Yes, but usually not the regular kind. Colorado allows cannabis sales, but federal law still doesn’t, and that gap makes most standard insurance companies stay away. A regular business policy will often exclude cannabis outright.
Coverage comes from specialty insurers that have chosen to write this industry. They exist, and the list has grown over the years.
What a dispensary can get.
- General liability, for a customer who gets hurt in the store
- Property coverage for the building, fixtures, and inventory
- Product liability, in case something you sold makes someone sick (more on product liability coverage here)
- Theft and crime coverage, which matters in a business that handles a lot of cash
- Workers’ compensation, which Colorado requires once you have employees
Where it gets tricky.
Inventory is the big one. Policies often limit how much product is covered, and how it’s valued after a loss. Read that part closely.
Security comes next. Insurers commonly expect cameras, alarms, and safes, and some make them a condition of coverage. Theft is a real exposure for any cash-heavy shop, which is where crime coverage in Denver comes in.
Then there’s your lease. Most landlords want to see your insurance before opening day, with specific limits.
This is broker work through and through, because you can’t get these policies by calling the company you see on TV. We know which carriers write cannabis in Colorado and what each one expects, and we can lay the options next to each other so you’re not guessing.
For the basics every business starts with, our page on a Colorado BOP explains how the standard version works.