A crucial bill to protect insurance agents working with cannabis-related clients passed the U.S. House of Representatives, and while industry insiders rejoice, they know the fight to pass the bill has only just begun.

The House passed H.R. 1595, called the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, in September with a vote of 321-103. While the SAFE Banking Act focuses on banks, the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA National) and other lobbying forces advocated successfully for key components of another bill to be folded into the SAFE Banking Act.

Those borrowed provisions come from a bill that was also in circulation this year called the Clarifying Law Around Insurance of Marijuana (CLAIM) Act. What the CLAIM Act was intended to do, and what has been folded into the SAFE Act, is to protect insurance professionals from being prosecuted by the federal government. Insurance agents and brokers along with their office staff and company directors would be free to work with cannabis-related companies.

Protection from prosecution only works for insurance companies that work with compliant state-licensed cannabis businesses, so it would still be an extremely high risk in non-legal states. Insurance is all about managing risk, and this has been a difficult task even in cannabis-legal states, which is why this bill is needed.

Industry insiders have reacted positively to the passage of the SAFE Banking Act, including PIA National. Jon Gentile, vice president of government relations for PIA National, said in a press release that PIA National supported the SAFE Banking Act after adding the CLAIM provisions that protect insurance agents as well as bankers who provide needed services to the cannabis industry.

“Thirty-three states have medical marijuana laws and eleven states have legalized it for recreational use,” Gentile said in the press release. “As such, it is common sense to protect insurance agents from prosecution for doing business with cannabis-related businesses in states where they are legal.”

“Insurance agents are neither enemies nor supporters of cannabis itself,” Gentile said. “They simply provide insurance to businesses that do business with legal entities.”

Regarding the bill moving forward, Gentile said, “We will continue to advocate for its passage and have already begun to work with Senators to urge the bill’s passage.”

The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, also known as the Big “I,” also showed their support for the bill’s passage. In a statement, Senior Vice President of External Industry & Governmental Affairs Charles Symington called the bill one of the “steps necessary to protect agents and brokers.”

The Big “I” Director of Federal Governmental Affairs Joseph Cortina echoed the PIA National in his statement when he said, “Now that the legislation has passed the House, the Big ‘I’ encourages the Senate to take action on cannabis legislation.”

The National Cannabis Risk Management Association (NCRMA) also came out in favor of the bill’s passage, cutting straight to the point on how the current regulations are impacting cannabis-related businesses and the communities they’re in. The lack of access to financial services forces business to run cash-only operations, creating increased risk and higher premiums for an industry that really needs the coverage.

The SAFE Banking Act is now in the hands of the Senate, which may make changes to the bill along the way. The bill would then be reconciled with the House’s bill, and if approved would be sent to the President for their signature.