Liability insurance is an insurance policy that protects you when you are being sued and/or being held legally liable for claims of negligence resulting from damage or injury to a person or property.
Simply put, you’ve been negligent in some way at work, and it resulted in injury to a client or damaged their property in some way. Liability insurance protects you against these types of situations.
- Professional Liability: A client has been injured during the service you performed.
- Product Liability: A client has suffered an allergic reaction caused from a product used on them or sold to them for at-home use.
- General Liability: A client has been injured during a slip and fall, or due to faulty equipment, including damage to client’s property.
No matter how careful we are, sometimes things go wrong, and a client can get really injured. Your liability insurance is there to protect you when this happens.
Beth was treating her client and had lightened her hair, and they were at the shampoo bowl. .png)
She rinsed out the processed bleach and was going to pre-tone the client’s hair with purple shampoo. Beth was trying to get the last bit of the shampoo out of the bottle, the bottle slipped out of her hands and slammed onto the client’s face. The liter-size shampoo bottle broke the client’s nose upon impact.
Beth immediately grabbed a towel to help stop the bleeding. The client kept saying she was fine and would go to the doctor and get her nose looked at. Beth called over another employee and they thought it would be best to call an ambulance or at least offer to drive the client to the hospital. The client refused and said she would take care of it herself. The service was never finished, and the client left in a hurry.
The next day, Beth called the client to see if she was OK and to ask if there was anything she could do to help—and to apologize again for the incident, as she felt terrible.
Two days later, the client called the salon and said her nose was indeed broken, along with terrible bruising. The client wanted Beth to pay her bills for going to the emergency room to seek medical treatment for the injury that occurred during her service. Unfortunately, Beth didn’t have any liability insurance to protect her.
Smart hair professionals realize that, while being named in a lawsuit is unlikely, it’s not worth risking your career. In this sue-happy age, it’s expensive to defend yourself even when you’ve done nothing wrong. Why chance it when excellent protection is so affordable?
Associated Hair Professionals (AHP) offers protection with the industry’s best value in liability coverage for hair stylists and barbers. For only $199 per year, you receive:
- $2 million per occurrence
- $6 million total per policy year (for YOU, not shared with other professionals)
- Covers professional, general, and product liability
- Covers you wherever you work, no matter how many settings
Not an AHP member? Join today!
Note: The insurance coverage descriptions above are illustrative only. Refer to a copy of the policy for specific coverages, limitations, exclusions, terms, and conditions. The insurance information contained herein is not a part of your insurance policy; it is instead a partial illustration of benefits, conditions, limitations, and exclusions. In the event that there is confusion or conflict between the policy language and any information provided herein, the policy language shall control. Learn more about liability insurance with these AHP resources.