Solvents, ovens and every batch you ship.
Coverage for licensed cannabis manufacturers: extraction labs, edible and infused product makers, white-label producers and packagers, with product liability that follows what leaves your door.
By Sam Alishahi · CA Insurance License #4348151 · Reviewed November 2026 · How this page is researched
Your license type is your hazard class
California's manufacturing licenses track the chemistry. Type 7 allows volatile solvents such as butane, propane or hexane; Type 6 covers non-volatile solvents like ethanol or CO2 and mechanical methods such as rosin presses; Type N is infusion; Type P is packaging and labeling only; and Type S operators share a licensed facility on a schedule.
Underwriters read the same distinctions. Closed-loop extraction with CO2 or a volatile solvent must be certified by a California-licensed engineer, the room needs gas detection, and the local fire official may have to approve it. On the product side, every licensee must keep written recall procedures, so I look at product liability and recall expense alongside property and comp.
- Product liabilityInjury or illness claims tied to products you make, fill or package.
- Product recallPulling a batch back, where a market writes it.
- Property and equipmentExtraction systems, ovens, fillers and stock.
- Workers' compLab techs and line staff, required once you have employees.
What underwriters will ask
Having these ready means I can go to market on the first call. The quote form asks for the same things, and anything you don’t know yet can wait.
- License: DCC manufacturing type (7, 6, N, P or S) and local permit.
- Process: extraction method, solvents, infusion and packaging steps.
- Controls: engineer certification, gas detection, fire approvals and training.
- Products: formats, brands you make for others and annual sales.
- Values: equipment, improvements, inventory and payroll.
- History: current policies, recalls and claims.
Manufacturing insurance, answered
Does a volatile-solvent lab cost more to insure than an infusion kitchen?
It's rated as a heavier fire and explosion exposure, and some markets won't write volatile extraction at all. Engineer certification, gas detection and fire approvals help the submission.
Is product recall included in product liability?
Usually not. Recall expense is a separate coverage that only some markets offer, and it pays for pulling product back, not for injuries.
I make products for other brands. Who covers what?
Your contracts decide much of it. I read the white-label agreements to see who owns recall responsibility and who must name whom as additional insured.
Does a Type S operator in a shared kitchen need its own policy?
Generally yes. Each licensee is responsible for violations during its scheduled time, and the facility owner will usually require each tenant to carry its own liability.
Do you offer cannabis manufacturing insurance outside California?
Yes. Clients across the country send the same quote form. Sam Alishahi is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, DC and places policies there directly. The shopping across carriers works the same way. Rules, minimums and markets differ by state — see insurance requirements by state.
Send your process and products. I'll shop it.
Your license type, extraction method and product list are enough to start.
Alishahi Insurance · Saman Alishahi, independent insurance broker, California License #4348151. General information, not a quote or a promise of coverage; coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued. Some policies may be placed with nonadmitted (surplus lines) insurers, which are not members of the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA).
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(877) 711-4545Answered 24/7 · CA License #4348151
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