Mobile Spray Tanning Insurance: Explained

People in the mobile spray tanning business face risks like every other business, and they need insurance to protect them against these risks. The insurance that they need includes:

• Property insurance
• Employer’s liability insurance
• Public liability insurance
• Personal accident and sickness insurance
• Legal expenses insurance

Property insurance

Property insurance protects your business property against losses due to accidental damage or theft.

If you operate from home, you should check your household insurance because often, business equipment is not covered and will need to be covered by a specific mobile spray tanning insurance policy.

Also, don’t assume that you don’t need property insurance because you don’t have much in the way of business property. The value of your business property can be surprising once you total it up, particularly when you include items like the computer equipment that you use to manage your business.

As you’re a mobile operator, you should check whether your property is covered when it’s being used away from your business premises. Even if it is, there may be policy conditions that you need to comply with. It might not be covered if it’s stolen from an unattended road vehicle, for instance.

Employer’s liability insurance

This type of insurance is a legal requirement if you employ anyone and there are severe penalties if you are caught operating without it.

It covers you if a compensation claim is made against you by an employee who claims that you have done something or failed to do something that has led to them being injured in the course of their employment.

As well as covering the costs of the claim, including the legal fees, your employer’s liability insurer will also handle the compensation claim on your behalf so you won’t need to worry about dealing with the legal issues.

Public liability insurance

Public liability insurance is similar to employer’s liability insurance, but it covers compensation claims made by third parties rather than compensation claims made by your employees.

Unlike employer’s liability insurance, public liability insurance is not a legal requirement. However, some compensation claims can cost over £250,000 to settle, so this type of insurance should not be considered an optional cover because it’s no exaggeration to say that without it, some compensation claims could bankrupt your business.

A standard public liability insurance policy will only cover compensation claims that involve an injury or property damage so you should make sure your policy includes a financial loss cover extension. This extends your insurance to cover compensation claims which involve purely economic losses.

You should also make sure that your public liability insurance contains a treatment risk cover extension because otherwise many claims would not be covered. This is because standard public liability insurance does not cover claims arising out of professional activities. If someone suffered an allergic reaction to a spray tan it would be covered under the treatment risk cover extension, but wouldn’t be covered by a standard policy.

Personal accident and sickness insurance

This type of insurance covers your income if you are unable to work due to an injury or an illness. It pays a weekly benefit if you are temporarily incapacitated and a lump sum if you are permanently incapacitated.

A lump sum is also payable if you die, or for certain injuries such as the loss of an eye or a limb.

Legal expenses insurance

Legal expenses insurance covers your legal bills if you become involved in legal action. Your legal expenses insurer will also be able to help you deal with the legal action to make sure that you get the best possible outcome.

It covers a range of different types of legal action, including handling criminal charges that are brought against you, dealing with disputes with your neighbours or your clients, managing tax or VAT inspections and employment tribunals.