Esthetician insurance

Professional liability insurance for estheticians

When you make a mistake in the skincare business, you’ll have more than a red-faced customer to deal with. And a negligence claim’s no minor irritation. It’s a major flare-up that can put your bank balance in the red and permanently scar your reputation.

Estheticians’ insurance acts as a protective barrier. If a customer claims you did something wrong, it takes care of your legal costs and damages. Leaving your reputation glowing and your business healthy.

• Who needs esthetician insurance?

  Even skincare experts like you don’t get it right all the time. And while you encourage customers to speak up if something feels off during a treatment, the ugly truth is, a licensed esthetician can be sued even when they’ve done nothing wrong.

  Insurance for estheticians is designed to cover the specific risks you face as a skin care professional. Whether you run a salon, a mobile service, or freelance in a spa. It doesn’t just cover claims made by unhappy customers, either. Esthetics insurance protects you if a client sues you for losing their personal data, too.

  But if esthetics is just one of the services you offer, we can get coverage for other health and beauty professions, including:

  • Beauticians
  • Barbers
  • Cosmetologists
  • Estheticians
  • Hairdressers
  • Nail technicians
  • Small salon owners
  • And more.

• What does estheticians’ insurance cover?

  Professional liability insurance for estheticians protects you from the cost of claims made for:

  • Negligence – you wax a customer’s eyebrows and her skin gets so badly irritated she has to cancel a modelling job and seek medical treatment. She sues to cover the loss of earnings and medical bills. Your esthetics insurance policy can pay legal fees and damages.
  • Loss of personal data – you misplace a file containing sensitive client data. It was accidental, but your client sues you for releasing their personally identifiable information. Your esthetics policy can cover the costs of the claim and hire an attorney to defend you if necessary.
  • Claims made worldwide – as long as the claim is filed in the U.S., a U.S. territory or Canada.

• How much does esthetician insurance cost?

  Policies start from $22.50 a month. But the price of your esthetics insurance will be affected by things like:

  • The type of esthetics services you offer, such as waxing and facials
  • The equipment and property you rent, or own
  • Your business income
  • Your location
  • How many staff you employ

  The good news is, we can tailor your policy for the specific risks your business faces.

  What’s more, you can spread the cost of your insurance by paying quarterly, or monthly. Whatever suits you best.

  As for the level of cover you need, it’s best to over-estimate. Think worst-case scenario, but do choose a figure you can sensibly afford.

• What other types of insurance do estheticians need?

  • General liability insurance

    Whether you’re a mobile esthetician, or customers come for treatments at your home, or the salon you operate from you need general liability insurance for estheticians.

    It protects you from the costs of claims you damaged someone else’s property, or caused them injury. That includes medical bills, legal fees and damages you may have to pay, if you’re found at fault.

    Say it’s raining when a customer arrives for an appointment. The salon floor’s wet and he slips, sprains his ankle and needs emergency medical treatment. General liability insurance can cover his medical bills plus legal fees and compensation.

    Or you’re doing an in-home facial and accidentally knock over your client’s antique lamp. General liability insurance can pay to repair the lamp, or if necessary, to replace it.

    It also covers personal injury claims. (Slander, or libel). So if you, or one of your employees, is overheard making a not-so-nice remark about a customer, and it gets back to them, your policy can cover legal bills and damages if they sue.

  • Business personal property insurance

    Business personal property insurance protects the moveable equipment you need to run your skincare business. Whether it’s in your salon or at home.

    It’s a useful policy for mobile estheticians as it covers your beauty tools, phone and laptop when you’re out and about. After all, it’d be tricky to run your business if they get lost or damaged.

  • Workers’ compensation insurance

    Most states require you to have this even if you only employ one person. But it’s worth having anyway. It protects your business from the cost of employee claims for injury in the workplace. Without it, you’d have to find the cash to cover their medical bills and missed wages. And if you’re sued, there’ll be legal fees to pay, too. Workers’ comp also protects you from a lawsuit, no matter who’s at fault.

  • Cyber liability insurance

    With less cash to spare for tight cyber security, small businesses like yours are easy targets.

    Cyber insurance can’t stop a cyber-attack, but it means your esthetics business will survive one. Because it’s not the attack itself that’ll cripple your business, it’s the recovery cost.

    A cyber policy can take care of these for you, including investigating the cause of the breach, informing customers, and paying compensation and legal fees if you’re sued.

  • Business owner’s policy

    When you’re running a small business, to be properly protected you might need several policies. Trouble is, buying them separately can be costly. And managing them all can be a headache.

    For example, if you own or rent a salon or spa you’ll need commercial property coverage and general liability insurance. You’ll also want to cover your equipment in case it breaks down, and the beauty products you stock. You might also want business interruption insurance -- in case something happens that stops you from working.

    A business owner’s policy bundles the basic insurance policies you need into one package. It includes as standard:

    • Property (buildings and contents) insurance
    • General liability insurance
    • Business interruption insurance
    • Equipment breakdown insurance
    • Employment practices insurance

    But you can add and remove policies to suit your needs.

    Don’t have any employees, but do need to cover your equipment away from your salon because you sometimes treat clients in their homes? Simple. Just replace employment practices with business away from premises insurance.

    If you’d like to know more about a business owner’s policy, or BOP, check out our blog post.

    Or if you’re not sure which policies you need for your esthetics business, just call us. We’re always happy to chat with our customers.