Richard M. “Dick” Griffin, a commercial lines insurance broker with more than 50 years of experience in the herbal industry, passed away on December 29, 2021. Griffin was best-known in the industry as the owner of Grifcon Enterprises, Inc., and later Griffin Insurance Services. He was also a consultant and collaborator with RT Specialty, a member of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA).
 
Griffin formed an exclusive agreement with AHPA to provide products liability insurance to the U.S. dietary supplement and natural products industry, after which he extended the program to several other trade organizations in the industry, as well.
 
“Dick’s concept from the outset was that collaboration between the insurance industry and the businesses it serves will produce the greatest benefit for all,” Michael McGuffin, AHPA president, said. “Aside from taking care of his customers by making affordable coverage broadly available, the program he created 25 years ago has returned hundreds of thousands of dollars to the trade groups with whom he worked.”
 
Among career highlights, Griffin led an initiative to provide insurance coverage for California proposition claims, and, AHPA reports, was among the first to take seriously the insurance needs of cannabis and hemp businesses that have emerged in the past several years.
 
AHPA awarded Griffin the “AHPA Herbal Hero Award” in 2015 in recognition of his contributions to the dietary supplement and natural products industry. He was acknowledged at that time for the benefits that his programs have generated the dietary supplement industry. “His professional accomplishments and acknowledgements were many, but for those of us who knew him, it was Dick’s generosity that will be most remembered,” AHPA said in a statement.
 
Also, in 2018, the American Botanical Council named Griffin as a recipient of its “ABC Champion Award,” for his work in serving ABC and other organizations in the natural products industry.

Griffin has also received endorsements from the American Association of Homeopathic Pharmacists, American Botanical Council, Natural Products Association and the United Natural Products Alliance.
 
Griffin was born and raised in Rawlins, WY, the youngest of five children. After graduating from the University of Wyoming, he and his family moved to the Pacific Northwest. In 2011, Griffin published a short story, My Summer Vacation, an autobiographical account of a camping trip he took in 1949 which started in Rawlins, WY, covering more than 400 miles to Yellowstone National Park before returning to Rawlins over a span of nine days.
 
Griffin is survived by his wife Rose Marie (Kalan) Griffin; daughters Rene (Kim) and Nicole; sons-in-law Henry Kim and Brian Yeh; and grandsons Harrison Kim, Kennedy Kim, Nate Griffin-Yeh, and Anthony Griffin-Yeh.
 
A memorial/celebration of life service is on hold at present time due to Covid restrictions. In lieu of flowers, the Griffin family requests donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (with notifications to be sent to Rose Marie Griffin, 1332 Rose Bouquet Dr., Lincoln, CA 95648).