After years and years of unsuccessful attempts, New York State has legalized recreational marijuana. Marijuana legalization is slowly but surely sweeping the nation, and businesses of all sorts are diving in head first. In New York specifically, cannabis is expected to garner a $4.2 billion industry. As lawmakers and regulatory bodies gather themselves, the promising market keeps making strides, and dispensaries and retail outlets are very much on the horizon. But this begs the question: what about business insurance for marijuana dispensaries?
Weed Ross specializes in all different types of insurance, because we deal with all different types of insurance carriers. As a local agency, we work with insurance carriers to tailor insurance packages to each individual client or business. And we don’t plan on changing our recipe for the cannabis insurance industry. While there are many unique types of insurance policies available, some will be undoubtedly more beneficial to marijuana business owners and entrepreneurs. Below, we take a closer look at exactly what type of insurance you’ll need for your marijuana dispensary.
In this article, we will cover:
- General Liability Insurance for Marijuana Dispensaries
- Commercial Property Insurance for Marijuana Dispensaries
- Product Liability Insurance for Marijuana Dispensaries
- Workers’ Compensation Insurance for Marijuana Dispensaries
General Liability Insurance for Marijuana Dispensaries
General liability insurance is a type of business insurance that typically covers claims regarding unintentional bodily injuries or damage to the property that are a result of daily business operations. In any business, you deal with customers on a regular basis, and accidents are almost inevitable. If one of your customers visits your dispensary, or if you or your employees accidentally injure a customer’s personal property, general liability insurance will likely provide protection. General liability insurance for your dispensary may help cover legal costs, damages, or medical expenses that result from these types of events.
Commercial Property Insurance for Marijuana Dispensaries
Commercial property insurance is designed to protect your business’ physical assets from a variety of hazards, like fires, explosions, theft, vandalism, storms, and more. These may include but are not limited to the dwelling itself, your inventory, the furniture, or the computers. Marijuana inventory is highly valuable, and dispensaries would do well to protect themselves with commercial property insurance. After all, a simple, accidental fire could destroy or contaminate a marijuana dispensary’s entire stock. Additionally, the cannabis industry is still experiencing substantial theft and vandalism and commercial property insurance would help provide protection for these scenarios.
Product Liability Insurance for Marijuana Dispensaries
Product liability insurance protects your business in the event that your products cause harm to third parties, or in other words, your customers. Though the cannabis industry has undergone significant regulation and vast improvements from the wild west that it was just a few years ago, there are still plenty of kinks that need ironing out. Product liability insurance is indispensable–for lack of a better word–for marijuana dispensaries. If any of your customers suffer an injury or illness as a result of using some of your products, you could be up against major financial risk. Product liability insurance for marijuana dispensaries can help cover legal fees from resulting settlements as well as other forms of compensation.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance for Marijuana Dispensaries
Workers’ compensation insurance provides protection more catered toward your workers and employees, as it offers financial benefits for those who are injured or become ill as a direct result of working at your business. This type of insurance is essential for any business owner to consider because medical bills can get expensive very quickly, and you don’t want one accident to uproot your entire operation. For marijuana dispensaries, workers’ compensation insurance may be the difference between sinking and floating, as it will help cover medical expenses, lost wages, and even rehabilitation should any incident like this occur. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Still have questions regarding marijuana dispensary insurance? Are you looking for different types of coverages? Talk with the local insurance experts at Weed Ross, and we can make sure you get the exact protection you need for your business.
