The self-employed barber insurance you need

Styling hair requires concentration to make sure that both you and the client can leave happy. A significant part of keeping a level head for yourself before you go near others, is the peace of mind you have for your business.

If risks could cut your success short and threaten the longevity of your profession, take every step to protect yourself. 

With the relevant insurance for your business, ensure those worries can fade. If the worst should happen, you are covered.

This guide discusses self-employed barber insurance, which includes:

• Public liability insurance
• Contents and equipment insurance
• Product liability insurance 
• Business interruption insurance

As a self-employed barber with no employees, there isn’t a cover that’s legally compulsory. That doesn’t mean that cover’s not essential, as each one could help protect you in different areas of your business.

There’s no way to do your job without interaction with the public. So a great self-employed barbers insurance to consider is a liability cover. You deal with many clients throughout the day, so accidents are likely to happen.

Without cover, a member of the public could file a legal claim which can bankrupt your business. But if you have public liability insurance, your legal and compensation costs are covered.

Most self-employed people don’t have the luxury to set aside money to pay court fees and lawsuits. So it’s a popular cover, even if the law doesn’t require you to have it.

The types of claims that the public could bring against you could be injuries or damage to property. For example, if you cut someone during a shave or spill water over their phone.

Superscript offers public liability insurance from £5 a month.

There are many tools to use when you style hair and run your business. That’s why a great self-employed barber insurance is contents and equipment.

Some of your essentials could include:

• Shavers
• Trimmers
• Scissors
• Razors
• Chairs
• Mirrors
• Cash registers

If you have expensive professional equipment, it could cost a lot to replace. In addition, you might keep a computer or phone with you to accept bookings and manage your diary.

Contents and equipment insurance can help cover replacements for your things if they are lost, stolen or damaged, which could be a lifesaver because you can’t operate if you miss any essential tools.

Superscript offers business equipment insurance from £4.67 a month.

As a service provider, you might not think about the potential risks of products, but some stylists also sell hair care to their customers like gels or sprays. 

Even if you don’t manufacture the products yourself, you could face a claim as a retailer or distributor for a problem with them.

If a customer is injured or the product damages their property, they could file legal action against you. You’re more likely to face liability if the manufacturer is untraceable, outside the UK or no longer in business.

Product liability insurance covers legal costs and compensation for product-related claims. Even if you think you know where the product has come from, there could have been mistakes in the manufacturing process.

For example, you could sell hair powder to a customer that you bought online. They use it on themselves but have chemical burns, which are from an issue in its production.

When the customer tries to reach the company that made it, they might not be able to get hold of them so take legal action towards you for selling it. 

Without insurance, you face the burden of court fees and take a financial hit from hefty compensations.

Superscript offers product liability insurance from £29.95 a month.

You need to have the space to service your clients properly and give them the trims they deserve. Without a place to work, you won’t be able to continue so your business could suffer.

So, a self-employed barber insurance to consider is business interruption cover. It protects your operation if you experience unexpected damage to your studio, which stops your work.

Without your ability to continue, you can’t pay yourself or your bills. The cover will alleviate that loss for your business, and help with the cost to repair your space. For example, there could be a flood that causes you damage.

Superscript offers business interruption insurance from £16.95 a month.

Superscript offers a specific barber insurance that provides you with a few of the previous covers together. 

You will benefit from:

• Public liability insurance
• Contents and equipment insurance

In addition, it also includes cyber insurance. You may hold information about your customers (names, birth dates, phone numbers and emails).

When you keep that kind of information, your business could be the target of data theft. You could also accidentally share information, which could breach GDPR (general data protection regulations).

A cyber cover will help pay court fees and compensation to customers who are affected by the data breach.

Superscript offers barber insurance from £5 a month.

Another great way to prepare your business against bad situations is to manage the money coming in and out. If you stay on top of costs and avoid spending too much, you might be able to put funds aside for rainy days.

Countingup is a business account with built-in accounting software. You can receive cash flow insights through the app and sort your costs automatically with its expense categorisation feature.

Get started for free.

For some extra tips on hairdressing, see:

• How to set up a hairdresser training academy
• 6 new technologies in hairdressing
• 7 best books for self-employed hairdressers