The Lowdown: Cannabis 101 in 300 Minutes or Less

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On October 17th, the Insurance Journal hosted a virtual, 6 hour, live summit on insuring the cannabis industry. With 2,300 pre-registrants, an additional 200 joined in as the day progressed. These viewers represented over 1,230 companies, 41 countries and 50 states. If you missed it, you can still gain access here, but if you need a bit of convincing, I’ve got you covered.

Here are the 5 top reasons you should you watch IJ’s Insuring Cannabis Summit:

You live in one of 33 states with legalized medical cannabis
You live in one of 11 states with adult use laws
You have interest in insuring participants in the industry
You insure business owners concerned about the impact cannabis may have on the workplace
You want to be informed of the risks and regulations of this industry before it reaches your state

If any of the above applies to you, take advantage of the on demand offer for just $129. Added bonus to the convenience of watching this on demand? Their presentation slides are available for download, which offers you the opportunity to not only learn the material, but also share it with your team, prospects, and community.

How to navigate 13 presentations (that’s over 300 minutes and 190 slides)

Beyond the Buzz…

Introducing Dr. Brenda Wells, Robert F. Bird Distinguished Professor of Risk and Insurance, East Carolina University. She sets the stage for the day, providing us with a common language regardless of where you sit in the insurance or cannabis industry. She offers both a historical perspective and the current state of the industry – uses, ruling, regulations and more. Brenda is a rock star, so don’t skip this intro!

What Risk Takers Should Know About the Marijuana/Hemp Industry

Next up, Joe Pangaro, Associate, Duane Morris, LLP, drills down into the implications of federal and state laws and the “black letter” risks that you may face transacting business in the cannabis industry – vs. the actual risks of enforcement of the laws. Joe leaves you with an important foundation, whether you have concerns, doubts… or none at all (because there are risks!). Side note: Joe had a baby girl just days later and we are very grateful for his involvement so near to such a momentous occasion!

All Toked Up: Challenges Insuring the New Cannabis Industry

This is a great panel of experienced cannabis insurance players – from the agency, underwriting and actuarial – gain the perspective on early adoption, product development and pricing, interaction with carriers and reinsurers and insights for the future of the market. Panelists: John Donahue, Beth Medvedev, Kyle Hales & Blaine Sherwin.

The Actuarial Experience with Cannabis

Greg Faneo, Senior Consulting Actuary, Merlinos & Associates, brings humor to his actuarial insights as he demystifies the actuarial process. As he say, “Your rate is okay as long as your actuary says so…” and given that this is an emerging risk with limited data available, he explains where the rates come from.

Who Needs Cannabis Insurance?

Hang on to your hat as Max Meade, Cannabis Insurance Advisor, Brown & Brown Insurance, provides you a high speed overview of who needs what coverage in the cannabis industry. He breaks out your “plant touching” and “non-plant touching” entities and their unique needs.

Cannabis Insurance Coverage Facts & Myths

Phillip Skaggs, Assistant Counsel, American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) covers the facts and myths of cannabis insurance coverage. If you are entering this market, be sure to catch this presentation as the more confident you are about the facts, the better you are able to dismiss the myths.

Cannapreneur Panel

The feedback from this panel is enough to suggest you should watch these four pioneers. “I loved that panel.” “You guys were honest and charming. Great info” “Great panel. Very informative. Thank you all!” “Wow…that was chock full!” The advise on niching, marketing, and valuing your underwriter are essentials to entering this market. Panelists: Chris Boden, Matt Porter, Jeffrey Samuels & Jerrad Coots

Cannabis Underwriting 101

Our Cannapreneurs end their discussion with a focus on the importance of their relationship to their underwriters and along comes Charles Pyfrom, Senior Vice President of Commercial Programs, CannGen Insurance Services, to talk about the underwriting process and risk assessment. We didn’t even plan that – but if you’re planning to serve this industry, this presentation will cover the risks associated with property, crops, product liability, auto/cargo and more.

Cannabis Product Liability

Our own Patrick Wraight, Director, Insurance Journal’s Academy of Insurance, focuses on product liability, an extremely important topic of late given new discoveries around vaping, for example. Patrick shares his concerns around lack of standardization and claims made by distributors of CBD based products.

Broker’s Role in Educating Cannabis Industry

Kieran O’Rourke, VP Director of Underwriting, Cannasure, is our final presenter on the topic of insuring the cannabis industry. He provides a perspective on the broker’s role in educating the insured, providing guidance in areas of exposure and coverage and general terminology. After which, we turn to workers’ compensation!

From this point on in the agenda, the presentations focus on legalized cannabis in the workplace. This is important information for anyone with business clients in states allowing adult or medical use of cannabis.

Impact of Legalization of Marijuana on Workers’ Compensation

Laura Kersey, Executive Director—Regulatory & Legislative Analysis, NCCI, provides a comprehensive overview of state and federal regulations requiring reimbursement of legalize medical marijuana under workers’ compensation. Laura also addresses issues such as safety in the workplace and what happens if a worker is under the influence of an approved medical marijuana treatment when injured on the job or causes injury to another worker. This presentation sets the stage for the remainder of the day.

Legalization and Employer Liability and Employee Rights

As a follow on to Laura, Michael J. Progar Partner, Doherty & Progar LLC, focuses in on employer drug testing considerations, best practices and procedures. He includes a state level review of employer liability to employees.

Medical Cannabis Products and Reimbursement Policies

Lastly, the outgoing Adam Goer, Vice President Corporate Affairs, Columbia Care, brings the Summit to an end, discussing the details of medical reimbursement of medical cannabis. He shares the best in class program established by New Mexico, urges companies and individuals to look at medical cannabis as an alternative to opioids and offers insights into the future of medical cannabis and reimbursement at the state level.

If you’ve made it this far, I’d like to thank you for your time with this overview. I had the pleasure of working with these fine presenters during the weeks leading up to this event. They are passionate about their subject matter and want you to be successful in your business efforts. Interested? Gain your access to the Insuring Cannabis Summit 2019 for just $129 – 300 minutes and 190 slides.