All Health and Wellness Professionals need Liability Insurance Protection. Here are the top 10 reasons for insurance. With any wellness services, there is a risk of accidents causing potential insurance claims — Professional Liability and Commercial General Liability protect you and your business. We designed our insurance policy using knowledge of your industry and client feedback. We are price-sensitive while still providing broad insurance coverage. Our mission is to adapt to the Health and Wellness industry to provide an Insurance Advantage.
We provide insurance to individual instructors, practitioners, health and beauty professionals. Small individuals and large businesses all need protection. Get the right Health and Wellness protection at the right price.
The following ten reasons will give you more information. Always make sure you are using a licensed Registered Insurance Broker in Ontario (RIBO). Do not hesitate to reach out to us by email, chat, text or phone at any time with questions.
Here at the top ten reasons to buy Health and Wellness Insurance.
Reason 1: Everybody works on the side:
No matter how long you have been in business, there are always opportunities to pick up extra work or help a friend. All kinds of additional work opportunities arise on nights or weekends. Work for cash, providing play money or travel money. What you may not realize is that if a spa or clinic employs you, there is no professional liability or general liability coverage protection for this extra work. Their policy will only respond to claims under their business insurance policies that arise out of the operation of the business. The additional service not booked through the Spa and the money paid is not covered. Although problems are rare among your friends and family, things may happen that are out of your control. You need to have a Professional Liability Insurance policy. Read on to see what I mean.
Reason 2: Claims happen:
Do you have friends that have had a car accident or even a speeding ticket? They wonder why their car insurance is so expensive. Accidents happen. (6% of drivers have some claim each year). We all know stories of how other health and wellness practitioners or instructors have had a unique situation with a client. Some of these lead to an insurance claim. An excellent massage leaves someone feeling worse because they did not advise you about a previous injury. A client faints during a hot yoga session because they were suffering from a bad head cold. Sure, the problem is their fault because they did not disclose the proper information. What matters is that a lawyer will write up a lawsuit with phrases like “knew or should have known a problem could occur” or “the defendant failed to advise the plaintiff of proper procedure.” Claims such as these do happen. People win their lawsuits regularly, and they are expensive. The average legal rate is $500 an hour. If you only need one reason to purchase insurance, it should be “peace of mind.” It cost less than a coffee a day.
Reason 3: You’re the victim:
Not all claims are your fault. In fact, in many cases, you’re the victim. There are so many things that can happen during your day. Did you ever eat a lousy salad? Well, regularly, it happens. The restaurant did not grow the lettuce; they did not package it or even deliver it. All they did was prepare your meal. If you get sick from it, who is to blame? The restaurant – right? What happens when you get a bad batch of massage oil and don’t know it. It is not your fault; it is defective, but you used it. How about a new yoga floor that is slippery, causing a client to slip. You did not install the flooring, but you were using the facility. You see, in today’s litigious society, clients are suing more than ever, suing for things that were unheard of ten years ago. Professional and general liability insurance policies are needed more than ever. I agree the above instances were probably not your fault, but you can sure bet your name will appear in the lawsuit. A lawsuit will issue a writ in your name, the business name, the distributor of the product, and the manufacturer. Just like the above, a suit will go something like this “knew or should have known the item was faulty.” Make sure you have coverage for these top 10 reasons for insurance to protect yourself. You need to have a Professional Health and Wellness Insurance policy.
Reason 4: General liability is most important.
Every business has General Liability Insurance (also known as Commercial General Liability or CGL). Everyone does not have Professional Liability (also known as malpractice or E&O insurance). Why is CGL insurance more common and essential? It’s kind of the “catch-all” coverage for an injury you cause to someone else or property damage you cause to a third party. The most common form of claim is “slip and fall.” We all live in Canada. We all suffer through the ice and snow that comes with a Canadian winter. Yes, a poorly shovelled parking lot and sidewalk is the culprit and not your responsibility, but if you work out of your house, IT IS your responsibility. Even if your client is wearing 4-inch heels in an ice storm, and lands on her butt, you have at least some responsibility. What if you don’t own the building? Well then, you are responsible for the interior of the building. Think about slippery floors from people tracking in the snow all day. What if you just rent out your space? What if someone slips on that floor where you are working? Make sure you have Insurance Protection.
Commercial General Liability insurance doesn’t have to be only when someone is injured; claims happen to someone else’s property. Here is an example of an unfortunate accident. Sometime during the night, a small fire starts from a candle not fully extinguished. The extreme heat causes damage to your workroom, the business and the unit next door. The CGL will take care of the landlord’s loss to the building shell and the unit next door. The owner’s content insurance should take care of the smoke and water damage to the business. Have you ever heard of someone filling a sink and leaving the tap open while going to answer the phone? Or worse yet go home for the night? These are common claims. So Commercial General Liability insurance is vital. That is why we are offering an Exclusive Professional Insurance policy. If you are a subcontractor (as the commercial says), “don’t leave home without it!”. If you are not sure what the different policies mean, please check out the definition page on our website.
Reason 5: Protect your assets:
Are you limited or incorporated? (Probably not!) If you are, that is great. That means you have a layer of protection between you and a lawsuit. If you don’t – well – everything you own is exposed. Without Health and Wellness Insurance (professional and general liability), you may be responsible for all damages and expenses from your profession. Remember the fire from above or the slip and fall? Insurance is the best way to go. A comprehensive professional policy will provide coverage for career mishaps, and general liability will cover for all the other types of liability claims. Limits start at $2,000,000 for each coverage and options for $10,000,000 are available. Healthy brokers have done their homework on your business needs to make it affordable.
Reason 6: Employers expect it: Virtually every employer will expect proof of a Professional Insurance Certificate. You are self-employed. The Health and Wellness Insurance policy you purchase provides you with a layer of protection. If the business owner is found negligent, your policy will respond first. Make sure you have the Insurance Protection Advantage your need.
Reason 7: Job flexibility: Your insurance policy follows you. Customized insurance for your business allows you to be portable. You can work one day at one location and another the next day. Some professionals work from home and provide services to friends & family. You can even volunteer at the local nursing home with protection for your profession.
Reason 8: You own the policy, AND you control it: When you are the boss, you need a Health and Wellness policy with Professional and General Liability Insurance. It is certainly possible that you can make a change to a new location and not be on the best of terms with the original owner. Don’t risk your financial security. A previous client could sue you for a sudden injury or another strange occurrence. The owner at the original location may not come to your rescue? Some policies are on a “claims made” format. “Claims made” means if the place you are working goes bankrupt, there is a chance their insurance will no longer be in force. Purchase your policy. No one can cancel it or remove coverage. You are protecting yourself, your finances and your employment security with an Insurance Advantage.
Reason 9: Separate limits with lower or no deductible: With a personal policy, you have distinct amounts of insurance. With a spa, studio or clinic, the ceiling deductible is among all the employees. Some plans also have one limit to cover both professional liability insurance and general liability insurance. Ask your broker or spa owner if their coverage has a shared coverage limit. If it does, that’s okay. Protect yourself and purchase a professional insurance policy that ensures you have $2,000,000 per claim. As with car insurance where you have a collision or comprehensive deductible, you can often choose your deductible when it’s your policy. It is not uncommon for a professional liability policy to have a $2,500 deductible. Talk to your broker to ensure you know what your deductible is and how it will affect the cost of your premium for your insurance policy.
Reason 10: The right coverage: The health and wellness industry generally divides your profession into two categories. The insurance policy will cover basics — for example, regular massage or yoga class. The second category is for extra things not listed on any insurance policy – for example, specific, unique therapeutic yoga or massage. Almost all advanced professional services have an additional charge. Just because you work at the location as an employee or on contract, does not mean the spa owner has the right coverage.
Make sure you have the Insurance Advantage and coverage for these Top 10 Reasons for insurance.
Are you a Spa or Salon owner? Check out our Medi-Spa website.