How Salon and Spa Insurance Protects Your Company

February 19, 2024 | Insurance 101

This article was originally published December 01, 2023

If you own or operate a salon or spa, you know there are many risks associated with this type of business. They cover the spectrum from a client getting injured by slipping on a wet floor at your business location to making mistakes in the types or amounts of products you use and causing harm. And, of course, the risk of someone stealing sensitive customer information like credit card numbers is one every business must be aware of and address. 

Those risks are just some of the reasons that business owners in this industry need salon and spa insurance. You may also hear it referred to by other names (beauty salon insurance, hair salon insurance, salon business insurance, etc.), but it’s coverage that protects you financially from the unexpected.

For instance, imagine you or an employee unknowingly spill some hair product on the floor. Then, as a client walks by, they suffer a slip-and-fall accident, breaking their wrist. Their medical bills are more than $5,000, and they win a lawsuit requiring your business to cover the cost. Without general liability insurance, you have to pay that amount out of your pocket. However, if you have adequate coverage, your policy may take care of the expense. 

Here’s another example. On a busy day, a distracted hairstylist accidentally uses the wrong chemical on a client’s hair, causing it to change color and burning the person’s scalp. This is another instance where a mistake can be very costly, but professional liability insurance can protect you. 

All it takes is one lawsuit to create a significant financial burden if you don’t have salon and spa insurance. Sadly, that expense can be enough to drive a business into bankruptcy. But business insurance is affordable and easy to purchase, which helps you avoid this type of scenario.

Spa worker shows wares to a customer

Does Your Business Need Salon and Spa Insurance? 

Every company that provides personal care services needs salon and spa insurance, regardless of how the business markets itself. This includes:

  • Hair salons
  • Barber shops
  • Nail technicians 
  • Estheticians
  • Beauty parlors
  • Massage companies
  • Blowout salons
  • Cosmetologists
  • Eyelash extension technicians
  • Hair stylists
  • Masseuses
  • Hairdressers

In short, if you’re in the business of helping people look and feel their best, you should have business insurance.

7 Crucial Types of Salon and Spa Insurance

Salon and spa insurance is a type of business insurance. biBERK offers various policies to address the different risks a business faces. That’s helpful since every salon, spa, or similar company is unique, and you don’t want to carry insurance you don’t need. 

For example, maybe there’s a mobile element to your business (you do onsite massages, for example), and you own or lease vehicles for that purpose. In that case, you should have commercial auto coverage. However, if you don’t have company vehicles, you don’t need this policy. 

Our licensed insurance experts can help you determine which of the seven essential salon and spa insurance policies below you need.

  • check
    Workers' Compensation Insurance. Most states require this insurance for any company with employees. It helps protect your workers (and your company) if they are injured, contract an illness, or die due to an incident on the job. It can cover medical costs, legal fees, and lost wages due to the injury.
  • check
    General Liability Insurance. This type of policy covers several risks, including injuries to clients and other people who don’t work for you and damage to other people's property caused by your employees. It can also pay costs related to libel, slander, and copyright infringement, such as in your advertisements. Plus, you can add endorsements to customize your policy, including cyber, hired and non-owned auto liability, employment-related practices liability, and employee benefits liability. 
  • check
    Business Owners Policy. This is also called property & liability insurance. A business owners policy (BOP) combines general liability insurance with protection for the property you need to operate your salon or spa. It can also pay for lost income due to a covered event. As you can with a general liability policy, you can tailor your BOP with add-ons, including cyber, hired and non-owned auto liability, employment-related practices liability, and employee benefits liability. 
  • check
    Commercial Auto Insurance. If your salon owns or leases vehicles, this policy protects the business from potential exposure arising from accidents. It can cover your legal fees and the medical costs of others if you or your employee is at fault in an accident in your vehicle. It can pay for damages even if the vehicle is used for personal activities outside its primary business use.
  • check
    Professional Liability Insurance. Also known as errors and omissions or E&O insurance, this policy could protect you from the cost of damages and legal fees when someone claims your professional service caused financial harm to them. Coverage includes mistakes on the part of your business (errors) and the failure to perform a service (omissions). 
  • check
    Umbrella Insurance. Every liability insurance policy has a maximum amount it will pay in the event of an incident, with your company being responsible for any amount over that figure. Umbrella insurance adds another layer of protection, potentially covering costs that exceed the limit of another biBERK liability policy up to its own limit.  
  • check
    Cyber Insurance. You can purchase this coverage as an add-on to a general liability policy, a professional liability policy, or a BOP. It helps cover costs related to system hacks or data security breaches where sensitive data, like customer credit card information, has been stolen and fraud has occurred or there is a reasonable expectation that it might happen.

If you’re new to business insurance, you can get additional information about each of these policies on our website to start learning about the various coverages you might need. And if you ever have questions, we’re happy to answer them. For instance, if you think you should buy insurance for your salon or spa but need clarification on which policies are appropriate, we can help you decide.

What Does Salon Insurance Cost?

The premiums for our salon insurance policies vary based on several factors: the type of coverage, the size of your business, your claims history, and others. But you can quickly find out what you’ll pay with instant, self-service salon and spa insurance quotes on our website.  

Typically, you can get a policy with hundreds of thousands of dollars in coverage for as little as a few hundred dollars annually. And whichever salon insurance policies you purchase, you’ll enjoy significant savings over buying from most other providers. That’s because biBERK sells directly to you with no brokers or other intermediaries. As a result, you can save up to 20% on your vital business insurance. 

Our customers also like that we’re part of the Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group. That means we have the financial resources to pay approved claims fully and promptly. In addition, as a company, we’ve proven over several decades that we’ll be there for policyholders in a wide variety of industries should they be sued or suffer property damage.

Get Salon Business Insurance Today!

biBERK makes it easy to obtain the reassuring financial protection you need. You can purchase policies online, with coverage active as soon as the next day in most cases. You can also manage your policies and report claims online for maximum convenience.

You’ve got a salon or spa to run. Leave the financial protection to us! Get the right policies from biBERK so you can focus on operating your business.

Check out our salon and spa insurance coverage options and get covered today!