Insurance for hairdressers

Professional liability insurance - sometimes called errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, is insurance coverage for claims against businesses that provide professional services, such as hairdressing businesses like yours.

When is it important to have professional liability insurance for hairdressers? There are many answers, but here are a couple of common examples that industry professionals can relate to:

• Lost wages: A hairdresser is coloring 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 bodily injury and lost wages because she is unable to work for several weeks. Professional liability insurance may protect you if such a claim is made.
• Protection even if you haven't made a mistake: A client sues you for alleged malpractice, even though you did nothing wrong. Still, when she brings an action against you, you're expected to hire a lawyer to defend yourself. In such a scenario, we would protect your business for covered claims and related attorney costs subject to the limit of your policy.

Even the most skilled and creative hairdressers can face claims and lawsuits because of how a client’s hair or skin reacts to a treatment. And even a baseless lawsuit can be expensive to defend. Learn more about professional liability insurance. We’re here to help answer any questions you may have about this type of hairdresser liability insurance, as well.

General liability insurance, sometimes called commercial general liability (CGL), protects your business from another person or business’s claims of bodily injury, associated medical costs, personal injury and damage to property. Oftentimes, claims and lawsuits are brought against hairdressers for reasons that have nothing to do with cutting hair or applying a specific beauty treatment. Injuries and damages can occur in any small business setting, and hair salons are certainly no exception.

Hairdressers who work in a wide variety of salons trust Hiscox with their hairdresser insurance needs every day. Having this kind of coverage is beneficial in several instances. Here are a few examples of what we mean.

• Bodily injury: A hairdresser welcomes a client for her regularly scheduled hair coloring. While her hair is being shampooed, she hits her head on the porcelain sink. The client temporarily loses consciousness and has to be taken to the emergency room. General liability insurance may protect against claims by other people for bodily injury.
• Personal injury: A hairdresser makes disparaging and untrue remarks about one of their clients, who is a local business owner, to a friend. The client turns out to be a close associate of the friend, and the conversation gets back to the client, who sues the hairdresser for slander.
• Property damage: A client brings their laptop into the salon, leaving it on the floor. An employee accidentally trips over it and breaks it. A general liability policy may cover the subsequent claim, up to the policy's limits of liability.

Accidents and slip-ups happen, but they don’t have to put your hairdressing business in jeopardy. A hairdresser insurance policy from Hiscox may help you in case of accidental trips, slips, and falls.

Learn more about general liability insurance costs.

A business owner’s policy (BOP) combines coverage for third-party claims of bodily injury and property damage with coverage for business property.

A BOP for hairdressers covers claims that someone else (a client or vendor, for example) makes, alleging that you caused them bodily injury, or damaged their property. For example, suppose a client slipped and fell in your salon, and broke their wrist. The client needed medical attention and was unable to work for six weeks. Your BOP may cover the client’s medical bills and their lost wages.

Property damage is also covered by a BOP. If a sink in your salon overflows and damages a client’s designer leather coat, the cost to replace it may be covered by your BOP.

Hairdressers have a lot of tools and equipment they rely on to do their work. A business owner’s policy may cover the loss or damage of your tools and equipment, letting you get back to work quickly. Third-party bodily injury and property damage claims are also covered by a general liability policy. But general liability does not cover your own business property, as a BOP does. If you also want your own property to be covered, choose a BOP instead of a general liability policy. You don’t need both.

Hairdressers who have a website, use online booking, take credit cards, and collect data on their customers may be vulnerable to a cyber attack. To protect against the costs associated with a data breach, ransom demand, or cyber crime, consider a cyber security insurance policy.

Cyber criminals are becoming bolder all the time, and nearly every business is at risk. If you click on a link in a fraudulent email or don’t update your software promptly, a threat actor could get access to your data and prevent you from accessing it until you pay a ransom. Cyber attacks don’t just happen to large companies – smaller companies are often attacked too. 

Cyber security insurance includes coverage for the costs associated with a data breach, the cost to recover your data, privacy protection, and business interruption. Hiscox cyber security insurance also includes training tools to prevent an attack in the first place, and expert breach response services to help you weather a cyber incident.