California’s Marijuana Industry Gets Its First Insurer

Since last year, Californians are allowed to grow and possess marijuana. Now, the most populous U.S. state has taken another step to bolster the cannabis business by deciding to give insurance cover to the multi-billion dollar industry. The state’s Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones approved on Thursday the filing of the first commercial insurance company to cover cannabis business. The insurer, Golden Bear Insurance Co, can now begin writing policies and offer coverage for cannabis business owners, spokesman Erik Olsen told Reuters. For long, big insurers have been avoiding the cannabis industry worried about action from federal authorities.