, used by children, electrical or high value carry more products and theft exposure than low-hazard goods, and private-label goods add manufacturer-level exposure.
Location and building
Crime rates, weather exposure, building age, sprinklers and alarm systems drive property and crime pricing for each store.
Inventory values and seasonality
Peak season stock, high-value goods and off-site inventory raise property values and can require a peak season endorsement.
Payroll and headcount
Workers' comp is rated on payroll by class code and EPLI on employee count and claims history, so seasonal hiring matters.
How card data flows
Whether you store card data or use a fully outsourced processor, plus controls like multifactor authentication and backups, shape cyber terms and price.
Loss history
Theft, slip and fall and employment claims in recent years weigh heavily at renewal. See how claims history affects rates.
Published cost benchmarks
Figures published by the sources shown, for context. They are not quotes: your premium depends on the factors above.
- $712 a yearAverage annual general liability premium, retail stores (small business customers)Source: The Hartford (opens in a new tab)
- $152 a monthAverage monthly Business Owner's Policy premium, retail stores (small business customers)Source: The Hartford (opens in a new tab)
- $45,000Average cost of a slip, fall or customer injury claim (small business policies, 2020 to 2024)Source: The Hartford (opens in a new tab)
What clients, contracts and regulators will ask for
Landlords, marketplaces, payment networks and big-box buyers each set part of a retailer's insurance program.
- Landlords and leases: general liability limits, additional insured status for the landlord, waiver of subrogation, property cover for your improvements and business income are often specified in the lease. See waivers of subrogation and the additional insured problem.
- Walmart Marketplace: sellers that exceed $100,000 in gross merchandise value in any 12-month period, or are notified by Walmart, must submit a certificate showing general and product liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, with Walmart Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates as additional insureds, per Walmart Marketplace (opens in a new tab) (updated December 12, 2025).
- Amazon: an Amazon staff post on the Seller Central forums (opens in a new tab) explains that section 9 of the Business Solutions Agreement requires commercial liability insurance within 30 days after a seller exceeds $10,000 in gross proceeds in one month on Amazon.com, or when Amazon requests it. Confirm limits and wording in your current agreement in Seller Central.
- PCI DSS: merchants that accept cards must validate PCI DSS compliance, typically with a self-assessment questionnaire, even when processing is fully outsourced, per the PCI Security Standards Council (opens in a new tab).
- Selling to big-box retailers: if you supply other retailers, their vendor terms set limits by product. Walmart's supplier requirements (opens in a new tab) start at $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate.
- Workers' compensation: required by state law for employees in most states, with rules that vary by state.
How Aiden Risk solves each of these problems
An AI risk engine built for commercial insurance, a licensed broker on every account, and 100+ carriers, including admitted and surplus lines markets, so one partner handles the whole program.
| The problem | How Aiden Risk solves it |
|---|---|
| My landlord keeps rejecting my certificate. | A licensed broker reviews the insurance clause in your lease, adds the additional insured and waiver wording it requires with the carrier, and issues certificates that match. |
| Amazon or Walmart sent me an insurance request and I don't know what to buy. | We review the marketplace's requirements with you, advise on limits, and issue a certificate with the additional insured wording the marketplace asked for. |
| We sell our own label and I'm not sure our products are covered. | Aiden runs a coverage gap analysis before binding, checks how your products are rated and covered, and shops 100+ carriers, including surplus lines, for products cover that fits. |
| A data breach could cost us more than the store is worth. | The AI risk engine analyzes 140+ signals, including breach history and live cyber threat feeds, and a licensed broker uses them to place cyber cover and check PCI and social engineering terms. Aiden handles client data under SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 controls. |
| An employee stole from us and our property policy didn't pay. | We review where crime, property and cyber leave gaps and place crime coverage for employee theft and funds transfer fraud. |
| Our hourly team is growing and I worry about employment claims. | A licensed broker reviews EPLI terms with you, including wage and hour and third-party exclusions, and negotiates with carriers before you bind. |
| Staff deliver orders in their own cars. | We review how deliveries run and add hired and non-owned auto, or a full business auto policy where the volume calls for it. |
| Our insurance didn't keep up when we opened new stores. | The AI monitors your risk year-round, and a licensed broker acts on every change it flags, such as new locations, higher inventory or more staff. |
Aiden Risk charges no fee to work with it, with no platform fee or subscription; it is paid through standard carrier commissions. Licensed in 16 states, listed on our licenses page.
Retail & E-Commerce insurance questions, answered
What insurance does a retail store need?
Most stores need general liability with products coverage, property and business income, workers' compensation, crime and cyber. Many small retailers buy liability and property together on a Business Owner's Policy, and add EPLI and hired and non-owned auto as they grow. See our BOP guide.
How much does retail store insurance cost?
It depends on sales, location, inventory, payroll and claims history. For small businesses, The Hartford reports average general liability premiums of $712 a year for retail stores, per its cost page (opens in a new tab), and an average Business Owner's Policy of $152 a month for retail stores, per its BOP cost page (opens in a new tab). Larger and multi-location retailers pay more, and only a quote on your own exposures is reliable.
Do Amazon sellers need insurance?
Amazon staff on the Seller Central forums (opens in a new tab) state that sellers must obtain commercial liability insurance within 30 days after exceeding $10,000 in gross proceeds in one month on Amazon.com, or when Amazon asks. Check your current Business Solutions Agreement for the exact limits and additional insured wording before buying.
What insurance does Walmart Marketplace require?
Sellers over $100,000 in gross merchandise value in any 12-month period, or notified by Walmart, must submit a certificate showing general and product liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, naming Walmart Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates as additional insureds, per Walmart Marketplace (opens in a new tab).
Does cyber insurance cover PCI fines?
Some policies do and some do not, and coverage for card brand fines and assessments is often sublimited. Merchants remain responsible for PCI DSS even when payment processing is outsourced, per the PCI Security Standards Council (opens in a new tab), so check this wording before you bind.
Does my business insurance cover employees who deliver in their own cars?
Not without hired and non-owned auto coverage or a business auto policy. A personal auto policy will not help with third-party claims against your business, per The Hartford (opens in a new tab), and HNOA does not cover damage to the employee's car.
Is a Business Owner's Policy enough for an e-commerce brand?
Usually not on its own. A BOP combines liability, property and business income, but e-commerce brands also need cyber, products cover that fits their goods, and property that reaches inventory held at a fulfillment center.
Guides for retailers and e-commerce brands
- Commercial General Liability Insurance: What It Covers, What It Costs, and How It Differs from a BOP
- What Does a Business Owner's Policy (BOP) Cover - and When Is It Not Enough?
- Why EPLI Is the Coverage Line Every Mid-Market CFO Thinks They Don't Need - Until They Do
- Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance (HNOA): Coverage, Cost, and the Gap That Catches Businesses Off Guard
- The Additional Insured Problem: What You're Actually Granting When Contracts Force You to Add Clients, Landlords, and Partners to Your Policy
Ready to see your options?
A licensed broker reviews your current policies and contracts, compares 100+ carriers and comes back with real options for retailers and e-commerce brands.
Prefer to talk? Call (650) 292-2812