There are several types of business insurance you should consider if you’re a hairdresser or run a hair or beauty salon. These are:
Professional indemnity insurance
If something goes wrong with the service you provided, or a client is unhappy with their hair or beauty treatment, you could potentially face an expensive lawsuit. As such, professional indemnity insurance is essential for anyone working as a hairdresser, particularly if you’re self-employed or run a salon.
Professional indemnity can cover you against claims that the service you provided was negligent or fell short of expected professional standards. It’s the most important type of insurance to have for anyone offering professional hair or beauty services to the public. Cover is available starting from $2 million but can extend up to $10 million or more.
What it covers
- Payment of compensation if there’s a successful claim against you
- Payment of court-awarded damages to the litigant
- Cover for your legal defence costs
- Cover for the cost of disciplinary proceedings or disaster investigations
Public liability insurance
Public liability insurance is also essential for hair stylists, nail technicians or anyone in the beauty or makeup businesses. It can cover you against claims that your business activity caused injury to a member of the public or damaged their property. For instance, if a customer slips on a wet floor or you accidentally cut skin with your scissors, this type of insurance could cover you if an injury claim is made and qualifies under your insurer’s terms. This insurance can offer between $5 million and $20 million worth of cover.
What it covers:
- Third-party personal injury claims
- Damage to a third party’s property
- Legal fees to defend yourself
General business insurance
General business insurance is also important if you own a hair salon. It can cover not only your general building contents but also portable equipment (such as hair dryers and heat lamps) and stock, such as the shampoos, sprays and conditioners you sell to clients. Salon owners should be aware that glass breakage is a common exclusion in general business insurance policies, so if you do have a salon full of mirrors you wish to insure, you may need to purchase glass breakage insurance as an add-on to your general business insurance policy.
What it covers:
- Fire, storms, theft, water leakage (excluding floods caused by weather events)
- Vandalism, malicious damage, impact and collision which cause damage to your business assets
- Portable contents and equipment including your stock
- Glass breakage (if purchased as a separate add-on to your business insurance)