Walmart Insurance Requirements

Any supplier working with Walmart (or Sam’s Club) is required to have General Liability insurance, as well as product liability insurance. These will often be coupled into one policy. Depending on your business, you may also need Auto insurance and Workers’ Compensation Insurance. We’ll break these policies down later, but first let’s figure out what your business will be required to carry:

In Technical Terms

The requirement in your Walmart contract states: (don’t worry – we’ll decode this for you below!)

For all Suppliers providing goods for resale in the United States on any platform of Walmart Inc., Supplier shall have and maintain in full force and effect, the following insurance in the amounts and with the conditions set forth as follows:

Commercial General Liability insurance, including Personal and Advertising Injury, Products/Completed Operations, Medical Payments, Bodily Injury, and Property Damage, with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate.

Product Liability insurance with limits sufficient to meet the requirements as set forth in the Matrix of Product Liability Limits below. This insurance may be obtained as standalone coverage or as part of the Commercial General Liability. This insurance must provide coverage for claims occurring worldwide.

Workers Compensation/Employer’s Liability insurance,for any Supplier whose employees will be entering Company’s premises,with statutory limits, or $1,000,000 if no statutory requirement, and $1,000,000 in employer’s liability coverage.

Automobile Liability insurance, for any Supplier whose employees or agents will be driving on Company’s premises or making delivery to Company’s premises, with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence.

Umbrella/Excess Liability insurance is acceptable to meet the above defined requirements. Supplier shall cause each insurance company to provide the insurance on an umbrella basis in excess over and no less broad than the liability coverages required herein (including as to Company’s additional insured status), with the same inception and expiration dates as Commercial General Liability insurance, and with coverage that “drops down” for exhausted underlying aggregate limits of liability coverage.

All insurance required herein shall (1) contain a waiver of subrogation in favor of Walmart, where permitted by law and (2) provide that such insurance is primary, non-contributory, and not excess coverage. Additionally, Commercial General Liability, Product Liability, Automobile Liability and Umbrella/Excess Liability shall (1) contain coverage for Contractual Liability, (2) provide that defense costs will not apply against coverage limits, and (3) name Walmart Inc., Its Subsidiaries & Its Affiliates as additional insured, or equivalent.

Each insurance policy shall be issued by a company with an AM Best Financial Strength Rating of B+ or better and AM Best Financial Size Category Rating of VII or better, and a complete copy must be provided to Walmart upon request. If at any time during the term of coverage, an insurer’s AM Best Financial Strength Rating is downgraded to below B-, Supplier shall at its sole cost and expense procure new coverage meeting the above criteria with an insurer meeting the preceding minimum requirements for Financial Strength and Financial Size Category Ratings.

Each insurance policy should be occurrence based. If the policy is claims-made, the following additional requirements shall apply and must be noted on the Certificate of Insurance:

1. Retroactive Date must not be later than the commencement date of Supplier’s relationship with Walmart or cancellation date of Supplier’s most recent occurrence based policy which such claims-made policy is to replace, whichever is later.
2. Policy must contain “An option to purchase an extended reporting period of 24 months.”

Supplier must provide current Certificates of Insurance and copies of pertinent policy endorsements verifying Supplier’s compliance with the insurance requirements above (i) upon Supplier’s execution of a Supplier Agreement with Company, (ii) at any time upon request of Company, and (iii) upon renewal or replacement of any policy required above. Each Certificate of Insurance shall:

Show Supplier as the Named Insured, provide information as is standard on the ACORD 25 Certificate of Liability Insurance, list Supplier’s vendor number and all names of insured subsidiaries doing business with a vendor number, show the self-insured retention (SIR), and show the following as Certificate Holder and Additional Insured:

WALMART INC., ITS SUBSIDIARIES & ITS AFFILIATES

702 SW 8th Street

Bentonville, AR 72716-3570

Attn: Insurance Compliance

Let’s Break it Down:

To unpack what this means for your business, we’ll break the requirement down into Coverages, Limits, Endorsements, and Additional Details.

Coverages determine which events will be covered by the policy. Limits determine how much your insurance company will pay out if you have a claim. Endorsements determine details about whose insurance will ultimately pay for a claim. Additional requirements have to do with the insurance company itself, and logistics about your certificate of insurance.

Coverages & Limits

1/2M General Liability (Covers bodily injury and property damage up to $1 million per incident, and up to $2 million in total.)

Product Liability (This is part of your general liability policy. The limits you’re required to have depend on the category your product(s) falls into below)

Statutory Workers’ Compensation (If you have employees, you’ll need workers’ compensation insurance in the amount legally required by your state. If your state doesn’t have a requirement, you’ll need a $1M limit.)

$1M Automobile Liability (If you are driving and/or delivering to a Walmart facility, you’ll need Auto insurance with a limit of at least $1 million per occurrence.)

Umbrella/Excess Liability (This can be used to extend the limits of your other policies, but is not required by itself. For example, if you need $2M General Liability, you could have $1M General Liability + $1M Umbrella Liability.

Endorsements

Waiver of Subrogation
Primary and Non-Contributory Language
Contractual Liability
Defense costs will not apply against coverage limits
Additional Insured: Walmart Inc., its Subsidiaries and its Affiliates

Additional Details

Your insurance company must have an AM Best Financial Strength Rating of B+ or better and AM Best Financial Size Category Rating of VII or better.
Your policy must be “Claims Made.” If it’s an “Occurrence” policy, the retroactive date has to be before the start of your contract with Walmart, and the policy must contain an option to purchase an extended reporting period of 24 months.
Your Certificate of Insurance:
- You should be the Named Insured
- Your certificate should be a standard ACORD 25 form
- List your vendor number, and all names of insured subsidiaries doing business with a vendor number
- Show the Self-Insured Retention (SIR)
- List the following as Certificate Holder as well as Additional Insured:

Walmart Inc., Its Subsidiaries & Its Affiliates

702 SW 8th St.

Bentonville, AR 72716-3570

Attn: Insurance Compliance

Determining What You Need

Your requirement depends on what you’re selling, your company structure (i.e. if you have employees or are flying solo), and whether or not you’ll be using a vehicle during the course of business. First, determine which category you’re in based on the product descriptions below. Then, select a pre-made policy with all of your requirements built in!

Non Food & Drink Categories

CATEGORY I

Any product not described under Category II, III, I(F), or II(F).

CATEGORY II

Any item powered by or connected to the household electrical system or a rechargeable battery, excluding heaters
Any item designed to contain a fire or be consumed by fire, excluding fire fueled by a liquid, gas, or gel
Any item intended for babies, infants, or young children, including but not limited to clothing, furniture, personal care, carriers, and automotive seats/boosters, but excluding medications
Any item designed to be ridden outdoors and propelled by the rider
Any item, system, or part thereof designed to hold a human body at a height greater than 6 feet
Any item intended to be applied directly to human hair or skin, excluding clothing
Any item intended to keep a human body afloat in water
Any air-powered rifle or pistol and any canister/container for propellant associated with such items
Any outdoor play equipment designed to assist or elevate the user to a height greater than 3 feet
Any item intended to prevent injury to the face, head, neck, or spine

CATEGORY III

Any item designed to contain a fire or be consumed by fire fueled by a liquid, gas, or gel and any container designed to hold such fuels
Any prescription medication and any ingestible product designed to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent illness, disease, or ailment
Any item defined as a Dietary Supplement by the U.S. Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act
Any item designed to be ridden and powered by a combustible fuel
Any item designed to be ridden on a public roadway, excluding items propelled by the rider
Any item designed to bear the weight of an automobile, including but not limited to tires, jacks, stands, & hoists
Any firearm or ammunition and any propellant or explosive item associated with firearms
Any item designed to kill plants, insects, or animals by means of chemical or biological agent
Any liquid, powder, gel, or gas that presents a significant risk of injury or death if ingested, inhaled, or applied to human skin in small quantities and any item containing such substance
Any substance that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics as established by U.S. law: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity
Any item designed to heat a space

Food & Drink Categories

CATEGORY I(F)

Any food or drink product, intended for human consumption, not described under Category II(F)

CATEGORY II(F)

Any food or drink designed for consumption by babies, infants, or toddlers
Any fresh produce, meat, seafood, shellfish, poultry, dairy, or eggs
Any food or drink that requires heating to a specific temperature by the consumer to be considered safe for human consumption

Find Your Requirement:

As you may have noticed from the product descriptions, the higher the category, the riskier your product is for customers. Therefore, Walmart will require you to purchase more product liability insurance. Walmart refers to this as the “Matrix of Product Liability Limits.”

If you’re selling in multiple categories, you have to meet the limits of the highest category. Scroll down to see the full requirement for your category. For a pre-made policy that meets your requirement, click the name of the category.

Pre-made Walmart policies are only available to businesses registered in the United States. To register your business in the US, visit Bizfilings.com.