Securing insurance to cover your assets, personal interests, and your workers is a fundamental component of every successful business. Disasters can happen no matter how much effort you may take to prepare, and certain natural events are always out of your control.

With the recent legalization of marijuana in California, marijuana companies are increasingly turning to traditional insurers to secure coverage for their business assets in the event of theft, fire, lost crops, and other disasters. As the industry expands, it is anticipated that insurance coverage will expand also.

Why Business Insurance Is Important for Your Rancho Cucamonga Business

When starting out as a small cannabis operation, one of the challenges can be determining what to spend money on, and what to hold off until you are more established. Investments must be made into infrastructure, utilities, marketing, and initial product – and this can leave companies strapped for cash.

While many may view business insurance as an expense to be put off for later, it serves an extraordinarily important purpose and should not be overlooked. Property and casualty insurance can make the difference between surviving a disaster such as flooding or theft, or losing your life’s work. Particularly in light of the recent fires that have ravaged California, it can be a necessity.

Property and casualty insurance protects your business facilities, and everything maintained inside your business operations, including:

  • Equipment

  • Product

  • Cash investments

  • Electronics

  • Start up materials

While some property and casualty insurance covers “all risks,” others are specifically limited to certain risks like fire. You’ll want to make sure to review your policy to be certain that it suits your needs.

Business Insurance For the Cannabis World

While some forms of insurance are available to cannabis companies in California, they are often very expensive, difficult to obtain, and have significant gaps in coverage. Because marijuana is still illegal on the federal level, many insurers are unwilling to provide product liability coverage for marijuana, or to protect officers and directors of marijuana companies.

Since the legalization of marijuana in California, the California Insurance Commissioner has made a concerted effort to trying to bring insurers into the market to provide affordable and comprehensive business insurance for marijuana businesses.

Recently, on November 2, 2017, California announced that it had approved the filing for Golden Bear Insurance Company to provide cannabis business insurance to California companies. It is anticipated that this approval will help to expand insurance options for businesses, their employees, and investors by filling in the gaps currently in the market.

California Attorneys Helping Your Protect Your Business

With the introduction of new insurers to the California cannabis landscape, there is likely to be an improvement in the options for business and product liability available to marijuana growers and sellers. These include improved property and casualty insurance options, and greater protection for those who work in the cannabis industry.


At CKB Vienna LLP, our attorneys understand the constantly changing landscape of California cannabis laws, and what this means for you and your business. We can work with you to appraise opportunities for insurance or greater business protection and make sure you are aware when new options become available. For more information, contact us online or at 909-980-1040.