A guide to insurance for beauticians and salons
Thinking about insurance for beauticians and salons
Getting the right business insurance as a self-employed beautician or a busy salon owner may seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be.
In fact, whether you work for yourself or manage a growing beauty business in the UK, you generally only need to consider a few types of business insurance, including:
Public liability insurance
Public liability insurance is designed to cover claims made against you if a client or member of the public gets injured or has their property damaged when you work. For example, if they trip over in your salon, or you get dark hair dye on their pristine white sofa.
As a beautician, you're constantly working with and around people. If you mistakenly cause an injury or damage to someone else’s property, public liability could cover legal fees and compensation costs.
This cover can also be a requirement of industry bodies or booking platforms.
Business equipment insurance
Equipment insurance (also known as business contents insurance) is designed to cover accidental damage, loss or forcible theft of business equipment, including portable electronics. It can cover the tools you rely on to get the job done, whether they belong to you or your employees, in the workplace, working from home or out and about.
Employers' liability insurance
Usually the only type of cover legally required by most businesses in the UK is employers’ liability insurance. You’re only likely to need this cover if anyone works for you, and if you don’t get the right cover, you can be fined £2,500 every day you’re not properly insured.
Accident and sickness cover
Working in the beauty industry is a physical job. You’re on your feet most of the day, working hard to make your customers look and feel like a million dollars.
That’s why many beauticians and salon owners consider accident and sickness insurance. This cover can pay a benefit for up to 50 weeks if you, or an employee, are signed off by a doctor on long-term sick leave, hospitalised or injured and unable to work.
Cyber insurance
You might be surprised to see this on the list, but cyber insurance is relevant to any business that holds Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Personal Health Information (PHI).
Whether you’re freelance or you own a salon with thousands of clients, you have access to PII and sometimes even PHI. If this data gets hacked and leaked, you’ll be in breach of the UK's data laws, and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) can issue penalties of up to £17.5 million or 4% of a company's annual worldwide turnover — whichever is higher.
While cyber insurance likely won’t cover any fines, it could cover your liability for processing data and costs associated with a data breach or security failure.
Learn more about how to keep your business cyber-safe in our small business cyber-security guide.
Medical malpractice insurance
Medical malpractice insurance, or med mal for short, is specialist cover for beauticians and salon owners offering hands-on or advanced treatments. When clients trust you with their care, this cover is designed to step in if something goes wrong.
It can help with claims where someone suffers harm linked to your work, including delayed diagnosis, delays in referral, missed diagnosis or physical or mental injury. These situations are rare, but they can happen in client-facing roles where treatments carry risk.
If a claim is made against you, medical malpractice insurance can help with legal costs and compensation. It means you can keep focusing on your clients, knowing you’ve got support in place if the unexpected happens.
Choose your industry
Depending on what types of treatments you offer, you'll find these covers when building a quote for your business. To learn which cover you need for your specific type of business, select the option that best applies to you below.
Beauty therapist insurance
For those who offer all kinds of beauty treatments.
Hairdresser insurance
For mane-makers, hairdryer shakers and everything in between.
Massage therapist insurance
For stress-relievers, skin smoothers and those with magic hands.
Nail technician insurance
For anyone who gives the perfect mani-pedi, every time.
Barber insurance
For those who give a mean fade and close shave.
Beauticians and salons insurance guide
Find out more about insurance for beauticians and salons, the risks it can cover and what to look out for in a policy.
I’ve got employees, which insurance should I consider?
If you have staff – whether part-time, full-time, permanent, temporary or apprentices — you may have a legal obligation to have employers’ liability insurance. It’s designed cover claims made against your business by employees for accidental injury or damage to their property while working.
Accident and sickness insurance is another cover you might want to consider. It comes in three parts to cover workers aged between 16–69.
Firstly, it’s designed to provide financial support for up to 50 weeks if you or an employee goes on long-term sick leave. It can also provide financial assistance for up to 180 nights if you, or an employee, were hospitalised.
And finally, a lump-sum benefit of up to £50,000 can be paid out if you or an employee suffers a serious injury, or up to £25,000 in the unfortunate event that an insured person dies.
Is insurance a legal requirement for beauty businesses?
Whether your UK-based business is a nail bar or a hair salon, if you have employees (temporary, part-time or full-time), it’s usually a legal requirement to have employers’ liability insurance.
This is the only business insurance which is actually a legal requirement. Not having it when you need it can result in fines of up to £2,500 for each day you don’t have it. It’s also important to make sure that your employers’ liability certificate is visible either at your salon or online. Not doing this can result in a £1,000 fine.
Do mobile beauty businesses need insurance?
Many of the risks faced by mobile beauty businesses remain the same whether you’re working at a set business premises or as a mobile business.
Whether you’re making people look and feel beautiful in hotels, offices or their own homes, showcasing your expertise at trade exhibitions across the country, or supporting a bride to look her best on her wedding day, accidents can still happen.
No matter how careful or experienced you are, or where you work from, being a beauty provider carries certain risks. From accidentally poking a client in the eye with a makeup brush to your website or social media being hacked.
For this reason, if you’re a mobile beautician, you’ll still want to consider:
- Public liability insurance
- Tools and equipment insurance
- Employers’ liability insurance
- Cyber insurance
How much does beauty business insurance cost?
The cost of your cover will depend on your business needs. Things like how much of each cover you select, how many employees you have and the treatments you carry out will all play a role in the cost of your monthly premiums.
Read our guide to understand more about what affects the cost of your business insurance.
Things to look out for when getting insurance for your beauty business
It’s important to remember that while business insurance covers a range of eventualities and circumstances, it doesn’t cover everything.
That said, there are some specific things to look out for when buying insurance for your beauty business, including:
- What treatments might be excluded from your cover
- Where you are insured to work (including other countries, if relevant to you)
- Cover for temporary employees
Once you've completed a quote, you'll be able to view a summary of cover. Please always refer to your policy documents for full details around exclusions, terms and limits of your customised cover. Read our guide to understanding your policy documents.
Be quote confident
We're big on fairness. So if you find a lower price for a comparable quote, we won't just match it — we'll go one better and beat it.
So even better than apples to apples, apples to better apples. We're talking Galas to Braeburns.
As you'd expect, T&Cs apply.
Read on
Our insurance guides answer more of your insurance questions.
What is public liability insurance?
If your business interacts with anyone who isn't an employee, you might to seriously consider public liability insurance.
What is professional indemnity insurance?
Sole traders and businesses that offer advice and consultancy could benefit from professional indemnity insurance.
What is employers' liability insurance?
Employers' liability insurance is often a legal requirement for most businesses that hire employees.