Like any business, a self-employed make-up artist needs insurance to protect their business against unexpected losses. Without such insurance, they would struggle in the event of a loss, and some larger losses could even mean the end of their business.
In many respects, make-up artist insurance is the same as the insurance that all other businesses need. They need property insurance to protect their business assets, liability insurance to protect them against compensation claims, legal expenses insurance to protect them if they become involved in legal action and personal accident & sickness insurance to protect their income if they are unable to work.
However, due to the unique nature of their profession, there are some specific cover extensions that make-up artists need.
Property insurance
Property insurance protects your business assets against accidental damage or losses due to theft. Even if you don’t have your own business premises, you should still insure your stock and equipment, including the laptop you use to do your business administration and the mobile phone that you use to take your bookings.
Liability insurance
There are a number of types of liability insurance. They all cover any compensation claims that are made against you. They also cover any associated legal costs and expenses that are incurred in the handling of the claim.
Employer’s liability insurance covers compensation claims that are made against you by an employee. This type of insurance is a legal requirement if you employ anyone, even if you are only employing them on a casual or temporary basis.
Public liability insurance is similar, but rather than covering claims made against you by an employee it covers compensation claims made against you by a third party. Although public liability insurance is not a legal requirement, compensation claims can result in settlements in excess of £100,000 so no self-employed make-up artist should consider this type of insurance optional.
Products liability insurance is also similar, but rather than covering compensation claims arising from something you have done or failed to do it covers compensation claims that arise from defects in any products that you have sold or supplied. Again, products liability insurance is not a legal requirement but due to the potential cost of a compensation claim, it is not a type of insurance that should be considered optional.
Legal expenses insurance
When you become involved in legal action it can be expensive. Legal action can also involve complex legal arguments.
Legal expenses insurance covers the cost of a range of different types of legal action, such as employee tribunals, contractual disputes, tax and VAT investigates, and criminal charges being brought against you.
Your legal expenses insurer will also help you deal with the legal action which leaves you to concentrate on running your business.
Personal accident insurance
Personal accident insurance covers you if you are unable to work because you have been injured or are ill. It pays a weekly benefit if you are temporarily unable to work, or a lump sum if your injury or illness means that you will be unable to return to the make-up artist profession.
Treatment risk cover
This type of insurance is required by make-up artists because a standard public liability insurance policy will exclude cover for compensation claims that arise out of professional activities. This means that any claims arising from providing make-up services would be excluded. Treatment risk cover extends the public liability insurance to include cover claims arising out of the provision of make-up services so it is vital for self-employed make-up artists.
Financial loss cover
Standard public liability insurance policies do not cover compensation claims unless they involve injuries or property damage. This means that compensation claims for purely economic losses would not be covered.
A model could lose income if their make-up wasn’t right even though they weren’t injured, for instance, or a photographer or film producer could incur additional costs if that model was unavailable. Financial loss cover means that such claims would not be uninsured.
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