What an esthetician actually does can vary from state to state. Most states require estheticians to complete a program of at least 600 hours of training, and then you’ll need a license to practice. A few states have Master Estheticians, which require still more training. After this training, they can perform chemical peels, lymphatic drainage, and laser/light therapy.
Estheticians work with clients helping them to look their best. However, there are chemicals and delicate skin involved, which can result in injury. If you accidentally cause a client harm, you could be held liable for thousands of dollars in medical bills or even be sued for pain and suffering. Or you could just get esthetician liability insurance and ensure you’ll be covered.
- What is esthetician liability insurance?
- What does esthetician professional liability insurance cover?
- What does esthetician product liability insurance cover?
- What does esthetician general liability insurance cover?
- Is esthetician liability insurance required?
- Occurrence vs. Claims-made esthetician liability insurance
- How much does esthetician liability insurance cost?
- What affects the cost of esthetician liability insurance?
- How to get cheap esthetician liability insurance?
What is esthetician liability insurance?
Esthetician liability insurance covers estheticians from lawsuits that their clients may pursue if they suffer from harm or injury or damage resulting from the work estheticians perform on their bodies and faces.
Esthetician liability insurance is an umbrella term compassing the three different liability coverages that estheticians may need: professional liability, product liability, and general liability. At the very least, estheticians should have a professional liability policy, plus a product liability coverage add-on to the policy. In some cases, they may need to have general liability coverage as well.
What does esthetician professional liability insurance cover?
Professional liability insurance is essential because if you neglect to do something or leave something out, a client could sue. If a client has an allergic reaction to a cream you put on their face, they could sue you. People tend to be very sensitive about their appearance, so even if their claim is not entirely rational, they could still sue you.
Professional liability insurance can help you pay for the following:
- Professional negligence, whether claims are actual or alleged.
- Legal defense costs if you’re sued because you or an employee provide bad advice or services to a client. It doesn’t matter if you or your employee actually provide bad advice or services. When you get sued, you need to hire lawyers to defend yourself. Without professional liability coverage, you have to pay for that out of your pocket.
- Legal judgments if you’re found guilty in a court of providing poor or harmful services to a client.
Learn more at the best professional liability insurance companies for estheticians
What does esthetician product liability insurance cover?
If you advise your clients to use a product or you use a product on your clients, and if it causes harm or damage to them, they can sue you. Product liability insurance will protect you in these situations.
Its coverage includes the damages to someone’s property, if it causes injuries, or makes someone ill, or contributes to a death.
Product liability insurance will pay for legal defense costs, judgment, and settlement. Without product liability coverage, you have to pay for everything out of your pocket.
Estheticians can buy product liability insurance as a stand-alone separate policy, or you can add its coverage to your professional liability policy to save money.
Learn more at the best product liability insurance companies and product liability insurance costs
What does esthetician general liability insurance cover?
If estheticians own or rent a clinic or a salon where your clients visit, you may need general liability coverage. General liability insurance covers primary risks faced by your clients. It provides financial protection if anyone (other than an employee) is injured on your business property or you or someone who works for you damages property that doesn’t belong to you while offering esthetician services. General liability insurance can help you pay for:
- Medical payments if someone is injured at your business location, for instance, if someone slips and falls on a wet floor.
- Property damage if, for example, an esthetician spills lotion on a client’s expensive sweater and ruins it.
- Legal fees and judgments if you’re sued over a covered injury or damaged property.
- If you visit clients in their homes, general liability insurance will protect you in case you accidentally damage something. Advertising injury will protect you from slander, libel, and copyright infringement.
Learn more at the best general liability insurance companies
Is esthetician liability insurance required?
Estheticians may not be required to have liability insurance by laws. However, at the very least, they should have professional liability insurance and product liability coverage. These coverage is usually required by your clients. If you has a salon or a clinic where your clients visit, you should also have general liability coverage. Most landlords actually require you to have general liability coverage as a part of the lease requirements.
Occurrence vs. Claims-made esthetician liability insurance
Claims-made policies are less expensive, but occurrence-based policies are considered better and more comprehensive. With a claims-made policy, you are only covered when the policy is in effect. An occurrence form policy will still cover you if you had insurance at the time of the incident. This is confusing, so here’s an example.
In April of 2020, an esthetician applies a new cream to a client’s face to treat their acne. The client has a horrible reaction, leaving red blotches all over their face. The client decides to sue. They file the lawsuit in January of 2021.
If the esthetician had a claims-mad policy that was active from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020, they would not be covered because the policy was not active when the case was filed. If they had an occurrence policy, they would be covered because they had insurance at the time of the incident (April of 2020).
How much does esthetician liability insurance cost?
The average cost of esthetician liability insurance is $40 per month, or $480 per year. This is for both professional liability and product liability policies (2 separate policies). Most estheticians usually pay between $25 to $82 per month for liability coverage.
Below are the average costs of different liability coverages for estheticians:
| Esthetician liability insurance coverages | Average costs |
| Esthetician professional liability coverage | $27 per month |
| Esthetician product liability coverage | $13 per month |
| Esthetician general liability coverage | $24 per month |
These are just the averages. Your rates are different. Make sure you get and compare several quotes with some brokers such as InsurePro, Simply Business, and CoverWallet to find the cheapest quotes for you.
Learn more at how much does esthetician insurance cost
What affects the cost of esthetician liability insurance?
Esthetician liability insurance varies significantly depending on several factors:
Your experience
Experience is a major factor in determining whether or not an esthetician will successfully defend themselves against a legal claim. If you lack expertise, there is a greater likelihood that you will make a mistake.
Therefore, if you are just getting started in the sector, you can anticipate that your rate will be greater. But it will decrease as time passes; you will likely get less premiums as you get more expertise and perform safe operations.
Coverage limits & deductibles
The policy limit is another factor that contributes to determining your premium. In most cases, the cost of the insurance will increase proportionately to the amount of the policy’s premiums.
A deductible is the amount of the claim the policyholder is responsible for paying out of their pocket. Your premium will be reduced as the amount of your deductible (your share of the total cost of the claim) increases.
Types of treatment
Esthetician areas that participate in riskier treatments, such as those that result in higher cost litigation or more frequent lawsuits, will have higher rates as a direct consequence of their work. Similarly, estheticians working in a medical setting will often incur higher premiums than estheticians working in salons.
Claim history
Similar to any type of insurance, esthetician liability insurance’s premiums are likely to increase if you submit more claims. Keeping a clean claim record will help you reduce your liability coverage’s premiums.
Insurance company
Every insurance company has its unique way of seeing risks. Therefore, they a general rate that they give to all estheticians before the application of any premium adjustments. This general rate is called the base rate of the carrier. As you fill in your information, the carrier will apply discounts or surcharges to the rate to arrive at your final premium rate.
How to get cheap esthetician liability insurance?
The following ideas may help you get discounts on your esthetician insurance. Before making a purchase, it is important to bear the following in mind concerning the prices:
Shop around to find the cheapest quote
Premiums vary widely across providers. Therefore, you should consider getting many estimates to discover the best pricing and coverage that suits you. Working with a broker like InsurePro, Simply Business, and CoverWallet is a good way to compare several quotes in one place.
Work with an independent agent
Consult with an independent insurance agent. They will be able to point you in the direction of carriers with the best insurance policies for esthetician companies and the best prices.
Conduct risk assessment
Your insurance price is usually a function of your risk levels. So if you are aware of your business risks and you work towards reducing these risks, you may be able to cut the cost of your premiums.
To determine the possible dangers that may befall your company, you should do a comprehensive risk assessment, considering the products and services you provide and the customers you assist.
Bundle several policies together
Most insurers will give you discounts when you buy multiple policies from them. For example, if you purchase a business owner’s policy in addition to liability and property coverage, you may be eligible for as much as a 20% discount in some places.
