What Insurance Does A Massage Therapist Need

Massage therapy is thought of as being relaxing, promoting healing of the body and the drainage of toxins out of the muscles. However, the reality is that a massage therapist providing such treatments must consider taking out insurance cover. Business insurance protects should the treatment not go to plan or against other eventualities.

After all, massage involves working on the human body, so there is always the risk of injury, especially if a client has any existing issues. Massage therapists are considered to be professionals and can be blamed for client injury. Injury can also affect massage therapists themselves and their ability to work. Plus, costs can be significant if any equipment becomes damaged or is stolen.

Although insurance isn’t part of the physical side of a massage business, it’s integral all the same. Sorting out cover for a business now will save a lot of headaches down the line and reduce the likelihood that a business can’t continue should any number of events occur.

This article will discuss what a self-employed massage therapist or a massage therapy business should understand about business insurance. To learn more and compare massage insurance quotes, read the detailed NimbleFins guide to massage therapist insurance.

Do Massage Therapists Need Malpractice Insurance?

Any massage therapist must have insurance to carry out treatments; otherwise, they run the high risk of financial ruin should a client or member of the public make a claim against them.

In addition, many professional bodies will not accept members without the correct qualifications and insurance. For example, a self-employed massage therapist who rents a room might be required by the terms of their contract to have insurance as well.

There are many different types of insurance policies for massage therapists, not the least ones that can cover malpractice. In particular, treatment insurance and public liability insurance focus on injuries that occur due to work.

Even when a full client consultation is undertaken, this is no guarantee a therapist will be fully aware of the potential injury they’re dealing with. What’s more, few clients will come in with recent imagery, blood tests, etc., meaning they may not understand the nature of their injury. Even if the client is simply looking for some relaxation, an injury can still occur as a result of treatment.

What Is The Best Massage Therapy Insurance?

When insuring a massage therapy business, consider the business as a whole, as there are many different areas in which illness, injury, death, theft or damage can occur.

Some of the core areas of a business that require cover include:

Treatments

As mentioned, treatment insurance and public liability insurance are the best types of insurance policies to cover the treatments offered.

Massage therapy ranges from manual techniques to the use of tools such as bamboo sticks or muscle scrapers. An insurer is going to want to know what treatments are performed to calculate the risk of an injury occurring.

Equipment

Even though a massage therapist predominantly works with their hands, several pieces of equipment are usually required that could be costly to repair or replace. As an example, a massage treatment room may have a specialist massage table, cabinets full of products, mood lighting and a sound system. If a fire were to sweep through the premises, types of contents insurance could help cover the cost of the loss.

Tools or equipment insurance will cover the cost of replacing the items needed to run a business. For example, the cost of massage beds alone can easily reach over £1,000, which would make it very costly if a business had a fire or flood, rendering the equipment unusable. Buildings insurance may also be applicable if the therapist owns the premises; otherwise, the landlord would arrange this.

Public Safety

A business that can be accessed by the general public, from clients to a landlord, professional services, delivery people, etc., can be held liable if anyone has an accident or injury on site. Public liability insurance covers accidental injury on a property, such as trips or falls.

Employee Safety

Anyone not operating as a solo massage therapist who hires others will require employers’ liability insurance. It’s a legal requirement. This will protect a business in case an employee has an accident or sustains an injury while working and the business is to blame.

Ability To Work

As a massage therapist, physical fitness and excellent dexterity are a must. Therefore, it’s not possible to work remotely or even adjust working styles, should one become injured or suffer an illness. Instead, a therapist could find themselves unable to work.

It is wise to consider taking out personal accident insurance that will provide a financial buffer if a therapist can no longer work, even if it’s due to a short-term injury.

For example, if a therapist broke their wrist, they wouldn’t be able to perform massages until they recovered. A self-employed therapist wouldn’t qualify for sick pay as a regular employee would. This could then affect the ability to pay a mortgage, bills, etc.

Massage therapy itself can cause injuries due to the force required to rid particularly stubborn areas of tension.

To Sum Up

A massage therapist is keen to focus much of their attention on providing treatments to clients. But, ultimately, a massage business needs to be protected by business insurance, or the massage therapist risks losing their business in case of a disaster.

In some cases, insurance is a legal requirement (e.g. when employing others). However, even when it’s not, consider that a business is vulnerable to financial ruin without cover. Therefore, massage therapy businesses should invest in comprehensive business insurance.