You need coverage.
So why not 360-degree coverage?

The main takeaway is that the commercial general liability policy provides coverage for the business, the business owner, and the employees from claims involving bodily injury or property damage, up to the limits of the policy. Bodily injury does not only mean physical injury, it can also mean damage to image, which is considered advertising injury. In True Grow’s situation, a commercial general liability policy provided defense costs for True Grow because this claim was covered as a result of advertising injury to the competing grower.

In today’s economy, technology for business operations has become extremely complex and sophisticated. Just the same as business owners would explore insurance for their general liability risks, they should explore the same for cyber risks. Insured parties should have detailed discussions with their agents about all operations where technology is used. In this case, since the medical clinic needs email to communicate with patients, it should be thinking about the risk that this opens up for the clinic.

Property insurance is critical to protecting a company’s investment in its property. However, more important than the policy itself is understanding what is covered by it. Property policies will generally have sub limits for different causes of loss. The issue in this scenario is what is contained in the property policy. Is Grow Green covered, and if so, does it have enough coverage for the amount of property it has? It’s important for business owners to request a description of the sub limits when a quote is being proposed by an agent.

Beyond legal obligations, purchasing a workers compensation policy shows the commitment of an employer to its employees’ well being. However, a workers compensation policy alone may not be the only way to ensure a productive and safe workplace. A business owner should be asking, “what else can I get with my policy,” and take advantage of the services the insurance company provides, such as loss control (analysis to reduce frequency and severity of claims), coordination of post-injury care of employees, and more. As an insured party, it is important for business owners to know about the additional services received beyond the policy itself as a result of paying a premium each month.

Notice that nothing is mentioned about Green Genie owning vehicles for its business. At first glance, it may appear that there is minimal to no auto exposure. However, it is clear that employees have travel requirements for their job and, as a result, will be renting vehicles. When employees rent vehicles for company business, an exposure is created. Even if it appears an exposure doesn’t exist, it is important to disclose all operations to your agent to make sure accurate coverage is obtained. In the situation with the Green Genie employee’s rental car, the company was covered through its commercial auto policy.

Professional liability insurance is critical to protecting a professional’s unavoidable risk, as is the case with True Grow’s crop damage. It is a great example of the existence of insurance. Sometimes events take place beyond a professional’s control, which causes the services provided to suffer. Management and professional liability insurance will help mitigate additional damage and fallout from these events.

Luckily, Elevated’s property policy provided business income coverage, allowing the center to recoup some of its lost income while closed. Insurance coverage needs to take into account the additional impacts of a loss, as they may go well beyond the loss of physical property. If a loss forces a business closure, this will most likely limit business income for a period of time. Business owners should pay attention to this coverage as part of their property policy.

Crop coverage is extremely important for suppliers handling plants in any stage of growth. The key to crop insurance is that it is specifically designed for the plant. It is important not to confuse crop insurance with stock insurance. Some policies will offer some coverage for stock, but “stock” is defined as finished product. Therefore, plants in a living or harvested stage would not be covered. It is also important to understand how many plants will be in each stage of growth, whether they are seeds, vegetative, mature, or harvested, and what their value is in each stage. In the case of All-Green Growers, crop insurance helped to recoup the losses from the lost crops in various growth stages.

Stock throughput is extremely important in the cannabis industry because there are many scenarios where a product may change hands as it moves from seed to sale. Stock throughput is a coverage that “follows” the product from seed to sale. The policy will provide some additional coverage that is typically excluded by other property policies. Overall, stock throughput will help eliminate coverage gaps that may be created as a product moves from seed to sale, as was the case with the flood damage in the above scenario.

In this case, the owner’s builders risk policy provided coverage for replacement of the damaged frame. Builders risk policies are critical for new construction projects, as well as renovations and expansions of existing structures. These policies are designed specifically for the construction project named in the policy, and provide the coverage needed to help an insured quickly recoup costs of damages to a construction project. Beyond damage, builders risk policies can also provide coverage for theft of materials, as well as vandalism to the project. Builders risk insurance should be purchased either by the owner of the structure that is being constructed or renovated or by the general contractor of the project. All parties involved should be reviewing certificates of insurance for proof of this coverage.

Product liability insurance is a critical risk management component for anyone selling products to a business or a consumer. As it relates to the cannabis industry, all of the businesses involved in the steps of the seed to sale model should consider this coverage. If a suit is filed for a defectively manufactured product, all businesses involved in the development of that product will have to defend their contribution to the defection. In the ABX case, all of the businesses working with the product from seed to sale had product liability, which provided defense coverage for the suit brought by the consumer.

There are a few definitions critical to understanding the relationship of parties in a bond. There is the party that has the right to make a bond claim (claimant), the project owner or party who the principal is bound under contract (obligee), and the contractor/sub contractor (principal) whose performance under a contract is guaranteed to the obligee. In this specific scenario, the performance bond of the principal (general contractor) responded. While bonds are provided through the insurance industry, they differ from other insurance products. Bonds guarantee one party’s performance or payment obligations by the surety company (third party). Different types of bonds provide different support for a contract. Business owners should consult their insurance partners to ensure appropriate bonding for contracts.