Underwriting perspectives: Allison Liuzzi, Senior Vice President and Lead Cannabis Underwriter on purposeful solutions, provided value, and preparation in a dynamic industry

Allison Liuzzi, Senior Vice President and Lead Cannabis Underwriter, joins us for another Underwriting Perspectives, to share more information about DUAL’s Contaminated Cannabis program and how it has been an innovative addition to the industry. Below, Allison dives into this unique product, with a few key insights about the contaminated cannabis market. 

Q: Allison, can you share some background about your program, including how your team approaches risk, your appetite, and how your coverage is structured?  

A: DUAL’s Contaminated Cannabis program is built around protecting the cannabis supply chain, from post-harvest through to retail distribution. We specialize in providing balance sheet protection and safeguarding brand reputation for businesses in this space, particularly those involved with manufacturing, processing, extracting and finishing products, offering coverage that addresses the financial exposures left between property and casualty insurance.  

Backed by an A- rated carrier, our contaminated cannabis program is structured to provide comprehensive coverage for both THC and hemp-derived products for single and multistate operators across various business types, including vertically integrated operators, growers, manufacturers, dispensaries and more. Our program has been growing steadily, as we deepen broker relationships and advance niche industry knowledge, to ensure we bring real expertise to a uniquely dynamic industry. Our approach is to offer a purpose-built solution to cover the financial consequences of incidents like government-mandated recalls, product tampering, contamination and more, filling a critical gap in cannabis risk management. 

Q: With limited competition in the emerging cannabis insurance market, talk about what makes this product a standout innovation in the insurance industry. 

A: DUAL's Contaminated Cannabis insurance is the first comprehensive product recall coverage on the market for this industry and is paving the way for cannabis operators to have the chance to protect revenues that are already strained due to high costs of doing business. Again, the major gap this program covers is the loss of business expenses not covered by property or product liability coverages, which generally do not cover losses such as loss of gross profit, recall costs, replacement costs, brand rehabilitation, and third-party business interruption. 

One of our standout features is the brand rehabilitation piece. While we offer pre-crisis consulting to make insureds a better risk in the marketplace, we’re also there for them when a loss occurs. We treat bottom line and company longevity like it’s our own, helping to respond to and recover from loss events strategically and efficiently.  

Q: What are the factors that underscore “underwriting discipline” in your program? 

A: There are a few aspects of this that really define our underwriting excellence. Without giving away our ‘secret sauce,’ we want to be clear that our underwriters are diligent, solutions oriented, and deeply knowledgeable about their product. Cannabis is a unique industry with growing social acceptance and demand; therefore, we need to be disciplined in how we assess risk, especially since the industry is highly regulated. Cannabis is governed by varying levels of state and federal laws that lead to weaknesses in the supply chain and potential for human error that doesn’t exist in other market sectors. With research, discipline, and a constant improvement of industry knowledge, we’ve built something truly unique. 

Underwriting discipline also means innovation. This line did not exist in the market, but because of the highly transferable knowledge between product recall and contaminated cannabis, our team has been able to use our more than 85 years of combined food, beverage, and nutraceutical experience to build an all-new product. As a program administrator, DUAL can quickly and efficiently deploy solutions such as this when we see a market need, allowing us to be a true partner in the insurance buying and underwriting process.   

Q: DUAL Contaminated Cannabis has a dedicated claims team. How does that support the overall success of the team? 

A: The continuous feedback loop between our contaminated cannabis team and the claims handling team at our sister company (Align Claims Services) is a huge driver of our overall success. We have a dedicated claims handler, Jason Morgan, who supports our efforts in making claims seamless, effortless and solutions oriented for every client. Regular touchpoints between claims, underwriting, and capacity allow us to be successful across the board and regularly adapt our coverage to make more sense in a changing market. 

Outside of our claims handling expertise, we also offer various consulting services, so that we can avoid risks before they become claims, including tailored pre-incident consulting and disaster mitigation planning to support businesses in becoming a better risk. If claims do occur, we’re still there for our insureds with 24/7 access to crisis consulting. 

Q: So, what’s next in the Contaminated Cannabis space and how are you actively adapting to emerging risks? 

A: This industry calls for us to think on our feet and adapt on a regular basis. While the entire industry itself is changing daily, there are a few things we’re thinking about: 

• Federal vs state regulations – We’re building knowledge of the various regulations and how supply chain impacts regulatory guidelines on a product-to-product basis, especially in the THC vs hemp space. 

• Product acceptance – While the product itself is emerging, social acceptance is changing too, leading to an increase in product demand, so we need to be thinking about how to evolve coverage for a scaling market. 

• Client experience – DUAL makes everything from purchasing and quoting to claims handling as smooth for the client as possible. We’re always improving to offer an optimized and painless process for our insureds.  

• Industry volatility – In a chaotic and changing market, our goal is to stay up to date on industry changes and ahead of our peers when it comes to protecting businesses from risk. 

• Services outside of coverage – Our policy includes consultants that support businesses with pre-incident reviews or site audits, ensuring that preemptive loss mitigation and post-loss consultancy services support our partners in becoming a better risk. 

DUAL Contaminated Cannabis provides comprehensive coverage for the high potential risks associated with cannabis recall. Our experienced team supports a wide variety of complex and diverse industry challenges to protect company reputation and bottom line.  

For more information about our DUAL Contaminated Cannabis program, you can reach Allison at [email protected] or visit dualinsurance.com/contaminated-cannabis.  

This marketing material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer or solicitation of insurance or legal or other advice.  Coverage availability and eligibility may vary by state and are subject to regulatory approval.  The purchase of cannabis contamination coverage does not eliminate the risk of product recalls, nor does it guarantee compliance with applicable laws or regulations.  Policyholders are responsible for maintaining compliance with all federal, state and local cannabis laws and regulations.