Taking the steps to get your cosmetology practice insured is a great step towards setting up a lasting career in beauty and wellness. Having insurance means you can freely practice what you love, without worrying over the ‘what-ifs’ of a potential claim sidelining your ability to operate.
In this series, we’ll explore all things cosmetology insurance cost and pricing. We’ve even included comparison information for the leading programs out there so you have everything you need in one place. Spoiler alert: you’ll get to see for yourself how great insurance doesn’t have to cost a fortune.The Big WHY, as in, Why do I need cosmetology insurance in the first place?
Whether you’re a cosmetologist acting as a sole proprietor or an independent contractor, you’re seriously focused on your bottom line, as it dictates how much actually goes into your bank account each week. With all the necessary expenses just to operate, cosmetology insurance might be one of those expenses that you decide you can forego for now and just take your chances.
While most salons will require proof of insurance before they let you rent booth space, some don’t so you may be in a position where you're weighing the decision between cost and coverage. First and foremost, foregoing insurance is incredibly risky - think driving your car all over town every day without insurance kind of risky. The second you open yourself up for business, you are opening yourself up to liabilities.
What are liabilities for cosmetologists?
Liabilities are things that the law says you’re legally obligated to pay. When an accident or injury occurs and someone else deems you responsible, they may seek ways to make you pay their expenses. As a beauty pro, you’re working in and around extremely sensitive areas with instruments and chemicals that can really hurt someone. Even if you are the most careful, practiced cosmetologist in the world, there are some events that are simply beyond your control.
A client slipping on their way to your chair, another simply alleging that your services caused harm and filing a suit, a product you use causing an injury, or an equipment malfunction, the list goes on and on for the everyday occurrences we help members through literally every day of the week.
Cosmetology insurance provides you with a stout defense when an unexpected event threatens you with a monetary loss. Beauty Insurance Plus takes it a step further with great benefits and a host of additional protections for one of the best all-around protection packages available.
Looking at the Real Cost of Cosmetology Insurance
As you browse your different cosmetologist insurance options, you no doubt have seen prices displayed front and center. Well, one of the most important factors for how much cosmetology insurance costs is the total that will be charged for the program, your given specialties, and for your given location.
Membership Fees - First up, is the ancillary fees for the cost of membership. Some programs out there tack on an annual membership fee or other recurring fees to their base insurance costs. Make sure you get a full rundown of all these extras, as they can add up pretty quickly. With Beauty Insurance Plus, cosmetologists pay one, flat rate annually for great insurance, with great benefits.
Fees for Adding Services - Next, check out what cosmetologist services are covered by insurance. Some programs will only cover a small, core group of beauty services and if you want to branch out beyond these, you may have to pay a fee to do so. Beauty Insurance Plus went a different route by offering members with coverage for more than four hundred different beauty and wellness services.
Fees for Certain States - Finally, make sure you get an accurate price based on your location. There are some programs that will cost more depending on the state in which you choose to provide services. Beauty Insurance Plus offers the same great insurance coast-to-coast and even includes a provision for portability - meaning you can move your practice, change how you provide services, or change jobs and still enjoy the full coverage your policy affords.
When looking to compare insurance programs, first make sure you have all the costs that a program will actually be in your state and for your suite of services. You may be surprised how much more this cost can be than the advertised price.
Compare Cosmetology Insurance Programs
Looking at cosmetology insurance on one page and clicking back and forth to compare different insurance plans gets old pretty fast. When we set out to create the best insurance program for cosmetologists available, one of our top priorities was making it accessible. That’s why we went ahead and published the key points of our insurance policy side-by-side with the leading competitors in cosmetologist insurance.
Just based on price alone, Beauty Insurance is the second-cheapest option available at just $159 per year. Philadelphia Insurance indeed has a lower rate at $145 but does so by excluding important coverage's and any real member benefits. For a little more than a $1 extra each month, Beauty Insurance Plus gets you $1000 worth of Stolen/Damaged Equipment Coverage, $25,000 in Identity Theft Protection, Coverage for 350+ Services, and a host of membership benefits like a free professional website to promote your cosmetologist services online.
Another really important insurance provision to note in the comparison grid is that some programs out there do not offer occurrence form coverage with their policies.
What is occurrence form, you say? Occurrence form coverage says that if a claim event happens while your policy is active, you have coverage, even if you end up filing the claim after the policy has already expired.
Conversely, there are claims made that say the policy has to be active in order for coverage to kick in. This important distinction can be the difference between having full coverage or not having any.
Get Covered in Minutes with the Leading Cosmetologist Insurance Program
Getting insured with our online cosmetology insurance literally takes just a few minutes. Once you check out, you’ll have full access to all your plan documents, including full proof of insurance. Contact our fully-licensed agents now to get started.
