Beauty Insurance Plus’ Guide to Understanding Product Liability Insurance
Your daily routine in the beauty biz might look different day-to-day, but no matter what, one thing is for certain–if you’re working with a client, you’re using a product to get you the desired look or result.
Being in the beauty biz means having the skill, dedication, and work ethic to get things done. But it also requires knowing which products are best to get your desired results. Think about it–you probably have a go-to list of must-have products sitting in your shop right now.
Unfortunately, unlike your talent, products can be unpredictable–especially when paired with clients. The fact of the matter is that any client at any time could react to any product you use.
While it’s likely you–or your clients–will be upfront about allergies or previous reactions to ingredients, it’s truly impossible to have a gauge on what they might react to or what might happen after using a product.
And, unfortunately again, this can often mean you’re stuck mitigating the situation and handling the blame post-reaction.
How can you ensure that you’re covered in situations like these? We’ve got three words for you–product liability insurance. But what exactly is product liability insurance, and further, how can you tell if you, as a beauty pro, need it or not?
This blog is here to walk you through the ins and outs of product liability to help you better understand what you’re dealing with.
What Every Cosmetologist Needs to Know About Product Liability Insurance
What is Product Liability Insurance?
Product liability insurance is another way to help beauty pros like you mitigate the risk of allegations and claims–actual and alleged. You’re constantly dealing with products and clients. Odds are, you might end up dealing with a client having a negative reaction to a product. Whether that’s mild or serious, product liability insurance is going to protect you from what could result from this event.
Product liability isn’t like a product guarantee or a warranty–it’s more like a safeguard that keeps you insulated if something bad happens (like injury or damage) to your client as a result of using a product.
Like other forms of insurance, product liability insurance has a certain aggregate limit and might have certain caveats about what it includes and what it doesn’t–but all of those details are going to be specific to your policy.
(For example, at BIP, we include product liability insurance in our liability insurance bundle (with general and professional) for up to $2 million in occurrence-based coverage).
Explain Product Liability vs. General Liability vs. Professional Liability, Please?
That’s a lot of insurance coverage to discuss–but we’ll make it super streamlined (because it’s actually pretty easy!).
General liability insurance is your slip ‘n’ fall coverage–it tackles incidents that relate to your clients getting injured or experiencing negligence within the vicinity of your establishment. Think about it this way–if a client trips on a rug in your salon, this is the type of insurance you’d lean on.
Professional liability insurance, on the other hand, handles claims and allegations relating to your professional service. If someone says you clipped their ear with your shears and they ended up with an infection, your professional liability insurance will conquer this claim.
Product liability insurance is all about the products you’re using during a client’s service and the products you’re recommending to your clients, too. In other words, if you’re using a new salt scrub on your client’s skin and they have a reaction to it–either because they’re allergic or the product was faulty–this type of insurance is going to protect you from what results.
Long story short, you’re going to want to make sure you have all three types of liability coverage in your insurance policy for the most comprehensive protection.
Why Does a Cosmetologist Need Product Liability Insurance?
Cosmetologists need product liability insurance for the same reason they need general and professional liability insurance–because you never know if something bad is going to happen.
In most cases, you can’t predict that something bad is going to happen, right? If you’re an upstanding and skilled beauty pro who follows the rules, is conscientious, and always has their customers’ best intentions at heart, you’re already mitigating a lot of risks.
But unfortunately, you can’t predict the uncertain, unlikely, and improbable. That’s what liability insurance is for.
Investing in an insurance policy that includes product liability insurance means you’re mitigating those risks as much as possible. This way, if something bad does happen (actually or allegedly), you’re not responsible for shouldering the financial and legal burden by yourself. That’s what insurance is for!
What Products Might Cause Me to Need Product Liability?
The truth of the matter is any client can react to any product at any time–even if they don’t know something’s going to give them a reaction. Unfortunately, any product you use could potentially cause harm to the client you’re using them on. No matter what type of service you’re offering, the products you’re using–shampoos, conditioners, waxes, creams, serums, etc.–could be unknowingly dangerous for the client you’re treating.
Beauty Insurance Plus: Your Go-To Product Liability Partner
Did you know that BIP isn’t just the top-of-the-line general liability and professional liability insurance provider but also the go-to product liability partner, too? It’s true!
When it comes to your protection (and your business’ protection), we’re big on providing you with the reliability you need. And to us, that means being a resource of knowledge about product liability along with offering you the best product liability insurance in the industry.
Want to learn more about our product liability coverage? Check out our site to get a better idea of how our coverage works.
