Insurance for
Beauty Therapists
Facials, waxing, lash and brow treatments, massage and other beauty treatments carried out on clients, whether in a salon, rented chair, or mobile.
Facials, waxing, lash and brow treatments, massage and other beauty treatments carried out on clients, whether in a salon, rented chair, or mobile.
Most UK beauty therapists need three policies as standard: public liability (client injury or property damage), treatment liability (a claim arising from a treatment itself), and employers' liability (a legal requirement the moment you have any staff, even casual or part-time). Add product liability if you sell or use own-brand products, professional indemnity if you give advice or work in semi-medical treatments (e.g. skin needling, chemical peels), and portable equipment or cyber cover depending on how you work.
Public liability insurance isn't a general legal requirement, but most salons, landlords, and booking platforms won't let you trade without it. Employers' liability insurance *is* a legal requirement under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 the moment you employ anyone, including part-time or casual staff, and operating without it can carry a fine of up to £2,500 per day.
The core covers are the same, but mobile therapists should check their public and treatment liability extends to work carried out at a client's home, and should add portable equipment cover for kit that travels with them and is more exposed to theft or damage in transit.
This typically falls under treatment liability (sometimes called medical malpractice or treatment risk cover for beauty professionals), not standard public liability. Check your policy explicitly lists the treatments you perform, including patch testing requirements – many insurers require proof a patch test was carried out before certain treatments.
Tell your insurer before you start offering it. Policies are typically written against a specific list of treatments, and a claim for a treatment not listed on your policy can be declined outright, even if everything else about the claim is valid.