NFP Expands Cannabis Insurance Reach With Frontier Risk Deal

NFP, the Aon-owned property and casualty broker and benefits consultant, has acquired the retail cannabis insurance business of Frontier Risk Group, a specialty insurer built to serve the cannabis sector, the company announced August 11, 2026.

The acquired business will fold into NFP’s Healthcare and Life Sciences practice. Eric Schneider, Frontier Risk’s senior vice president, joins NFP with the same title, reporting to Scott Foster, the practice’s leader.

Tom Gillingham, NFP’s president of Commercial Risk, framed the deal around what cannabis clients face: “Cannabis operators face a risk environment shaped by evolving regulations, changing market dynamics and specialized insurance needs. By bringing together Frontier Risk’s deep industry expertise and NFP’s broad risk management capabilities, we’ll be better positioned to deliver value and innovative solutions to clients.”

For Frontier Risk, the sale marks a pivot. After the transaction, the company said it will concentrate on scaling Strata Specialty, a multi-program manager that builds risk transfer and credit support products for critical infrastructure and other emerging specialty categories.

What Frontier Risk Brings to NFP

Frontier Risk launched in October 2022, founded by James Whitcomb, the former CEO of multistate operator Parallel, alongside insurtech investor IA Capital Group. The firm pitched itself as the first technology-enabled insurance platform built specifically for cannabis risk, combining brokerage services with risk management advisory work for cultivators, retailers, and businesses serving the supply chain.

The company raised a $3 million seed extension round in January 2025, led by cannabis-focused venture firm Casa Verde, with Illinois Casualty Company joining as a strategic investor. That brought Frontier Risk’s total disclosed funding to $6 million. At the time, the company said it was building a proprietary underwriting engine with cannabis-specific datasets and had set its sights on becoming a full-stack retailer and capacity provider for the industry.

NFP gets a team with cannabis-specific brokerage experience and a book of clients in a sector where coverage remains difficult to place. Foster described the fit: “Their specialized expertise in the cannabis sector expands our ability to serve businesses operating in highly regulated industries. Together, we’ll offer clients deeper industry insight, more specialized risk management guidance and access to the broad resources of NFP’s national platform.”

Why Cannabis Insurance Attracts Specialist Buyers

Operators typically must carry multiple lines of coverage, from general liability and product liability to crop and property policies, yet many mainstream carriers still decline the risk entirely. Many carriers avoid the sector or charge a premium, leaving coverage thin and costly.

The sector’s structural constraints have also drawn legislative attention. A Senate bill introduced this year would create a federal safe harbor for insurers covering state-legal cannabis businesses, a measure that would widen the addressable market for exactly the kind of platform NFP just bought.

The Aon Connection and What Changes for Clients

NFP itself became part of Aon in April 2024, in a $13 billion transaction that brought the middle-market broker’s 7,700 employees under the global professional services firm’s umbrella. Since then, NFP has operated as an independent, connected platform, and it has continued acquiring specialty businesses, including a Kansas City-area personal lines agency announced in June.

For Frontier Risk’s existing cannabis clients, the practical change is access to NFP’s broader platform, including its national brokerage network, its benefits and wealth management arms, and Aon’s global capabilities. Schneider, who co-founded the cannabis insurance platform that became part of Frontier Risk, emphasized continuity: “NFP’s national platform, broad specialty expertise and extensive resources will enhance our capabilities, while allowing us to continue providing the personalized service and deep industry knowledge our clients have come to expect.”