You’ve spent countless hours building up your experience within the hairdressing industry and now the time to become your own boss is here. One of the many perks of being a hairdresser are the endless opportunities to grow your own business, from renting a chair within a salon, to opening your very own. And as exciting as it is to see your business grow, it’s just as important that the right insurances are in place to protect it.
Working in a hair salon, you perform a variety of tasks from hair styling to colouring and even selling products. Your clients seek your expert hairdressing services, meaning you have a legal obligation to deliver results with a duty of care and skill.
While you may take all the steps to make your salon safe, unexpected events can still occur and clients can injure themselves. A claim for damages could end up costing your business tens of thousands of dollars. That’s why it is important to have the right insurances and level of cover in place.
The first type of insurance your business should consider is Public Liability insurance. It provides protection for accidental injury to a third party or damage to their property, something which you are exposed to every day. If you are renting your businesses premises, it may even be a requirement from your landlord to have a Public Liability policy in place.
Salons can be a recipe for disaster with clients exposed to chemicals, scissors, razors and electrical equipment. Slips, falls and other mishaps can easily take place, leaving your business vulnerable to a claim by a customer. Even if you provide mobile hairdressing services, your Public Liability insurance policy covers you anywhere in Australia.
Product Liability insurance is a component of your Public Liability insurance policy. It protects your business if a claim is made or third-party injury or property damage is caused by the product/s your business sells.
Mobile and Home Hairdresser businesses
One of the attractive features of running your own hairdressing business is having the flexibility to run your own salon from your own home or hit the road by offering mobile services. While your work premises may be different, the risks are still the same.
If a client is visiting your home salon and accidentally slips on your floor and injures themselves, as a business you are still held liable for any claims which may arise from the accident.
Other Insurances options to consider:
Let’s take a look at some of the other insurances you need to consider when protecting your hairdressing business.
Professional Indemnity insurance
When it comes to giving advice on all things hair and product, you’re an expert, but there is always room for error and things to go wrong. Professional Indemnity insurance provides protection from the financial consequences if you are accused of wrongdoing or negligence while providing your hairdressing services.
A client may allege you provided poor quality service, resulting in a costly compensation claim which could potentially cripple your business. Professional Indemnity insurance protects your business by covering the financial costs of legal fees, settlements, court cost and associated legal action made against you.
Business Insurance
Consider the following types of insurance to cover other aspects of your business such as your physical business assets.
Contents & Stock cover: protects your contents and stock against loss or damage from insurable events such as fire, theft or storm.
Building insurance: if you own the premises that your business works in, Building insurance will cover the cost to rebuild or repair the building if it’s damaged by an insurable event.
Business Interruption insurance: protects your business if it prevented from operating at full capacity due to an insured event. It can cover the loss of income during the relevant period and some of the increased costs of running your hairdressing business.
Glass cover: protects any glass or windows, mirrors or porcelain within your salon, including internal and external windows.
Portable equipment: covers your tools of trade including mobile phones and laptops anywhere in Australia. It provides cover for the cost of repairing or replacing your portable equipment if they are accidentally lost, damaged or stolen (from a locked premises or vehicle).
Cyber Liability insurance
Managing your appointments and client details usually involves an online diary and sales system. One of the risks of handling sensitive client information is the threat of cyber-attacks and data breaches. A breach could not only have an expensive impact upon your finances, but it could damage your hard-earned business reputation for good.
Cyber Liability insurance provides cover against the costs associated with data breaches that occur after being hacked or the from the theft or loss of client information.
The Cost of Hairdresser Liability Insurance
There are three components to calculating the cost of an insurance policy. These include, the size of your business, the activities your business undertakes and the amount of cover required.
Insurers will assess the size of your business by looking at your annual revenue and the number of staff you employ. As a rule, the riskier the activities your business performs and the larger your business is, the higher your insurance costs will be.
Get the Right Insurance and Compare Instant Quotes
When it comes to insuring your hairdressing business, we know that there’s no such thing as a ‘one-size fits all’ insurance policy. It’s important to know that not all insurance policies will cover the activities you perform within your hairdressing business.
Having a chat to one of our Public Liability Insurance gurus will help put your mind at ease. We can explain the details of your selected insurance coverage and provide multiple quotes to select from in minutes. Click here to get an instant online quote.
