What Insurance Companies may want to Consider before Insuring the Marijuana Industry
By J.B. Woods, Greenpoint Insurance Advisors, LLC © 2017 All Rights Reserved (This article was originally published in Trusted Choice of Colorado)
The most recent election captured the attention of the insurance industry when states like California, Nevada, Massachusetts, and Maine voted to legalize marijuana along with medical marijuana initiatives being approved in other states such as Florida, North Dakota, and Arkansas. Over half of the United States has some form of marijuana law. According to Arcview Market Research, the marijuana industry resulted in $6.7 billion in sales for 2016 and made it one of the fastest growing industries.1
With the amount of growth in the marijuana industry, most insurance brokers are inclined to believe that insurance companies would be eager to offer commercial products such as commercial liability, product liability, directors & officers, property, and workers compensation. This has not been the case, as insurance carriers have grappled with the notion of insuring a product that is federally illegal. The result has been disappointing, as insurance companies have eagerly entered, but then later exite...more
Is The Admitted Insurance Market Ready to Insure Pot?
The Golden State Could Be a Game Changer for the Marijuana Insurance Industry
©2017 Greenpoint Insurance Advisors, LLC
Breaking news out of California when
The Californian reported California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones wants admitted insurance carriers to insure marijuana. This will not be an easy task for Commissioner Jones considering the fact Lloyds of London does not offer insurance to the marijuana industry.
For those who may not know, admitted insurance carriers are well known companies approved and subjected to regulation by the state in which they operate. Admitted insurance carriers are typically companies like Travelers, Hartford, Farmers, and State Farm to name just a few. Historically, these companies have no interest in insuring marijuana.
Currently, the cannabis insurance industry purchases insurance through the non-admitted insurance markets. There is less competition, more
stringent underwriting, and limited coverage offerings. For example, product liability and directors and officers insurance is extremely difficult to procure. The few insurance carriers offering the coverage ...more
- 1
