As a massage therapist, you’re always in demand whether it’s assisting with a sports injury, supporting someone during a pregnancy, or simply giving a client the opportunity to relax. Like any other occupation, you need to remember to have the correct insurance cover in place to give you the peace of mind that you’re protected financially. Without insurance in place, you’re left exposed to a number of risks which could have serious financial consequences. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the importance of massage therapist insurance.
Why do massage therapists need insurance?
Protect against third party accidental injury or damage
Although you always have the best intentions to be as careful as possible, accidents can happen. For massage therapists who visit client homes or have clients coming to them throughout the day, it’s easy to see how damage and injury can occur. From a client tripping over at your premises when they arrive for a treatment to client property becoming damaged—you need to make sure you protect yourself against these scenarios with public liability insurance. In relation to injury to clients, remember that public liability insurance doesn’t cover injury which may occur during the course of a treatment.
Protect against claims for negligence
As a massage therapist, you focus on manipulating the soft tissue of the body and deal with complex presentations such as pre-existing medical conditions, injuries and other ailments. Given the close contact you have with your clients, it’s all too easy for a claim to made following allegations of negligence or breach of professional duty. Whether you’ve given incorrect or misleading advice, exacerbated a pre-existing condition, failed to take due care during a treatment, or caused an injury, it’s essential that you have professional indemnity insurance in place to protect yourself against claims for negligence.
Protect your specialised equipment
As a massage therapist, you wouldn’t be able to do your work without your special equipment, such as your massage table, which many therapists transport between various appointments. Not only does your equipment enable you to do your job on a day to day basis, it’s also incredibly expensive if something happens to it! Don’t make the mistake of leaving it to chance and hoping that your equipment stays safe – you never know what might happen. Not only do you need to consider items such as your massage table, you also need to think about items like your smartphone. Luckily, general property insurancecan be used to protect your transportable items.
Protect your reputation
If you find yourself at the receiving end of a claim due to alleged professional negligence, this can have serious financial implications. However, it’s not just your finances that can suffer. A claim for negligence, regardless of whether or not it’s legitimate, can also have an impact on your professional reputation as a massage therapist. With your professional indemnity insurance, this policy also covers the cost of hiring a public relations expert to help navigate any potential impact on your reputation following a claim.
Protect against periods where you can’t work
Like many massage therapists, you’re most likely self-employed. This offers convenient flexibility as you can arrange your work to suit your lifestyle. However, it also means that you don’t receive leave entitlements and sickness benefits if you’re unable to work. If you rely on a regular source of income from your work, you run the risk of having no earnings if you can’t work for a period of time. Although this may be manageable for a short period of time, it can become problematic if you can’t work for an extended period. Luckily, personal accident and illness insurance can offer financial support during these periods.
What insurance policies do I need?
There are a number of insurance policies which you may need to consider as a massage therapist, including:
Public liability insurance – This policy will protect you financially if you cause damage to property or injury to a third party as a result of your actions at work.
Professional indemnity insurance – This policy protects against claims from a third party following an alleged breach of duty or negligence.
General property insurance – This policy will provide cover for your transportable items, such as smartphones and equipment, if these items are lost, damaged or stolen.
Personal accident and illness insurance – This policy allows you to continue to receive a portion of your income if you’re unable to work following an injury or illness.
Life insurance – This policy allows for a lump sum payment to be made to your nominated beneficiaries to spend as they see fit in the event of your death.
Tax audit insurance – This policy means that you’ll be reimbursed for the cost of hiring a professional to complete a tax audit on your behalf.
The cost of your insurance will depend on a number of factors such as the type of massage you specialise in, the size of your business, the number of employees you have and the location of your work. In basic terms, the higher your risk then the more you can expect to pay with your premiums.
Convenient contactor insurance
Here at Contractor Cover, we provide massage business insurance to protect you financially. We aim to simplify insurance by combining all of the main policies required by contractors into a single package. We’re partnered with one of Australia’s largest insurers to provide a quality contractor insurance package at a competitive price. With us, there’s no need to juggle multiple, separate policies – everything you need is within a single policy.
For massage therapist insurance in Australia, contact Contractor Cover today at 1300 438 268.
