Insurance for Body Sugaring Small Businesses

Offering hair removal services means you are dealing directly with the public and since your operation is provisioning specialist services, it means you should have the necessary Body Sugaring business insurance to protect you from all possible claims that can arise from this particular service.

Having insurance protecting you from the start is the right way to go because the potential risks far outweigh the modest expense of primary insurance.

Starting your own hair removal business is an excellent choice because it represents low investment and high-profit margins.

But, you have to understand the basics of the business risks that any body-contact services for the public and with your customers means.

A Beginner’s Guide on how to Start your own Exfoliation Business

A smooth, hairless skin is one of the most sought-after features for modern women, and is even becoming popular among men who are growing tired of the “five-o’clock shadow”.

When compared with the older methods of hair removal by chemicals and shaving, there are several long-term benefits for both of the primary forms of epilation, sugaring and waxing.

Both sugaring and waxing are a form of exfoliation, which is the process of removing dead skin cells from the surface while smoothing skin.

As well, both sugaring and waxing remove hair cells at the root, and any further the hair will grow back thinner and softer.

Unlike chemical hair removal and epilators, both sugaring and hard waxes are less irritating for even the most sensitive skin types.

Sugaring (also sometimes called sugar waxing or Persian waxing) has been around for thousands of years.

Sugar was mainly available in the form of honey in the lands around Mesopotamia so the process was developed largely around the ancient lands that are now Turkey and Iran. 

In many ways, sugaring is similar to standard waxing.

A sticky sugaring substrate adheres to outer skin without attaching to it, and essentially the hair is removed in a far less painful way than is the case for waxing.

The sugaring substrate is usually applied at room temperature or is only heated to a lukewarm temperature.

This is to minimize the risk of burns.

Sugaring is usually preferred to waxing when it is required to remove hair from larger areas.

Sugar itself is hypoallergenic (non-irritant) but some people with sensitive skin can nevertheless suffer some skin irritation and other reactions.

This can usually be prevented by taking an antihistamine. 

Professional hair removal businesses can make their own pastes, or choose to use pre-made sugar pastes sold by cosmetic manufacturers. 

What should you invest in, and what does it cost?

There are a few different streams that you can choose from, and the basic requirements may vary accordingly.

In short, you can set yourself up in one of the following models:

As a beauty professional, you can add sugaring to the list of beauty services you offer.

Exfoliation is a natural component of beauty treatments!

By associating your business with one or more medical skin clinics, you will be offering a full range of services to a built-in stream of customers.

Many patients of dermatologists and plastic surgeons also need professional hair removal and often doctors are too busy to offer their own skincare services.

There’s a win-win outcome when you can build up a solid relationship.

Offering a mobile exfoliation service means you can get started faster without renting a location.

It means customers don’t have to find you – you go to them.

It can mean a more profitable business with high profit margins and minimal investment.

Rent space in a salon and offer exfoliation to their existing customers.

It means minimal up-front costs and a pool of possible clients.

What insurance does an exfoliation by sugaring business need?

Any business that is involved in direct daily contact with its customers confronts fundamental common risks.

Managing the risks properly comes down to understanding the liability you accept as soon as you offer your services to a customer. 

How does a sugaring hair removal business become legally liable?

You become exposed to some degree of liability as soon as you start providing your services.

The essential services you offer could end up being held responsible for injuring a third party or damaging their property.

In either of these cases, it can lead to a customer filing a claim against your business for legal liability. 

As a result of such a claim, unless you are prepared to settle whatever amount the customers are demanding, you could go on to be faced with an expensive lawsuit. 

Can your hair removal business become liable for accidental damage?

In legal terms, simply by being in business you have assumed responsibility for third-party risk.

This goes equally for your actual customers, potential customers, members of a customer’s family or even casual visitors who happen to have walked into your work area.

If anything that can be attributed to negligence on the part of you or any member of your staff causes injury or damage to a person or their belongings and property, you can be held liable.

Naturally, accidents can and will occur at any time while you are conducting your business activities.

Liability suits can also include damage to property, such as spilling a prepared skin solution onto a client’s clothing.

In such a case, if the client sues the business, she could be awarded a substantial amount, not just for the value of the damaged clothing, but even for consequential losses.

To protect yourself, you should be carrying levels of sufficient general liability insurance to cover you against all possibilities.

It should cover you against claims for injuries or losses caused to third parties by bodily injury or property damage, as well as any related medical or legal expenses.

Some companies offer cover for ancillary covers such as slander and libel. 

What are the essential liability insurance covers that all sugaring hair removal businesses should have?

• Cover against claims by third parties (not your clients) that some loss, injury or damage was negligently caused in the course of your activity (see General Liability)
• Protection against claims that the professional service you provided was inadequate or improper (see Professional Liability)

There is no limit to the amount you can be sued for.

A jury can award a complainant for direct costs for hospitalization and medical treatment, for pain and suffering, loss of income while off work, and damage to possessions.

Such claims can add up quickly to an amount that will completely overwhelm your business and could even result in you being bankrupted.

So you need to protect your business and yourself from potentially unlimited claims.

What standard business insurance policies should you have?

As well as these liability insurances, you should have cover for the other aspects of business, such as:

• Protecting all investments in assets, including property, equipment, inventory
• Ensuring income continuity
• Maintaining the security of business data
• Keeping employees safe and healthy

Like other specialty service providers for health, medical care and cosmetology, such as Health Coaches, Yoga Instructors, Estheticians and Teeth Whitening services, you are attracting a relatively high volume of traffic in order to keep your turnover going, unlike major-item retailers who can sustain their business with just one or two sales a day.

For this reason, your risks are higher, and insurance should be at the top of your list of requirements from the very beginning.

General Liability Insurance for your business

General liability insurance covers you against any claims made against your hair removal business by anyone (clients as well as members of the public) for accidental injury or damage to themselves or their property.

It means anything that happens either inside your business premises or wherever you may be working.

The key word here is accident –  not for claims that you injured or damaged your client when performing your work.

For that, you need Professional Liability insurance (see below).

Suppose you are found to be responsible for the damage or injury.

In that case, this insurance will cover the associated costs up to the chosen limit, including payouts awarded by a court as compensation along with legal fees for defending yourself.

Most small businesses take out enough insurance to cover a single claim of $1 million and total claims of up to $2 million in a single year.

See the table below, where we have compiled a comparison of the expected costs of all the insurances we have discussed in this article.

Professional Liability Insurance for small businesses

Professional Liability insurance will provide protection for you if a client claims you’ve made a mistake, offered poor advice or been negligent in your services.

This cover is essential when you are doing hands-on sugaring techniques because they involve warm chemicals and gels. 

No matter how high your level of care is, clients expect only the best.

They may sometimes claim that the perfectly satisfactory service that you provided was faulty.

Defending yourself from such claims can be a very costly and lengthy procedure.

Even if in the end you are found to have done the work without any error, it can take a long time and involve high legal fees to get the matter resolved.

Professional Liability insurance is what you need to keep you protected in any case where a customer claims a lapse in your duty of care. 

Depending on the size of your business, you should set appropriate levels of cover.

In other businesses operating in the same sort of fields as hair removal clinics, policies that provide for $60,000 total cover for all claims in the single year, with a per-claim limit of $30,000, are the best solution.

See the table below, where we have compiled a comparison of the expected costs of all the insurances we have discussed in this article.

Commercial Insurance for small businesses

If you are operating a hair removal service in a mall, a shopping complex or on the high street, it means you occupy some physical space that you either have to own or rent. 

All such physical locations should carry enough commercial insurance coverage up to the value of the building and business contents against total loss.

Protection should extend to all possible causes, including natural occurrences like floods and storms, as well as fire and vandalism.

If your business is located in an area of high risk of natural occurrences such as earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes, you may need to add-on additional coverage.

Most commercial insurance policies include cover of the business content of the premises, like furniture and equipment, computers, and inventory.

If you run your sugaring hair removal business out of your private homes, you must understand that regular private insurance is invalid and you may have any claim rejected.

Depending on your insurance company’s own policies, it may be necessary for you to either declare the commercial usage, in which case a special clause may be added to the policy at some additional premium, or to take out a proper commercial insurance package for the area of the home where you are conducting the business. 

Most commercial insurance policies cover the contents, like computers, furniture and general equipment.

However, special Equipment Insurance will be required for any specific and special equipment that your sugaring hair removal procedures require.

Business Owners Policy (BOP) insurance

Insurance companies offer a combination of commercial property and general liability insurance in a single package known as a Business Owners policy – BOP.

You can also choose to take extra coverage for some of the risks that come along with exfoliation business.

These are outlined below, under:

• Business continuity insurance
• Cover against employee theft or misappropriation.

Business continuity insurance is essential to protect you in the event of total shut-down of your operations.

If something such as a fire burns down part of the shopping center where your business is located, you are still having to pay out any “fixed expenses” such as mortgage or rental payment, payroll, and other regular costs.

It means you need to replace the lost income so that you can meet these outlays and still have something left over for yourself.

Insurance for commercial vehicles

If your business requires traveling to customers’ homes or to shared spaces such as hospitals, clinics, malls and so on then you should make sure that you have proper insurance for the vehicle you are using.

If you are using your own auto for transport activities on behalf of the business you may be in breach of the terms of your private auto insurance policy.

Commercial vehicle insurance is not the same as private auto insurance, which excludes commercial activity.

Workers Compensation Insurance

Worker’s compensation insurance is required in most states if your business has more than the specified number of employees.

Refer to the US Department of Labor website for specifics in your state.

The requirement for workers compensation insurance applies regardless of whether they are full-time, part-time or casual.

It covers your business against any claims if an employee suffers an injury or becomes sick directly due to work.

Rates are dependent on the level of worker remunerations, calculated based on a premium per $100.

Short-term insurance for small businesses

If your business doesn’t operate all through the year, especially at the start, then short-term insurance may be the right option.

The main feature is that you buy only the cover you need for a defined period – for example for 60 days beginning on a specified date.

This can be an option if you are working on a part-time or seasonal basis, like in the months when business activity is at its peak.

In such a case, temporary insurance coverage can provide you with all the insurance that regular annual policies cover for the lowest possible cost.

FAQ

What does insurance for a small business cost?

Insurance companies always take care to cover the level of risk that they can expect, so rates can vary according to where your business is located, the type of operation, and many other factors.

Businesses usually have different levels of risks depending on the location.

For example, on the main street there are higher risks from storm damages than for one located in a shopping center.

On the other hand, one in the center has greater risks of fire coming from the surrounding stores.

While we can’t give exact costs, since they depend very much on the size and the location of the business, here are some general guidelines.

The list below is a rough estimate of average annual premiums for the main types of insurance small businesses might need and could change at any time.

How do you calculate the level of coverage you need?

Only you will be able to decide the coverage limit you need.

It is good to search the internet or to speak to insurance agents and brokers, for the best advice.

Your coverage needs may not be the same as other businesses in the same location, or other clinics located elsewhere.

Real estate property, inventory, income insurance and the other options, and commercial vehicle insurance, are all based on specific levels of your own business operations.