AF232 - LOVE Your Business by Protecting It with Michelle Love

Today on the Amazon Files, I’m joined by a very special guest, Michelle Love, to talk about the not-so-sexy but very important subject of insurance. Michelle is an insurance expert who’s worked in the field for almost thirty years and specializes in ecommerce accounts. She’s also been an e-commerce seller since 2003, and she and her daughter have been private label Amazon sellers, so she speaks the languages of both e-commerce and insurance.

Following an update about our 2022 workshops, Michelle and I kick things off by talking a little about how she got into e-commerce before discussing the benefits of insuring your business and the nightmares that can happen if you don’t. Then we move on to specifics, as Michelle explains Amazon’s insurance requirements for third-party sellers and what kind of protection Amazon gives your FBA products in their warehouses. I also ask Michelle about insurance for private label products and higher-risk products like supplements or medical devices and your liability for these. Then we wrap up our conversation with some advice about how much the average business owner should invest in insurance and how having insurance in place is a tremendous relief should the worst happen. Tune in today to learn how insurance allows you to protect your business and show it the love it so richly deserves.

You can find out more about insurance from the Amazon Files and Mommy Income community by joining our Facebook group with today’s codeword LOVE, where you can learn more about bundling, ask questions, and participate in the conversation with other sellers. And if you’re ready to take your business to a whole new level, visit MommyIncome.com/Coach to schedule your one-on-one coaching call today.

This week on the Amazon Files:

• New workshops are available for 2022, including a tradeshow walkthrough in Grand Rapids, Michigan
  
• There’s also a Mommy Income retreat coming up this year
  
• How Michelle got started in e-commerce
  
• The benefits of having insurance coverage
  
• Amazon’s insurance requirements for third-party sellers
  
• Does Amazon protect your FBA products?
  
• Insurance for private-label products and high-risk products
  
• How much to invest in insurance for the average seller
  
• Shipping insurance and workers comp
  
  

“I do know that there’s a lot of sue-happy people, in at least our country, and because of that, good insurance and a good lawyer is always something every business should have on hand.”

- Kristin Ostrander

WATCH:

LISTEN:

Quotes:

“I know it’s not a sexy topic, no one likes to hear about insurance. As a matter of fact, most of you are probably already trying to swipe off of this podcast and listen or watch something else because you’re like, 'Ugh, who wants to talk about insurance?"

“We think, 'Oh yeah, well, wouldn’t Amazon just protect our stuff because it’s in their warehouse?' The truth might shock you and surprise you, and also the affordability of insurance.”

“If you’re considering coming to a workshop, I’d love to meet you, I want to meet you, I would love to be able to raise a toast and talk the talk with you and have a drink with you and teach you all about wholesale bundles so that you can have a rockstar year.”

“There’s going to be a special Mommy Income retreat coming up this year. Why? Because we all need a retreat after the few years that we’ve had. We need a rest, we need a recharge, we need a retreat.”

“We’ve seen commercials on TV, you can cue the eye roll here for like, you know, all the different commercials that are out there about, you know, insurance and protecting your business and protecting all of your assets and things. But I think it’s just one of those things that people don’t like to think about and talk about or spend money on until it’s too late, until it’s necessary. And then it’s like, by then, it’s too late.”

“One of the biggest benefits with having insurance in place is it covers your legal fees.”

“This is typical Amazon, you know, we’ve been around the block almost two decades now, we understand that Amazon always has a lot of these policies and then when they get sued for something, then they realize they need to start enforcing these policies.”

“The general rule is if you are a seller and you send your things to the fulfillment center, if you’re doing FBA, then Amazon has your products in their care, custody, and control, and they have coverage for those products.”

“If you are, you know, in that baby, pet, ingestibles, topicals, anything medical device, even, you know, an ice pack, you wouldn’t think that’s a medical device, but that is. Anything that’s durable medical equipment, even as moderate as a blue ice pack you would put on your arm, all of that is higher risk, and we have to go to the other markets.”

“A lot of people ask me, are there any categories I stay away from, and they think more of like, Amazon competition and profit margin, and I always think of liability. Like, I literally do not want to be sued for anything.”

“I want to support people’s ideas, but at the same time, I’m like, 'Oh, I wouldn’t touch that with a ten-foot pole.' If somebody is ingesting something, like, I’m scared.”

“In general, whether you’re starting or you’re well-established, I just want to help you be protected. I don’t make a tremendous amount of money off of these policies, I do it because I really, truly care.”

“Whether you’re being sued or whether the roof is ripped off of a warehouse and all your stuff flies away, it’s still a very difficult time in life or business to be able to deal with a loss like that and to have proper insurance just brings so much more relief.”

“You know me, and I’m tough. And I’m just telling you, you are required to have insurance because you signed the Terms of Services to sell on Amazon.”

Related Content:

• 2022 Workshops - Coupon code: workshop50
  
• Wholesale Bundle System
  
• Email questions
  
• Learn With Us
  
• Coaching
  
• The Amazon Files Hub
  
• FBAQuotes.com
  
• EM Ford homepage

Grow Your Amazon Business!

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Amazon Files, the show to help Amazon sellers along their business journey one step at a time with Amazon expert and your host, Kristin Ostrander. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show and leave us your honest review. Don’t forget to share your favorite episodes with your friends on social media! Use the codeword LOVE to join us on Facebook. Each week, Kristin hosts a live discussion on how to grow your Amazon business. Don’t forget to check out our website and subscribe to our mailing list for even more resources.