Five Reasons Why Your Business Doesn't Need Insurance (And What Each One Looks Like When It Goes Wrong)

Sure. You don't need insurance. You also don't need to wear a seatbelt, lock your doors, or back up your laptop. Until you do.

Here are the five reasons we hear most often — in our actual conversations with cannabis and specialty business owners — for skipping or stripping coverage. And what each one looks like when something goes wrong.

Reason 1: “Nothing's ever happened.”

The truthful version: nothing's happened yet. The cost of a single uncovered loss — fire, theft, lawsuit, claim from a customer — typically exceeds 5–10 years of premium savings. Insurance isn't priced based on what's happened to you. It's priced based on what could.

Reason 2: “My building has sprinklers and cameras. I'm fine.”

Risk mitigation reduces probability. It doesn't eliminate it. And property risk is only one of several lines you actually need: general liability, products liability, workers' comp, crime, business interruption, cyber. None of these are addressed by sprinklers.

Reason 3: “Insurance is too expensive.”

The premium for a small cannabis dispensary's BOP is typically $5K–$15K annually. The cost of a single uncovered slip-and-fall lawsuit averages $30K–$100K. The cost of one ingestible-product claim can run into seven figures. The math always works out in favor of coverage.

Reason 4: “I have an LLC. I'm protected personally.”

An LLC protects your personal assets from corporate debts in many circumstances. It does not protect you from negligence claims, employee injury, or product harm. Personal liability for those still attaches. And piercing the corporate veil is more common than most operators think.

Reason 5: “I'll just self-insure.”

Self-insurance works at scale, when you have hundreds of millions in reserves and a dedicated risk management team. For a small or mid-sized business, self-insurance means “I'm hoping nothing happens.” That's not a strategy.

What to actually do

Talk to a specialty broker who'll explain in plain language what each of your coverages does and what gaps exist. Then make an informed decision — not a hopeful one.

All coverage is subject to underwriting. No coverage is bound or altered until confirmed by an authorized Spire representative.