What is Salon Insurance?

Salon insurance is essential if you’re running a hair or beauty salon, but although all salon owners and operators know that they need it, many don’t really understand what it does and what it covers.

In many respects, salon insurance is the same as many other types of business insurance and protects salon owners and operators from the same types of risk. But there are some important differences.

Property insurance

This is the one that most people understand, because it is similar to their household buildings and contents insurance. Property insurance, as the name suggests, covers the property that the business owns. This includes:

• The salon premises
• Any fixtures and fittings
• Business equipment including computers
• Stock

The cover is usually on an “all risks” basis, which covers the property for accidental damage, however that damage was caused. However, it is important to check the policy to see whether there are any exclusions because despite being called “all risks”, there are certain types of damage that won’t be covered.

Property insurance also covers you if your property is stolen, and it covers damage caused by thefts or attempted thefts.

Liability insurance

Liability insurance covers you if a compensation claim is made against you by someone claiming that you are responsible for them having suffered a loss. There are a number of different types of liability insurance.

Public liability insurance is the most common type of insurance for salons, and it covers you if a compensation claim is made against you by a third party. Public liability insurance usually includes products liability insurance, which covers compensation claims arising from defects in products that you have sold or supplied.

Employer’s liability insurance is another form of liability insurance, that’s specifically designed to cover you if a compensation claim is made against you by one of your employees. It’s a legal requirement for anyone who employs staff, and your employer’s liability certificate should be hung somewhere that your employees can see it.

Where salon insurance differs from standard business insurance is that standard business liability insurance will not usually cover claims arising from treatments that you have given. Specialist salon insurance includes a treatment risk extension to address this and extend the cover so that you are not uninsured in the event of a compensation claim arising out of a treatment that has gone wrong.

Salon insurance should also include a financial loss extension. A standard business liability insurance policy will only cover compensation claims involving injuries or damage. The financial loss extension means that claims involving purely economic losses, such as a model claiming lost income from you because their make-up or haircut wasn’t right, would be covered.

Legal expenses

Legal expenses is something else you may want to consider when taking out your salon insurance policy. This covers your legal fees if you become involved in legal action such as:

• Employment tribunals
• Disputes with neighbours or clients
• Tax/VAT inspections
• Criminal charges being made against you

Any good salon insurance provider will usually include this cover as standard, but not all providers do, so be sure to check before buying your policy.

Glass cover

Unfortunately, as salons are shop fronts, there is a very high likelihood of having to deal with your front window glass being broken at some time or another. While not all salon insurance policies have an additional cover for glass breakage, you’ll find most providers who specialise in salon insurance will include this in the price of your quote anyway. This means that, should anyone break your glass to gain access to your property, or if the glass is vandalised, you’ll be able to claim this back on your insurance and get it fixed.

Personal accident insurance

As well as property insurance and liability insurance, you may want to invest in personal accident insurance if you’re looking at buying a salon insurance policy.

As a salon owner, you count as self-employed, and while it can be invigorating to be your own boss, this also means you’re not entitled to sick pay when you’re unable to work. Salon insurance can be extended to include personal accident insurance. This replaces your lost income if you’re unable to work due to an accident or sickness. It also pays a lump sum if you are permanently incapacitated.