Properly insuring cannabis businesses, and companies that are involved in the industry but that are not themselves regulated under state cannabis law, can be a tricky undertaking. I recently wrote an article for the Oregon State Bar Cannabis Law Section about things to watch out for when advising clients in this space about insurance. (You can find the full article on our website, here, or in pdf form here.)
Key points are the following: 1) the insurance industry is marketing “specialty” policies for cannabis businesses that may exclude the most common risks, particularly regarding products liability; 2) non-regulated businesses involved in the cannabis economy (vendors, commercial landlords) should question whether their “general” insurance policies will respond if there is a loss caused by or involving cannabis products or activities. The insurance industry is increasingly make explicit that “mainstream” coverage does not apply to cannabis risks, and has at times taken an aggressive approach to denying such claims, even where policies are unclear.
The article goes into some detail about the legal issues, so we are not posting it as a blog piece. Happy reading!