Opening a tanning salon can be an exciting and lucrative business venture. But before you throw open your doors and welcome your customers, it’s important to make sure you are fully insured.
There are many types of tanning salon insurance available in the UK. Some are legally required, while others are simply good business practice.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the most important insurance policies for tanning salons and what they cover. We’ll also discuss what factors might affect your insurance premiums.
Employers’ Liability Insurance for Tanning Salons
There is only one type of compulsory insurance for salon owners in the UK. All businesses that employ staff are legally required to take out employers’ liability insurance.
This type of policy protects you if an employee is injured or becomes ill because of their work. For example, if a staff member slips and falls in your tanning salon, they could make a claim against you. If you are found at fault, your employers’ liability insurance would cover any compensation costs.
Legally, your policy must cover you for at least £5 million and come from an authorised insurer. You could be fined up to £2,500 for every day you are not properly insured.
Public Liability Insurance for Salons
Public liability insurance (PL), while not mandatory, is a key component of any tanning salon’s business insurance. It covers you financially if members of the public suffer injury, illness or property damage due to an accident or negligence.
It’s important to note, however, that standard PL does not cover claims arising from ‘professional activities’. For example, if one of your customers claims for UV skin damage caused by your sunbeds.
Good tanning salon software can help you prevent this – for example, by recommending sunbed usage limits according to clients’ skin types. However, to be on the safe side, you should extend your PL policy to include treatment risk insurance. This will cover claims arising from any treatments your tanning salon offers, including sunbed sessions.
Products Liability Insurance for Tanning Salons
Another important form of tanning salon liability insurance is products liability insurance. This protects you against costs arising from injuries or illnesses caused by products you sell. For example, a claim made by a customer who experienced an allergic reaction to a moisturiser.
Even if you did not manufacture it yourself, you could still be held liable if you supplied the product. Products liability insurance would cover your legal fees and any compensation you’re ordered to pay.
Commercial Property Insurance for Tanning Salons
If you own the property your tanning salon is based in, commercial property insurance is vital. This type of insurance protects your building against a range of risks, including:
- Fire
- Theft
- Burst pipes
- Flooding
- Storm damage
Read your policy carefully, as insurers may offer different levels of cover. For example, some commercial property insurance policies do not cover damage caused by pests (e.g. termites).
Tanning Salon Contents Insurance
Contents insurance for tanning salons is designed to protect your furniture, sunbeds and other equipment if it’s stolen or damaged. You may have to extend your policy to cover electronic equipment (such as computer systems) and retail stock.
While contents insurance will cover the cost repairing or replacing these items, it usually won’t cover lost income (for example, any appointments you’ve had to cancel due to a faulty sunbed). You may have to take out a business interruption insurance policy for this.
Cyber Liability Insurance for Tanning Salons
If your tanning salon uses an electronic client database, you should consider cyber liability insurance. This protects you financially in the event of a cyber-attack or data breach. It covers the cost of:
- Investigating the crime
- Recovering lost data
- Restoring your computer systems
- Notifying anyone affected by the breach
- Reputation management
- Loss of income
Most cyber policies also offer third-party cover for damages owed to those whose data was stolen. To help keep your client details safe, always use tanning salon software that stores data securely, in accordance with GDPR.
How Much Does Tanning Salon Insurance Cost?
As you may expect, there is no flat tanning salon insurance cost (UK or otherwise). Insurance premiums vary depending on many factors, such as:
- The size of your tanning salon and value of the property
- Your salon’s location
- Security features (e.g. alarms and CCTV)
- Facilities and treatments offered
- Number of employees, their training and qualifications
- Projected annual turnover
- Claims history (if any)
- The level of cover you choose
On average, for basic employers’ liability and public liability cover, expect an annual tanning salon insurance quote of £400 – £1,200. Additional policies (such as contents insurance) will cost extra.
It’s always worth shopping around for multiple quotes before you choose a provider. Rates may vary significantly between different tanning salon insurance companies.
Kick-Start Your Tanning Salon Business with ActiveSalon
If you’re opening a tanning salon, insurance isn’t the only thing you’ll need to think about. ActiveSalon, the UK’s number one tanning salon software, can help your business hit the ground running.
Featuring a comprehensive, secure client database, full reporting and a lightning-fast POS system, ActiveSalon has all you need to manage your business and streamline your clients’ experience. With unlimited staff logins and real-time syncing across branches, you can review your inventory, manage clients’ bookings and much more – anytime, anywhere.
To discover every amazing feature ActiveSalon has to offer, why not sign up for a free 3-month trial? Simply fill in our enquiry form, call us on 0161 507 1598 or email support@activesalon.com today.
Loukas has been a part of the tanning industry since 2013; what he doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing! As a Director of SolarTrack Systems, his responsibilities don’t just include ActiveSalon, but a variety of different tools and packages.
