The Guild
Well-Known Member
Insurance For Nail Techs And Beauty Therapists
We live in a compensation culture, which is why anyone working as a beauty therapist or a nail technician who is not insured for when things go wrong is taking a massive risk. Working without insurance is not just risky, but as specialist policies are available for under £100 a year, that risk is also unnecessary. But what types of insurance do therapists need? The Guild has put together a summary of what insurances you need, according to your circumstances.
Perhaps the first thing to say is that whilst a generic guide such as this will be sufficient for the needs of most therapists and nail techs, it is not possible to cover every situation. Therefore, if you are in any doubt about the cover you already have, or the cover you need, you should contact a specialist provider. The Guild can provide specialist information during office hours on our membership hotline on 0800 288 9493, and you can contact us outside office hours through our Beautyguild.com website.
What Type Of Insurance Do You Need?
We tend to talk of insurance in a generic sense, but in fact most therapists and nail techs require three different types of insurance cover. These are:-
Treatment Liability
Treatment liability covers you in the event of a claim being made against you by a client claiming that she has been injured as a result of your negligence e.g. if you burn someone with wax.
Product Liability
Product liability covers you retailing products for your clients and non clients to use at home e.g. if the client purchases a homecare product that leaks or explodes in their home and injures themselves or causes damage to their furniture.
Public Liability
Public liability covers the individually insured therapist if the client were to be accidentally injured or damage to their property occurred whilst in your treatment room e.g. if they were to trip over a trailing cable and injure themselves whilst in the treatment room.
How Long Will The Cover Be Effective For?
A common misunderstanding is that your insurance will cover you for anything you do during the period of the policy. This is not always the case, and depends on whether the policy you buy is a Claims Made policy, or a Claims Occurring policy. Some of the cheaper policies are Claims made policies, which only cover you when the claim is made known during the insurance year. In plain terms this means that if a client makes a claim against you after the policy has expired and no other cover was in place, the occurrence would not be covered. Some therapists are not made aware by the client that there has been a problem with a treatment for many months or even years after a problem has occurred (up to 6 years). The Guilds policy is a claims occurring policy, which means that a claim is triggered by the date of the insurance incident i.e. the date that you the therapist carried out the treatment on the client who is making the claim and not the date that the client made the complaint. If a problem arose for a treatment which was carried out during the period of insurance, but the claim was made after the after the policy has expired, this type of policy would still pick up the claim. The type of policy you hold should be clear from your insurance documents, but if you are unsure, contact your insurance provider immediately.
How Much Cover Do I Need?
We recommend therapists and nail techs should be covered up to £2 million. In some cases, employers require a higher level of cover than £2 million, and in these cases, the Guild can provide up to £5 million cover for the payment of a small additional fee. There are some policies which provide less than £2 million, and these are generally sold cheaper.
If I Have A Claim, Will I Have To Pay An Excess?
Some policies have excesses as high as £200 for any type of claim, and this is something to bear in mind when choosing the right policy for you. The Guilds policy has no excess for treatment liability and product liability. The Property Damage Excess in the public liability section is the first £100 of any claim for loss or damage to property e.g. if you spill nail varnish remover on a clients furniture (if you are working mobile) or if you spill nail varnish on a clients handbag in the salon you are responsible for the first £100.
Do I Have To Abide By Certain Rules And Regulations?
Most policies include warranties. Always ensure that you are aware of, and understand any warranty requirements that are written into the policy. If you do not abide the warranties you could find that your insurers may decide not deal with a claim on your behalf, if a claim occurs and you have not adhered to the warranty requirements. An example of a common warranty is in relation to eyelash and eyebrow tinting, which requires you to perform a skin test on the client at least 24 hrs before applying that clients first eyelash or eyebrow tinting. All warranties should be clearly laid out in your policy documents. If you are unsure about these, contact your insurance provider immediately.
What Treatments Does The Policy Cover?
Your policy document should list all the treatments for which cover is provided dependent on qualifications. The treatments covered by the Guild are listed on the Beautyguild.com website. Some policies require additional premiums to be paid to cover more specialised treatments, e.g. if you carry out Laser/IPL hair removal, skin rejuvenation or red vein treatments. It is always best to check with your insurance provider that all treatments you carry out are covered in the basic policy. Never assume a treatment is covered and remember to double check with your insurers before taking on a new treatment or product range.
Who Does The Policy Cover?
Most insurance policies cover you as an individual. This means that if you employ someone to work for you, you need to make sure they have their own insurance cover in place.
I Am Currently A Student, Can I Get Insurance Before I Qualify?
It stands to reason that most insurance companies will insist that you are qualified before they will insure you. Unqualified therapists and nail techs are more likely to make mistakes, and are therefore a greater risk to insurers. However, if you are enrolled on a recognised training course, you should be able to get insurance to cover you for doing case studies as part of your training. This does not mean you can set up business and charge for treatments, but it does mean that you can practice on other people to acquire the necessary skills you need to pass the course. If you are taking a training course, it is the responsibility of the training school or college to either provide you with adequate insurance cover, or to refer you to a specialised insurance provider like the Guild. Before enrolling in on a training course, you should always ask what insurance provisions are in place.
Who Is Responsible For Arranging Cover?
If you are an employee working in a salon or a nail bar, it is the owners responsibility to ensure you are insured. However, if you work on a self employed basis, then it is your own responsibility to arrange membership and insurance.
The Salon I Work For Insures Me, But I Do A Small Amount Of Mobile Work For Myself. Is This OK?
If your employer has arranged cover for you while you are working at the salon, it probably will not cover you for working elsewhere. So, even if you are only doing a handful of treatments outside work, there is still a possibility something may go wrong, and you would not be covered. In this case, it is advisable for you to arrange your own insurance.
Can My Insurance Cover Me For Home And Mobile Work?
This is something you need to check before you buy a policy. The Guilds insurance policy covers you as an individual and allows you to work at any location within the UK, i.e. salon, home, or mobile.
Is There Anything Else I Need To Know About Working From Home?
Yes. Does you home contents insurance allow you carry on a business from your home? Most standard home cover policies dont, which means that an accident, fire or break in could leave you with a hefty bill that your insurers will not pay out for. Guild Members can obtain a specialist quote for the Home Therapist policy. This is home cover specifically designed for therapists who are running their business from their house. This will give you buildings cover up to £200,000, buildings and contents accidental damage cover for things like basins, fitments and damage caused by clients, contents cover of £42,500 including business equipment, and business equipment cover up to £7,500.
Can I Work Abroad?
Check with your insurer. Most insurance policies will only cover you to work within the territorial limits of the UK.
Still Need Help?
If you have insurance, but have any doubts about what you are covered for, call your insurers and ask them. They should be able to advise you on every aspect of their policy.
If you are currently working without any insurance in place, then you are taking a big risk. Membership and Insurance with the Guild costs just £85 a year, which is a small price to pay for peace of mind. You can call us free Monday to Friday 8.30 am to 5.00 pm on 0800 288 9493.
DID YOU FIND THIS USEFUL?
If there are any questions you have which you feel have not been covered in this article, please let us know, and we will update it for the benefit of other Geeks.
We live in a compensation culture, which is why anyone working as a beauty therapist or a nail technician who is not insured for when things go wrong is taking a massive risk. Working without insurance is not just risky, but as specialist policies are available for under £100 a year, that risk is also unnecessary. But what types of insurance do therapists need? The Guild has put together a summary of what insurances you need, according to your circumstances.
Perhaps the first thing to say is that whilst a generic guide such as this will be sufficient for the needs of most therapists and nail techs, it is not possible to cover every situation. Therefore, if you are in any doubt about the cover you already have, or the cover you need, you should contact a specialist provider. The Guild can provide specialist information during office hours on our membership hotline on 0800 288 9493, and you can contact us outside office hours through our Beautyguild.com website.
What Type Of Insurance Do You Need?
We tend to talk of insurance in a generic sense, but in fact most therapists and nail techs require three different types of insurance cover. These are:-
Treatment Liability
Treatment liability covers you in the event of a claim being made against you by a client claiming that she has been injured as a result of your negligence e.g. if you burn someone with wax.
Product Liability
Product liability covers you retailing products for your clients and non clients to use at home e.g. if the client purchases a homecare product that leaks or explodes in their home and injures themselves or causes damage to their furniture.
Public Liability
Public liability covers the individually insured therapist if the client were to be accidentally injured or damage to their property occurred whilst in your treatment room e.g. if they were to trip over a trailing cable and injure themselves whilst in the treatment room.
How Long Will The Cover Be Effective For?
A common misunderstanding is that your insurance will cover you for anything you do during the period of the policy. This is not always the case, and depends on whether the policy you buy is a Claims Made policy, or a Claims Occurring policy. Some of the cheaper policies are Claims made policies, which only cover you when the claim is made known during the insurance year. In plain terms this means that if a client makes a claim against you after the policy has expired and no other cover was in place, the occurrence would not be covered. Some therapists are not made aware by the client that there has been a problem with a treatment for many months or even years after a problem has occurred (up to 6 years). The Guilds policy is a claims occurring policy, which means that a claim is triggered by the date of the insurance incident i.e. the date that you the therapist carried out the treatment on the client who is making the claim and not the date that the client made the complaint. If a problem arose for a treatment which was carried out during the period of insurance, but the claim was made after the after the policy has expired, this type of policy would still pick up the claim. The type of policy you hold should be clear from your insurance documents, but if you are unsure, contact your insurance provider immediately.
How Much Cover Do I Need?
We recommend therapists and nail techs should be covered up to £2 million. In some cases, employers require a higher level of cover than £2 million, and in these cases, the Guild can provide up to £5 million cover for the payment of a small additional fee. There are some policies which provide less than £2 million, and these are generally sold cheaper.
If I Have A Claim, Will I Have To Pay An Excess?
Some policies have excesses as high as £200 for any type of claim, and this is something to bear in mind when choosing the right policy for you. The Guilds policy has no excess for treatment liability and product liability. The Property Damage Excess in the public liability section is the first £100 of any claim for loss or damage to property e.g. if you spill nail varnish remover on a clients furniture (if you are working mobile) or if you spill nail varnish on a clients handbag in the salon you are responsible for the first £100.
Do I Have To Abide By Certain Rules And Regulations?
Most policies include warranties. Always ensure that you are aware of, and understand any warranty requirements that are written into the policy. If you do not abide the warranties you could find that your insurers may decide not deal with a claim on your behalf, if a claim occurs and you have not adhered to the warranty requirements. An example of a common warranty is in relation to eyelash and eyebrow tinting, which requires you to perform a skin test on the client at least 24 hrs before applying that clients first eyelash or eyebrow tinting. All warranties should be clearly laid out in your policy documents. If you are unsure about these, contact your insurance provider immediately.
What Treatments Does The Policy Cover?
Your policy document should list all the treatments for which cover is provided dependent on qualifications. The treatments covered by the Guild are listed on the Beautyguild.com website. Some policies require additional premiums to be paid to cover more specialised treatments, e.g. if you carry out Laser/IPL hair removal, skin rejuvenation or red vein treatments. It is always best to check with your insurance provider that all treatments you carry out are covered in the basic policy. Never assume a treatment is covered and remember to double check with your insurers before taking on a new treatment or product range.
Who Does The Policy Cover?
Most insurance policies cover you as an individual. This means that if you employ someone to work for you, you need to make sure they have their own insurance cover in place.
I Am Currently A Student, Can I Get Insurance Before I Qualify?
It stands to reason that most insurance companies will insist that you are qualified before they will insure you. Unqualified therapists and nail techs are more likely to make mistakes, and are therefore a greater risk to insurers. However, if you are enrolled on a recognised training course, you should be able to get insurance to cover you for doing case studies as part of your training. This does not mean you can set up business and charge for treatments, but it does mean that you can practice on other people to acquire the necessary skills you need to pass the course. If you are taking a training course, it is the responsibility of the training school or college to either provide you with adequate insurance cover, or to refer you to a specialised insurance provider like the Guild. Before enrolling in on a training course, you should always ask what insurance provisions are in place.
Who Is Responsible For Arranging Cover?
If you are an employee working in a salon or a nail bar, it is the owners responsibility to ensure you are insured. However, if you work on a self employed basis, then it is your own responsibility to arrange membership and insurance.
The Salon I Work For Insures Me, But I Do A Small Amount Of Mobile Work For Myself. Is This OK?
If your employer has arranged cover for you while you are working at the salon, it probably will not cover you for working elsewhere. So, even if you are only doing a handful of treatments outside work, there is still a possibility something may go wrong, and you would not be covered. In this case, it is advisable for you to arrange your own insurance.
Can My Insurance Cover Me For Home And Mobile Work?
This is something you need to check before you buy a policy. The Guilds insurance policy covers you as an individual and allows you to work at any location within the UK, i.e. salon, home, or mobile.
Is There Anything Else I Need To Know About Working From Home?
Yes. Does you home contents insurance allow you carry on a business from your home? Most standard home cover policies dont, which means that an accident, fire or break in could leave you with a hefty bill that your insurers will not pay out for. Guild Members can obtain a specialist quote for the Home Therapist policy. This is home cover specifically designed for therapists who are running their business from their house. This will give you buildings cover up to £200,000, buildings and contents accidental damage cover for things like basins, fitments and damage caused by clients, contents cover of £42,500 including business equipment, and business equipment cover up to £7,500.
Can I Work Abroad?
Check with your insurer. Most insurance policies will only cover you to work within the territorial limits of the UK.
Still Need Help?
If you have insurance, but have any doubts about what you are covered for, call your insurers and ask them. They should be able to advise you on every aspect of their policy.
If you are currently working without any insurance in place, then you are taking a big risk. Membership and Insurance with the Guild costs just £85 a year, which is a small price to pay for peace of mind. You can call us free Monday to Friday 8.30 am to 5.00 pm on 0800 288 9493.
DID YOU FIND THIS USEFUL?
If there are any questions you have which you feel have not been covered in this article, please let us know, and we will update it for the benefit of other Geeks.
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