Do Massage Centers Need Insurance?

As a massage wellness center, you might be wondering if you need massage therapist insurance coverage.

Perhaps you’re an employee of a massage center and there is already an overarching business insurance policy in place for employees. Or perhaps you own the massage center, and as a small business owner, you’re wondering what type of insurance you need to protect your business, your employees, and you.

In both cases—as the individual employee and as the employer—the short answer is: yes, you will need insurance. Massage therapists, like all health professionals, carry substantial inherent liability due to the nature of their practice. Below, you’ll read about what types of insurance you need and why.

Massage Insurance: What Covers What?

You might have an inkling of why you need insurance. It’s the same reason why any small business needs some form of coverage—people make mistakes; accidents happen; unavoidable catastrophes are just that: unavoidable.

Depending on the incident, different types of insurance will keep you covered and to varying degrees. For example, a general liability policy (detailed below) will cover you in the event that a client slips and falls while on your property and injures themselves. However, should that same client could not walk for a week because their deep tissue massage kept them in too much pain to leave home, you’d need a professional liability policy.

See why terminology is so important? To that end, here are the common types of insurance you should include in your massage insurance:

• Professional liability insurance – Also known as “errors and omissions insurance,” professional liability insurance protects you against claims of negligence, malpractice, and those due to bad professional advice that lead to a client’s financial loss. Whether you see one client or one hundred clients in a month, professional malpractice insurance benefits any healthcare provider. 
• General liability insurance – This type of insurance is the most common small business insurance, and it’s essential for both business owners (more on this in the why section). General liability covers you for bodily injury and property damage claims that occur to a third party. This also comes with coverage for medical expenses incurred by the third party, as well as any associated legal fees.
  Note: a general liability insurance policy does not protect you against self-injury or damage to your property.
• Cyber liability insurance – In today’s digital world, small businesses are under constant threat of cyberattacks. Because you handle sensitive information (including payment information and health records), you need to protect yourself should any phishing attack or hack occur to your system. A cybersecurity insurance policy helps cover the financial side of cyber threats, including the costs to notify clients and relevant authorities, any penalties accrued, and more.

Other types of policies that might come in handy include:

• Workers’ compensation
• Commercial property insurance
• Commercial auto insurance

Why Do You Need Insurance?

Again, as a reminder: people are people. Mistakes happen. Unforeseen accidents will occur. In these cases, it’s better to be protected.

As the Business Owner

Today, small business owners must face an especially litigious society, and the costs of not having insurance are high. According to a report done by Small Business Association:

“Legal costs for actual litigation ranged from $3,000 to $150,000 with approximately one-third of those providing a response under $10,000. Small business owners felt they had to ”recoup” these losses by cutting operating expenses, acquiring new customers or expanding their services to exist-ing customers. Raising prices was not an option, as it would put them at a competitive disadvantage.”

And if you think you’re in the minority that won’t be sued, think again. While a minority still technically exists, 43% of small business owners have experienced either litigation or being threatened with litigation. Sadly, litigation is slowly becoming one of the more prominent risks and hazards of being a massage therapist. 

As the Employee

As an individual who practices massage therapy, you might think you’re covered by your employer’s insurance policy. But what happens if three employees are named in a harassment lawsuit, and despite only witnessing this happening to the client, your name is specifically mentioned. Most policies split the legal defense fees and costs evenly per each individual named in the claim.

If this doesn’t cover all of the legal fees, you could be stuck paying for yours out of your own pocket—and all you did was witness the action.

There are many scenarios in which you might find yourself unprotected. Imagine a client falls from the massage table by accident. If they slip and fall while under your supervision, you will suddenly be at serious financial risk.

By having your own massage therapy insurance policy, you mitigate the risks of this affecting your career trajectory.

Massage with Insurance | Massage with Confidence

At the end of the day, you want to do your job confidently. If you’re worried one slip-up, one bad piece of advice or one subpar treatment can send your practice into financial ruin, you can’t do your best work. You need massage insurance that protects you from:

• Third-party bodily injury claims
• Third-party property damage claims
• Negligence claims
• Failure to treat claims
• Products and supplement claims
• Cyber attacks

At NOW Insurance, we offer this coverage and more. Talk to any of our experts today, so that you can continue your practice with insurance and with confidence, and find out what’s included in massage insurance coverage. 

Sources:

• SBA. Impact of Litigation on Small Business.
• The Hartford Small Biz Ahead. What to Do If Your Small Business Gets Sued and How to Reduce the Threat.