Cannabis Insurance

For multi-state operators, NY adult-use licensees, and ancillary businesses that need carriers who actually write the class.

Cannabis Is a Named ZRM Specialty

Cannabis operators in New York face a coverage gap that most standard commercial policies won’t touch. The federal scheduling of cannabis means your existing BOP, GL, or property policy likely contains a controlled substance exclusion that could void a claim tied to your core business activity. That applies whether you’re a cultivator, a dispensary, or an ancillary business providing services to the industry.

ZRM places cannabis programs through named underwriter relationships at specialty carriers and surplus lines markets that have been writing this class for years. We work across the full supply chain: cultivation (field and indoor), processing and extraction (solvent-based, CO2, ethanol), retail dispensary (including CAURD and adult-use licensees in New York), and ancillary businesses like testing labs, packaging, transportation, and consulting.

For deeper cannabis market intelligence, carrier comparisons, and regulatory updates, visit CannaHempCoverage.com. It’s our dedicated sister property for the cannabis practice. Start there if you’re researching. Start here when you’re ready to talk placement.

We handle every cannabis placement through our senior team, led by Daniel. Real carrier relationships and a written explanation of what your program covers.

What We Place

  • General liability – $1M/$2M occurrence/aggregate minimum; higher towers for MSOs and high-traffic retail
  • Property – building, contents, equipment, growing stock, finished inventory; replacement cost where available
  • Product liability – critical for edibles, concentrates, and any product that enters the consumer’s body
  • Crop insurance – field and greenhouse; named perils and multi-peril where carrier appetite exists
  • Commercial auto – delivery fleets, transport between facilities, last-mile logistics
  • Workers’ compensation – cultivation, processing, and retail each carry different class codes and rates
  • Cyber liability – POS systems, customer data, seed-to-sale tracking platforms
  • Directors & Officers – for PE-backed operators, MSO boards, and multi-entity ownership structures
  • Equipment breakdown – HVAC, lighting, extraction equipment, environmental controls
  • Inland marine / stock throughput – product in transit between licensed facilities across state lines

How We Work the Placement

Our senior team handles every cannabis placement directly, with principal-level attention. The submission goes to underwriters we work with by name, the coverage analysis comes back in writing, and the program is built around your specific operation.

A small number of admitted carriers and a larger group of surplus lines markets. The admitted market is limited because cannabis remains federally unscheduled under the Controlled Substances Act, which restricts which carriers’ reinsurers will support the class. Surplus lines markets, including several at Lloyd’s and domestic E&S carriers, have been writing cannabis longer and generally offer broader terms. ZRM places through both, depending on your operation type and state licensing.

Admitted carriers are regulated by your state’s department of insurance and their policies are backed by state guaranty funds. Surplus lines carriers operate under different regulatory rules and offer more flexibility in coverage terms and pricing. For cannabis, surplus lines markets are often the only option for certain operation types, especially extraction and multi-state retail. The trade-off is that surplus lines policies require a licensed surplus lines broker to place, and the state guaranty fund does not apply if the carrier becomes insolvent.

Almost certainly not. Most standard commercial policies contain a controlled substance exclusion that voids coverage for any claim arising from the manufacture, sale, or distribution of a federally controlled substance. Even in states where cannabis is fully legal, the federal classification means your standard BOP, GL, or property policy likely excludes the core activity of your business. Ancillary businesses face the same risk. Your existing carrier may deny a claim if they determine the loss is connected to cannabis operations you support.

Product liability responds when a consumer suffers bodily injury from a product you manufactured or sold. For edibles, the exposure includes dosing accuracy, allergen contamination, and shelf-life failures. For concentrates: residual solvent levels, heavy metal content, and labeling accuracy. Carriers writing cannabis product liability look specifically at your testing protocols, third-party lab certifications, and recall procedures.

CannaHempCoverage.com is ZRM’s dedicated cannabis insurance property. It carries the deep content: carrier landscape analysis, regulatory updates by state, operational risk guides for each segment of the supply chain. If you’re researching cannabis insurance and want to understand the market before talking to a broker, start there. When you’re ready to discuss placement, our team handles it directly through ZRM.

Ready to talk placement?

For the full cannabis practice, visit CannaHempCoverage.com. For placement, start here.
talk to daniel directly.

See what your current policy misses.

  • Send us your current policy and we’ll read every line

  • You get a written rundown of the gaps at no cost

  • A principal who knows your industry handles the placement