People take going to the salon for granted. After all, there isn’t much risk in traveling to the salon to get a new hair style or a facial treatment. Or is there? Hair and beauty salon owners assume risk on a daily basis.
Salons deal with multiple people daily. Accidents can happen. It’s hoped that they won’t, but it’s best to be prepared for various situations. Hence, the need for salon business insurance.
- Six best salon business insurance companies
- What kind of insurance does a salon need?
- How much does salon insurance cost?
- What affects the cost of salon insurance?
- How to find cheap salon insurance?
- Who needs salon insurance?
- Insurance for hairdressers renting a chair in a salon
Six best salon business insurance companies
We compared various salon business insurance companies and settled on these 6 as our choice for best for salons. We obtained quotes from three of them for general liability and professional liability policies (those were the default mandatory choices), and we have included them along with a synopsis of the companies.
- Simply Business: Best for knowledgeable agents and customer satisfaction
- CoverWallet: Best for comparing quotes
- Hiscox: Best for home-based salons
- NEXT: Best for an excellent digital experience and affordable rates
- The Hartford: Best for large businesses
- Thimble: Best for one-man salon and flexible coverage
Simply Business: Best brokerage firm to find the cheapest coverage
Simply Business is a broker specializing in providing insurance to small businesses nationwide. They built their system and operations to be friendly to small businesses, especially those who are new to buying insurance. For example, their customer service and licensed agents are not focused on selling policies. Instead, they are measured by how satisfied the customers are after talking to them on the phone. They focus on explaining and educating small businesses about small business insurance, the coverages they should have, and other related topics.
As a broker, Simply Business works with the top insurance companies to provide you with the best quote possible. They will recommend you the policy with the best coverages at the cheapest price. Simply Business partners with more than 20 carries, who are not only reputable but also tend to be able to provide low-cost coverage. If you want to find the cheapest coverage from reputable carriers, working with Simply Business is a good start.
They can help small businesses in almost all industries.
CoverWallet: Best for comparing quotes
As you can see, CoverWallet returns multiple quotes for one request. That way, you can easily compare rates and choose among the multiple options without extra unnecessary effort. You provide information once, and CoverWallet goes to work for you.
The overall quoting process with CoverWallet is relatively simple. Typically, you receive at least three quotes almost immediately after you’ve given them your information. On occasion, they will only return one quote, or they might request more information from you.
Hiscox: best for home-based salons
Getting a quote from Hiscox only took about ten minutes of our time. They offered workers’ compensation, cyber security, and commercial auto policies, but we opted not to get those quotes. Our quote was for a small salon in Los Angeles with two to four employees.
The company requests standard information when compiling a quote. You must give some personal information—name, address, licensing status, etc.—as well as some information regarding your business. As long as you have the information at the ready, you should have no issue getting the quote you need.
NEXT: Best for an excellent digital experience and affordable rates
NEXT is a 100% digital carrier. They are new, founded in 2016, specializing in providing online insurance coverage for contractors and other local businesses, including hair and beauty salons. Working with NEXT is fast and easy. You can do everything completely online.
Pros:
- Excellent digital experience from quoting, buying a policy, and managing a policy. Everything is fast and easy online
- Reasonable rates, especially for contractors
- Backed in A+ reinsurer, Munich Re
Cons:
- Limited specialty insurance types
- Limited customer service support during the buying process
The Hartford: Best for general liability insurance
The Hartford has been in business longer than most of the other companies on our list. They offer business policies for a variety of companies in various industries. They specialize in writing policies for larger businesses, but they have offerings suitable for small businesses. They maintain an A+ rating from AM Best, indicating they are financially able to handle any claims that come their way.
We used the same parameters to get a quote from The Hartford as we did Hiscox. They offered this general liability quote with other insurances available to be added if we chose.
Thimble: Best for one-man salons with flexible coverage
Thimble is known for its being a pioneer to offer flexible and short-term coverage. Instead of buying a policy for the whole year, Thimble offers you to buy a policy covering your business for a few days only. This makes it easy for small and new salon with just one stylist to buy the coverage for just a few days to start out. This is also useful for salons that is open for only a few days a week. You don’t need to pay for the coverage for the whole month. This can save small salon owners a lot of money.
You can also get the most essential coverage for your salon business in one single policy. The policy covers general liability, professional liability, and equipment protection.
Below is a quote example we got from Thimble for a small salon with just one owner.
What kind of insurance does a salon need?
When you run a salon, you need to protect yourself, your business, and your employees from claims. There are some insurance coverages that are mandatory for salons and others that are optional depending on where you operate your business. Here are the recommended coverages for a typical salon.
- General liability insurance: Learn more at general liability insurance and the best general liability insurance companies
- Professional liability insurance: Learn more at professional liability insurance and the best professional liability insurance companies
- Commercial property insurance: Learn more at commercial property insurance and the best commercial property insurance companies
- Workers Compensation insurance: Learn more at workers comp insurance and the best workers comp insurance companies
Some companies offer these as single coverage policies meaning each policy will be sold as a separate product or possibly bundled for some small savings. Other companies provide a comprehensive Business Owner Policy that combines all of the coverages under one umbrella and tends to be more cost-effective than purchasing the policies separately.
How much does salon insurance cost?
Salon insurance costs will vary depending on the company, the state you are in, and the coverages you select, among other factors. However, the average price of all four coverages we mentioned is approximately $2,800-$3,000 per year. We break those costs down by coverage in the following table.
| Type of coverage | Cost | What it covers |
| General liability insurance | Approximately $720/year | Protection against claims of bodily injury, personal injury, or property damage resulting from your business operations |
| Professional liability insurance | Approximately $920/year | Protection against claims of financial harm to a client |
| Commercial property insurance | Approximately $750/year | Protection against loss of income or property due to damage to your building or equipment. Helps cover repair or replacement costs. |
| Workers compensation insurance | Approximately $450/year | Covers lost wages and medical bills for your employees in case of injury. Mandatory in almost every state. |
These are just the averages. Your rates and quotes will be different. Be sure to shop around with a few carriers or work with a top broker like Simply Business or Smart Financial is a good way to get and compare several quotes in one place. Here are our recommendations of the top beauty and hair salon insurance quotes for your consideration.
Learn more at how much does salon business insurance cost
What affects the cost of salon insurance?
Other than location, the insurance company you are working with, and the coverages you choose, some other factors also affect the cost of your salon business insurance. We’ve compiled a list of the most common factors affecting your policy premiums.
- Industry risk
- Business type and size
- Business property value
- The number of employees
Each of these factors affects a different portion of the business insurance costs.
How to find cheap salon insurance?
No business insurance is genuinely cheap, but would it be worth it if it were cheap? One of the best ways to save money on your salon business insurance policy is to compare rates and coverages between companies. Another effective method for you to save on rates is to bundle policies wherever possible.
Who needs salon insurance?
The following businesses may need to have salon business insurance:
- Beauty salons
- Hair salons
- Nail salons
- Spa
- Massage salons
Insurance for hairdressers renting a chair in a salon
This is also called booth rental insurance. Instead of working full-time for a salon, a hairdresser or a manicurist or a beauty technician can rent a booth or a chair in a salon and basically works for themselves. Of course they have to pay rent for the chair or the booth to the salon owner. Other than that, they run their business as a business owner.
Of course, they would need insurance to protect their business. In fact, salon owners often require them to have insurance before a chair or booth can be rented to them. This is to protect the salon owner if the chair or booth renter is being sued by their customers.
Learn more at the best insurance for hairdressers renting a chair.
Final thoughts
You might wonder why a salon needs to invest in business insurance. However, the owners of salons need to protect themselves from liability while maintaining best business practices.
