Insurance for cosmetologists and beauticians

Professional liability insurance, sometimes called errors and omissions insurance (E&O insurance), is insurance coverage for claims against businesses that provide professional and personal services – including beauty-based businesses like yours.

When is it important to have professional liability insurance as a cosmetologist or beautician? The short answer is as long as there's litigation risk – which is always. Examples of when cosmetologist insurance would come in handy include the following scenarios:

• Emotional distress: A hairstylist is dyeing a client's hair and leaves the treatment on for too long, which results in scalp burns and damage to the hair itself. The client sues for emotional distress, bodily injury from the burns, and loss of wages because she could not return to work for several weeks. Professional liability insurance could protect hair stylists if such a claim is made.
• Treatment gone wrong: A beautician waxes a customer’s eyebrows and their skin gets severely irritated. The customer has to cancel a modeling job and go to the doctor to get treatment so they sue the beautician. Professional liability insurance could protect you if such a claim is made.
• Loss of personal information: By mistake, a cosmetologist misplaces a file with sensitive client information. It was an accident, of course, but the information is compromised nonetheless, and the client sues for the mishandling of her personally identifiable information. Professional liability insurance may protect cosmetologists against personally identifiable information claims and appoint an attorney to defend them if necessary.

Professional liability insurance covers the gamut of risks facing your business, from alleged improper treatments to data breaches. Protect yourself and your business against these risks with cosmetologist insurance.

General liability insurance, sometimes called Commercial General Liability (CGL), could protect your business from another person or business’s claims of bodily injury, associated medical costs, and damage to property.

A client may sue you for property damage, slander, or even bodily injury due to the things you or your staff say, the products you use, or accidents that may truly be no one’s fault. That’s why it’s a good idea to arm yourself with cosmetologist liability insurance before taking on any new clients or booking any new appointments.

Having this kind of coverage is beneficial in many instances, such as:

• Damage to your client's property: A hairdresser is asked to perform on-site services for the bridal party of a wedding at her client's home. While there, her equipment malfunctions and starts a small fire. The client sues for damages to her home and mental distress. General liability insurance may protect the hairdresser against third-party claims for property damage, bodily injury and related medical costs, up to the policy’s limits.
• Personal injury: A makeup artist goes to a bar after work with some friends. After a few drinks, she begins talking loudly about a client. The comments are overheard by friends of the client. They talk and the client subsequently sues the makeup artist for slander. General liability insurance may protect the makeup artist against third-party claims of defamation and slander, property damage, and associated medical costs.
• Bodily injury: A customer cuts their foot on a piece of glass from a nail polish bottle that had fallen off the counter and broken in your shop earlier that day. The customer’s foot gets infected and they end up in the hospital for treatment. General liability insurance could protect you against third-party claims for bodily injury, and related medical costs, up to the policy’s limits. 

In a business with as much client interfacing as Beauty and Wellness, the risk of third-party claims arising is far from zero. Getting general liability coverage protects both you and your business against such risk. Learn more by requesting a Hiscox quote.

Learn about how much general liability insurance costs.