Hairdressers and barbers face all kinds of risks on a daily basis, just like all other types of businesses. If you’re a hairstylist or barber, your clients depend on you to help them look and feel their best.
But no matter how careful you may be, accidents can happen. You could be held liable for a customer lawsuit, your products could get stolen, or your business may face a temporary closure due to fire damage. All of these threats could cost your barbershop thousands of dollars if you lack the proper coverage.
Fortunately, you can protect your assets, savings, and revenue with the right barber insurance. Independent insurance agents can help you find the right hair salon insurance coverage for your business, employees, and clients. But first, here's a closer look at hairdresser and barber insurance.
Key Takeaways - Hairdresser and Barber Insurance
- Hairstylists need insurance to protect themselves and their businesses against the cost of lawsuits, property damage, and other potential losses.
- Workers' compensation is required in most states for hair salons and barbershops with employees.
- Hairdressers and barbers pay about $35-$110 per month for their insurance, but costs can vary based on your location, business size, and other factors.
- It's highly recommended to work with an independent insurance agent, as they can tailor coverage to meet the needs of your unique hairstyling business.
What Is Hairdresser and Barber Insurance?
Hairdresser and barber insurance, also known as hair and beauty salon insurance, exists to protect hair and beauty salons as well as barbershops and their owners from many potential disasters. Packages are made up of a special form of business insurance with a unique hair salon or barbershop twist. You might also hear this coverage referred to as any of the following:
- Barbershop insurance
- Hair salon insurance
- Hair stylist insurance
- Salon liability insurance
- Beauty salon insurance
Common hazards, ranging from fire damage to legal issues, are accounted for in your insurance policy. Hair salon and barbershop insurance conveniently combines several necessary coverages in one package.
What Are the Best Barber Insurance Companies?
Hairstylist and barber insurance is available from many different insurance companies, and the best way to find the right carrier for you is through working with an independent insurance agent. Independent insurance agents know which insurance companies to recommend to meet your needs, and can provide informed suggestions based on company reliability, rates, and more.
Before choosing your policy, you'll want to assess your business's unique risks to determine how much coverage you really need. It's also helpful to shop and compare policies from several providers to find the best salon insurance and barber insurance providers. An independent insurance agent can do all of this for you.
While many insurance companies could underwrite a barber insurance policy for you, finding coverage could also depend on the area you live in. Here are a few of our top picks for hairstylist and barber coverage.
| Best Barber Insurance Companies | Overall Carrier Star Rating |
|---|---|
| Central Insurance |
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| Stillwater Insurance |
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| Liberty Mutual |
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| West Bend Mutual |
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| Nationwide |
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| Westfield |
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| State Auto |
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| Hiscox |
|
Who Needs Hairdresser and Barber Insurance?
Any professional who works in the hair styling industry likely needs hairdresser and barber insurance. However, other beauty professions can also benefit from having similar coverage. If you work as any of the following, you might need hairstylist or barber insurance:
- Barber
- Hairstylist
- Beautician
- Cosmetologist
- Esthetician
An independent insurance agent can help you find the right coverage for your hair styling or beauty business.
Why Hairdresser and Barber Insurance Is Necessary
You work closely with your clients to help them achieve the look they want. Occasionally, a client may ask for a specific hairstyle and end up hating the results.
In rare cases, a truly dissatisfied client may file a lawsuit against you for emotional distress. Even if the court determines you’re not at fault, your legal defense costs alone could be financially devastating.
Further, many of the tools you use have the potential to cause injury to clients, such as curling irons, scissors or hair shears, hot wax, and chemical treatments. A slip of the hand or a product malfunction could lead to an accidental injury and a claim against you. Having liability protection against bodily injury and personal property damage claims is critical for your business's financial well-being.
Essential Liability Coverage for Barbers and Hairstylists
Lawsuits can come from a number of places you wouldn’t expect and cost you your savings, assets, and future earnings. But you can help protect your financial future with the right liability coverage. Just a few hundred dollars per year for a comprehensive insurance policy could end up saving you much more in the long run.
As a hairdresser or barber, your insurance policy should include:
- Professional liability insurance: This covers emotional distress or personal injury lawsuits filed against you due to your negligent acts or errors as a professional. It provides financial help for settlement costs, damages, court fees, and your legal defense up to the limits of your policy. You might see this coverage advertised as hairstylist malpractice insurance.
- General liability insurance: This covers slips, falls, and other types of accidents resulting in bodily injury or personal property damage that occur in your workspace, the client's home, or any other place where you serve your customers. It pays for the injured person’s medical expenses, personal property damage, and pain and suffering up to your policy limits, with additional coverage for legal defense.
- Product liability insurance: This protects you from the cost of lawsuits involving damage and injuries caused by products you sell to customers. This coverage protects you whether your business manufactures the products or just sells them.
- Legal liability insurance: This pays the costs of accidental damage to the salon or spa where you rent space for your hairdresser business.
An independent insurance agent can help make sure you get set up with all the coverage you need as a hairdresser or barber.
Other Types of Hairdresser and Barber Insurance
Like hairdressers, barbers cut hair and, in some cases, color and style it. But unlike hairdressers, barbers are typically licensed to use a razor and provide shaving and beard grooming services.
Barbers also sometimes recommend chemical hair and scalp treatments to their clients. All of these services can lead to serious accidental injury. Hairdressers and barbers certainly need ample liability protection, but there are still other aspects of their businesses that need coverage.
Other forms of insurance hairdressers and barbers require include:
- Workers' compensation insurance: This covers medical bills and more for employees who get injured or become ill due to their job or work environment. Coverage is mandatory in most states if you have employees.
- Commercial property insurance: This protects your business's building, tools, and inventory against many common threats like fire damage, theft, vandalism, and more.
- Cyber liability insurance: This protects your hair salon in the event that its computer system is compromised. After a data breach or other attack, customers' or staff members' sensitive data may be stolen and sold, leading to serious financial consequences for your business, including possible lawsuits.
- Product recall coverage: This coverage reimburses fees relating to a bad batch of dyes or other products that get recalled. Coverage can also reimburse you for public relations fees related to the recall to help protect your business’s reputation.
- Business income coverage: This coverage reimburses you for lost wages and revenue and covers other ongoing operating expenses if your business must temporarily be shut down due to a covered disaster.
- Commercial umbrella coverage: If your hairdresser or barber business is especially large, turns over a lot of business, and stands to face even costlier lawsuits, you may want to look into commercial umbrella insurance. These policies extend the liability limits provided by your underlying policy in increments of $1 million, and are often highly affordable, too.
- Commercial auto insurance: This covers mobile hairdressers and barbers who use company vehicles or their personal vehicles to make house calls against many potential incidents like accidents and lawsuits as well as theft or vandalism of their vehicles.
An independent insurance agent can help review your specific coverage needs and ensure that you get equipped with all the policies necessary to help protect your hairstyling business for years to come.
Coverage for Your Home-Based Hair Care Business
If you also, or only, provide hair beautifying services out of your home, you could be exposing yourself to a number of other risks. If you depend on your homeowners insurance to cover your in-home hairdresser or barber business, your finances and home could be at risk. So, if a client accidentally slips on your front steps and suffers an injury after a haircut, your homeowners insurance may not protect you from any resulting lawsuits.
Usually, you can purchase in-home business insurance as an inexpensive rider to your homeowners policy or as a separate policy. Your in-home business policy would cover:
- Inventory
- General liability for slips, falls, and other accidents on-site
- Damage or loss to your business property and equipment
An independent insurance agent can help you add all the coverage you need to protect a home-based hairstyling business.
Hairdresser and Barber Insurance Exclusions
While hairdressers and barbers insurance provides a lot of important coverage for your business, it also comes with certain exclusions. Typically, barber insurance won't cover any of the following:
- Breakdown of major appliances
- Temperature changes
- Inexplicably lost inventory
- Robbery
- Pollution damage
- Routine maintenance fees
- Earthquake damage
- Nuclear reaction and war
- Dishonest acts by staff
- Flood damage
If your business is located in a state that’s prone to flooding, you’re likely to want to purchase a separate flood insurance policy. Or you might even already be required to have it by your business’s mortgage lender. Your independent insurance agent can provide you with more information about finding coverage.
How Much Does Hairdresser and Barber Insurance Cost?
On average, hairdresser businesses and barbershops pay $35-$110 per month, or about $420-$1,320 annually for coverage. The cost of your policy may vary based on several factors, like your business's exact location, number of employees, coverages needed, services offered, and your annual revenue.
However, larger businesses with large client turnouts will likely pay a lot more for coverage. Your independent insurance agent can help provide exact figures and quotes for your area. They can help you find affordable hairdresser insurance from a top-rated carrier.
The Benefits of Hairdresser and Barber Insurance
Having enough insurance coverage for your hairstyling business can offer protection in several ways, including against the cost of expensive lawsuits filed by dissatisfied customers or from guests who slip and fall while at your shop.
Having certain types of coverage may also be legally required, so a hairdresser and barber insurance policy can help you comply with local regulations for hairstylists. An independent insurance agent can help provide more examples of salon insurance benefits.
Common Mistakes to Avoid with Hairdresser and Barber Insurance
One of the biggest mistakes a hairstylist or barbershop business can make when buying coverage is skipping professional liability insurance. Having professional liability insurance is critical to ensure your business avoids the cost of lawsuits from third parties who claim errors or negligence by you or your employees. Just one lawsuit could cost tens of thousands of dollars or even more to defend and settle if you lack the proper coverage.
Another common hairdresser insurance mistake is underinsuring business equipment and property. You'll need to ensure you get enough coverage for all your barbershop's unique equipment, products, and hairstyling tools in case of a major disaster like a fire. A destructive incident could leave you having to replace all of your equipment and inventory, so insuring it at full value is critical to avoid losses.
Finally, many barbershops and hair salons make the mistake of ignoring state requirements for coverage. Your state likely mandates certain types of insurance, such as workers' compensation for your employees.
Failure to comply with local regulations for coverage could result in fines and other penalties for your business. Be sure to review your state's guidelines for hairdresser and barbershop insurance.
Why Work with an Independent Insurance Agent?
Having comprehensive coverage for your business is essential, and when it comes to finding the right barber insurance, no one's better equipped to help than a local independent insurance agent. These agents have access to multiple insurance companies, so they're free to shop and compare policies and rates for you.
They'll get you set up with a policy that provides the best blend of coverage and cost. And down the road, your agent can help file business insurance claims for you and update your policy as necessary.
FAQs About Hairdresser and Barber Insurance
How does coverage vary between hair, spa, nails, skin treatment, and massage? Is different liability coverage needed for each?
All salons need commercial property coverage, business income coverage, and various forms of liability protection. Whatever type of salon or spa you run, you'll still probably want to consider professional liability, general liability, cyber liability, and product liability coverage.
Do I need hairdressers insurance if I see clients at my home?
Yes, you still need insurance if you run your business out of your home. Standard homeowners insurance excludes business liability claims, so if you run any type of business out of your home, even part-time, it's imperative to have separate coverage. You'll want to at least look into a business owners policy if your hairdresser or barbershop business is home-based.
Is commercial auto insurance necessary if I drive my personal car for business?
Yes, because standard personal auto insurance policies exclude business use of your vehicle. If you run a mobile hairdresser business or make deliveries, you'll need a commercial auto policy.
Are booth renters independent contractors or employees?
Booth renters are technically small business owners and are usually 1099 employees or independent contractors. Owners of hairdresser and barbershop businesses need to ensure that booth renters on their property are classified as independent contractors for tax purposes.
Should salon owners get coverage for backup of sewers and drains?
It's certainly a good coverage to consider for your business. Your drains can easily become clogged by hair and product buildup, which can lead to flooding, water damage, or burst piping. An independent insurance agent can help you add a sewer backup endorsement to your business insurance policy.
Do hairdressers and barbers need insurance?
Yes, hairdressers and barbers need insurance to protect them against many different causes of loss, including client lawsuits and commercial property damage.
What type of insurance is required for a salon or barbershop?
Workers' compensation is usually required for salons and barbershops that have employees. Depending on your state, other types of coverage may also be required.
How much does salon insurance cost per month?
Hair salon insurance costs between $35 and $110 per month, on average. The cost of your policy may vary based on your location, business size, and other factors.
Does hairdresser and barber insurance cover employee injuries?
Yes, if your hairdresser insurance includes workers' compensation, this can cover employee injuries due to work tasks or the job environment.
Sources
https://www.insurebodywork.com/barber-insurance
https://www.insuranceopedia.com/business-insurance/hair-salon-insurance-cost
