If you’re planning on growing cannabis in your home, it’s important to know what is and is not insured under your home insurance policy. Many insurance brokers will offer coverage for paraphernalia, cannabis plants, and growing equipment, but there is often a cap and deductible. What they won’t cover are your plants that are grown outdoors because of the risk of theft or damage. Learn more about how you can use home insurance to cover the legal cannabis plants you grow inside your home.
What’s Covered?
The total coverage will depend on the number of plants grown, the type of plants, and if you have made any changes to your home to accommodate the plants.
Under Canada’s 2018 Cannabis Act, you are legally permitted to grow up to four plants for personal use. It’s important to note that this is four plants per home, not per person. So if you and your partner would like to have four plants each, you would be technically breaking the law, and you would not be covered. As mentioned above, the plants also have to be grown inside your home. There are also specific restrictions surrounding the type of seeds and plants grown.
According to the law, your plants must be grown from licensed seeds, clones or plants. You are also not allowed to distribute the product – it will only be covered if it is for personal use.
Additionally, if you’re planning to make any modifications to your home to grow the plants – rewiring electricity, using irrigation systems – you will need to inform the insurer. Some changes you hope to make may not be covered under their policies, especially if they pose a greater risk to your home.
How Does this Coverage Work?
In most cases, the home insurance will cover certain risks associated with growing cannabis plants such as fire, burglary, and accidental flooding. If you live in a condo, it’s important to get a list of requirements from the condo corporation. Most will want to have some form of protection for flooding and mould.
It’s also worth noting that you should have some form of liability insurance in the event that a guest injures themselves when consuming the cannabis that you’ve grown on your property. An insurance broker can also help guide you toward the right insurance policy to protect you from all types of implications resulting from your legal cannabis plants.
Not all Insurance Providers Offer Cannabis Coverage
Don’t be surprised if your current insurance provider does not offer this type of insurance, not all do. And even if they do have a policy it’s best to shop around to ensure that you have the right amount of coverage for your particular needs and the best rates. That’s where an insurance broker can help.
If you’re planning to grow cannabis at home, contact us at MLS Insurance and we’ll make sure you have the property insurance coverages in place.