Your Ultimate Guide to Hair Salon Insurance

As a hairdresser and salon owner, you operate on razor-thin margins.

The last thing you need is an accident clearing out your savings and driving you out of business. But the sad truth is that even in the hair industry, with careful professionals and high-end salon practices, accidents can happen.

Is your salon protected? What about your stylists? Your products? Are they protected enough to ensure you are covered if the unthinkable happens?

If not, or if you just aren’t sure, keep reading. We’ll take you through the ins and outs of salon insurance to make sure your business is protected.

One Size Fits All? Hardly.

Different salons have different needs. Just because Nicola down the way has a certain type of coverage in her salon doesn’t mean you should have. You’re far better than Nicola anyway.

To decide what sort of coverage you should carry, you’ll need to determine three things.

1. What coverage MUST you have, by law?
2. How much can you afford?
3. Do any special coverages apply to you?

The law stipulates that you must have certain types of coverage, and those are non-negotiable. You must make sure you have the minimum required by law, though the smart salon owner carries far more than the bare minimum.

Once you know what you must include, you’ll want to ensure that you get the most coverage you can afford. Insurance is no time to pinch pennies, especially when it comes to your business.

Remember, this is your livelihood and the livelihoods of any employees you have on the payroll. Protecting yourself and them is vital to ensure success in your business.

Let’s take a look at the types of salon insurance you’ll need.

Property Insurance

Unless you are operating your salon from a non-physical location outside of space and time, you’ll need property insurance.

It doesn’t matter if you run your business from a room in your home or a high-end shopfront in town. You’ll need to protect the physical space.

Property insurance protects the building itself in case of damage by fire, flood, or break-in. It also protects any physical objects on that property. Consider your chairs, equipment, and furniture. How much would they cost to replace if they were damaged or stolen?

All of that is covered under property insurance.

And keep in mind that if you run your business from your home, property insurance is still a good idea, as your home insurance may not cover business damages.

You’ve protected your building. But what about your clients?

Public Liability Insurance

Every stylist has heard the horror stories. A fresh stylist not mixing chemicals properly and burning a client, or a client having an allergic reaction to the salon shampoo.

Even with a great stylist, things can happen. And if you aren’t carrying public liability insurance, you could be stuck holding the bill for the damages.

Public liability insurance covers legal fees for any angry client trying to sue you for damages. However, there are two very important things it does not cover, and you may want them both.

Treatment Risk

This first one is vital for any salon owner. Public liability insurance doesn’t cover anything that has to do with a treatment you provide.

Salons are a treatment-based business. Almost anything you do to a clients hair qualifies as a treatment, and without this coverage, you face the possibility of being found liable, even if you already have Public Liability Insurance.

Financial Loss

This coverage helps supplement the Public Liability Coverage. Public liability covers physical damages. The financial loss coverage makes sure you’re covered even if the losses were purely financial.

Product Liability

You might not need this one.

To find out, go take a look at your shop. Are you selling beauty supplies or products? Yes?

Then you need Product Liability Insurance.

Product is a great way to boost the revenue in your salon. It can also be a bit of a risk.

Even if you do not personally manufacture the products if something goes wrong with a product you sell, you can, potentially, be held liable, at least in part.

This can get a bit dicey, especially if your salon is part of a larger beauty brand, such as Paul Mitchell or Aveda. In that case, your larger parent company may bear some of the brunt, since the products are theirs. But you should not assume that you are covered under a larger company plan.

If you are a smaller subsidiary of a larger beauty brand, check to see if you are covered under their product liability and if you are not, get your own coverage immediately.

Employer’s Liability Insurance

Unless you are a one-stylist operation, you’ll need an Employer’s Liability Plan as this is compulsory in the UK.

This keeps you safe and protected in the event that an employee, either current or former, tries to bring suit against you for any damages.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that, because you have good relationships with all your employees, that you won’t need this type of coverage. Work relationships, even good ones, can change in an instant. And if there is an accident or injury caused by the job, you may find yourself staring at a court summons.

Keeping Employer’s Liability Coverage ensures that you won’t have to sell your salon just to pay legal fees.

Salon Insurance: Other Considerations

These are the main types of coverage every salon owner should carry. But there are other things to consider as well.

Some insurance plans may have gaps that must be covered with supplementary plans.

Many stylists ensure their hands in particular with private accident insurance. After all, when your hands are your bread and butter, you want them protected in the event of an accident.

Need more Coverage?

Salon insurance is vital for the modern hair stylist. There is nothing more business smart than protecting yourself against the unforeseen.

And once you have a comprehensive insurance package, you can rest easy knowing that, come hell, high water, or angry clients, you are protected against all of it.

For more on how you can get the best stylist insurance, take a look at our packages!