Cannabis Insurance Group expands coverages, adds MGA

Garnet Underwriting Managers (GUM), the managing general underwriter assigned to manage Garnet Casualty Insurance Corporation, has signed its first managing general agent, Conway E&S of Warrendale, Pa. This is a significant step in Garnet Underwriting Managers' continued advancement of its cannabis insurance offerings.

The casualty insurance group has also announced an indoor grow offering of insurance products, a major enhancement of its expanding, exclusive offerings available to partners in the National Cannabis Risk Management Association (NCRMA).

These products are offered through brokers who are qualified members of the NCRMA's appointed broker programme. This programme was launched by the NCRMA to provide its members with access to qualified and vetted cannabis insurance agents able to meet their risk management needs and objectives. There are currently 15 such appointed brokers in the program, with several others under review.

"In announcing the formation of the mutual insurance company owned by the constituents of the NCRMA, we were careful to point out that the arrangement served as a commencement and not a culmination," said Rocco Petrilli, chairman of the NCRMA. "Cannabis is a complex and non-traditional market and the ultimate insurance solutions promise to mirror this intricacy. Limited insurance capacity in the cannabis market is a large driver of today's insurance cost and coverage inequities.

"Our effort combines the ownership, control and enforcement of an association owned insurance company with the extended and effective impact of the disruptively innovative NCRMA risk management platform. This will efficiently satisfy the need for risk definition and mitigation and open additional capacity reserved for members who are of this best in class assembly of the cannabis markets finest companies."

Brian Nelson JD, GUM's chief underwriting officer added: "The additional coverages provide additional inclusive programs and premiums that are fair and equitable to both the carrier and the insured. Our daily efforts are dedicated to the definition, separation and mitigation of the internal and more numerous external risks that cannabis business face."

The NCRMA is holding its first conference, NCRMA2020, from March 22-24 at Bally's in Las Vegas.