Best Cannabis Business Insurance

The Hartford leads our rankings for cannabis dispensary insurance with a MoneyGeek score of 4.78 out of 5 and monthly costs starting at $79. It earned perfect scores across all categories, making it an outstanding choice for cannabis business owners seeking comprehensive coverage at competitive rates. We recommend comparing quotes from NEXT, biBerk and Simply Business.

Note: We based all scores on a cannabis business with two employees across professional liability, general liability, workers' comp and BOP policies.

The Hartford provides affordable cannabis business insurance at $79 monthly ($953 annually), offering the lowest rates for general liability at $54 monthly and professional liability at $110 monthly. For workers' compensation, NEXT Insurance leads at $79 monthly, while biBERK offers the cheapest BOP coverage at $73 monthly. Compare quotes from these three providers to find the best combination for your dispensary.

In general, cannabis business insurance costs are the following for the four most popular coverage types:

• General Liability: $67 on average per month, ranging from $58 to $78 depending on the state
• Workers' Comp: $84 on average per month, ranging from $72 to $98 depending on the state
• Professional Liability (E&O): $122 on average per month, ranging from $104 to $143 depending on the state
• BOP Insurance: $99 on average per month, ranging from $84 to $117 depending on the state

Most states require workers' compensation as the required coverage for cannabis dispensaries that employ staff. Your cannabis business also needs general liability, property and crime insurance to address the theft, cash-heavy operations and liability claims common in the industry.

• Workers' Compensation Insurance: Most states require workers' comp if you employ staff. This coverage protects your budtenders, security personnel and cultivation workers from injuries related to heavy lifting, repetitive motions and robberies. Coverage limits must meet your state's requirements.
• General Liability Insurance: This coverage protects your cannabis business when customers slip and fall in your dispensary, claim your products caused illness or report property damage during deliveries. The policy covers legal defense costs and settlements. Most cannabis retailers carry $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate limits.
• Professional Liability Insurance (Errors & Omissions): This policy covers claims when customers say your staff provided harmful advice about product selection, dosing or consumption methods. You need this protection when medical marijuana patients claim your recommendations worsened their condition. Cannabis dispensaries commonly carry $1 million to $2 million in coverage.
• Product Liability Insurance: Your dispensary needs this coverage when customers claim your cannabis products caused adverse reactions, contamination or unexpected side effects. This protection defends against lawsuits involving mold, pesticides or incorrect THC/CBD labeling. Small operations should start with $1 million per occurrence, while larger dispensaries need higher limits.
• Property Insurance: This coverage protects your dispensary's building, inventory, equipment and cash reserves from fire, theft, vandalism and natural disasters. Cannabis businesses handle significant cash due to banking restrictions, making this protection critical. Insure your inventory at replacement cost with limits that match your typical stock value.
• Commercial Auto Insurance: You need this coverage if your cannabis business uses vehicles for deliveries, bank runs or transporting inventory between locations. The policy covers accidents, theft and liability when employees drive for work. Cannabis retailers should carry higher liability limits because they transport valuable inventory.
• Cyber Liability Insurance: This policy protects your dispensary when hackers steal customer data, payment information or medical marijuana patient records. Cannabis businesses face higher cyber risks because of cash operations and customer databases. Start with $1 million in coverage for data breach response and legal costs.
• Crime Insurance: Cannabis dispensaries need this coverage because federal banking restrictions force them to hold large cash reserves. The policy covers employee theft, robbery, burglary and counterfeit money. Match your coverage limits to your typical cash on hand, usually $50,000 to $500,000.

Follow these steps for getting business insurance that provides your cannabis business financial protection without overpaying.

The Hartford offers cannabis dispensaries the best combination of affordability and protection at $79 monthly, including the lowest rates for general liability and professional liability coverage. 

Your cannabis company needs comprehensive insurance: property protection, crime coverage and workers' compensation for your staff. With perfect scores in affordability, coverage options and customer service, The Hartford stands as our top choice for cannabis operations.

We answer frequently asked questions about Cannabis business insurance:

We selected the best business insurer for cannabis companies based on the following criteria:

• Affordability (50% of score): The lower a company's costs compared to the competition based on our base profile for four core coverage types, the better the company performs.
• Customer service (30% of score): We scored providers on overall customer satisfaction using industry studies, customer review forum ratings and public forum sentiment analysis from sites like Reddit.
• Coverage (15% of score): We scored business insurance providers for this category based on the flexibility, payment and actual coverage options.
• Financial stability (5% of score): Using financial stability industry ratings from companies like AM Best and Moody's, we created an overall rating to judge how likely companies are to pay out claims compared to the competition.

All pricing in this article is based on the following base profile to represent the vast majority of small businesses in all states:

• Three-person business with two employees
• Coverage: $1 million per occurrence and $2 million total per year for all but BOP, which includes the same coverage plus $5,000 of business property coverage
• $150,000 in payroll
• $300,000 annual revenue