An introduction to insurance for a salon business

Running your own hairdressing salon or barber shop takes a lot of time, effort and dedication. Once your business is up and running, chances are you’re going to have your hands full with the day-to-day activities of the salon. With so much to manage daily, it’s easy for one small mishap to put all of your hard work at risk. The harsh reality is that many business owners don’t comprehensively protect their livelihoods against risks such as these. It’s important that you understand your business’s vulnerabilities, and protect them with the right insurance for a salon business.

Taking out the Right Policies for Your Business

Business insurance is all about getting the correct balance between cover and cost; you want to thoroughly cover all the risks that could put your business in jeopardy, but you don’t want to break the bank in the process. Taking the time to achieve this balance will help you to get the cover that’s right for your business. What counts as the ‘right’ cover will differ from business to business – from hairdresser to hairdresser even. Different businesses may be exposed to different risks, and may therefore need to include different combinations of policies in their insurance packages. Because it’s difficult to judge which types of cover are appropriate for which business with individual analysis, let’s take a look at some of the insurance policies that are relatively universal across most hairdressers and barbers:

Buildings and Contents Insurance

It’s a fairly safe to assume that most hairdressers and barbers will operate from a building, and will have contents within that building. As such, there’s a good chance that you may need to take out buildings and content insurance policies. In essence, a buildings insurance policy can cover you for damage to your business building, and contents insurance protects the items within your premises against damage, theft or loss. It’s worth bearing in mind that if you rent your business premises, your landlord may already have business and contents insurance in place. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t have to take out your own insurance – for example you may still need to protect your own business contents – but it’s worth checking to avoid accidentally doubling up on cover.

Employers’ Liability Insurance

There’s a chance that you already know a little bit about employers’ liability insurance, or at least know that in some cases it’s required by law. This policy can provide valuable protection for your business should one of your employees incur injury or illness whilst at work, and bring a case against you as a result. It’s highly likely that this policy will be a legal requirement for you, however there are some exceptions, namely if your staff are all members of your immediate family.

Business Interruption Insurance

Protecting your building, contents and staff members are probably some of the most common types of cover taken out. These policies are all valuable for paying for replacements, repairs and even funding a legal defence – but have you considered what will happen to your business if an event puts it out of action? As an example, if your business building is affected by a severe flood, a buildings insurance policy can help you to recover the costs of paying for the necessary repair work. But, there’s a good chance that your business will have to close for a period of time while these repairs take place. All the while, you will still be responsible for paying overheads and staff wages, but with your business closed, where does that money come from? That’s where a business interruption policy can come into play. This cover can help you during times of closure such as this, when your business has been ‘interrupted’ by causes outside of your control. It’s a very useful form of cover that protects against a risk most business owners forget about, but that has the potential to bring your business to its knees. These are just a few examples of policies that a hairdresser or barber may consider including in their overall business insurance package. For a more detailed view of the policies that may be suitable for your business, you can visit Make It Cheaper’s hairdresser’s insurance page. Hannah Corbett is a freelance writer specialising in small and startup businesses.