Treatment damage · allergies · chair rental
Liability insurance for a self-employed hairdresser
Almost every claim in this trade concerns the client who sat in your chair: a burnt scalp, broken hair or colour on a coat. The question each time is whether that loss counts as treatment damage.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een zzp-kapper.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
The distinction that determines your cover is between damage to the client and damage by the treatment. A client who slips on a wet floor by the basin, or whose coat is covered in colour, has injury or property damage as a third party: that is what the public and employers' liability insurance exists for, with Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code as the basis. But a chemical burn from bleach, hair loss after too long a development time or a burn mark from curling tongs arises from the treatment itself, and many policies have an exclusion or a separate section for it. So do not ask whether you have liability insurance, but whether treatment damage is covered as well.
An allergic reaction to colour or a perming product is the most common dispute. Your defence stands or falls with the client record: was an allergy test done, was there a question about earlier reactions, is the colour formula used and the development time noted. Without those records it cannot be shown afterwards that you acted with care. Make the intake a standard part of how you work, including for regular clients you have known for years.
Three things fall outside cover. Refunding the cost of the treatment and putting a failed colour right free of charge is performance of the contract, not a loss. A client who also claims compensation with no injury or damaged property is claiming pure financial loss. Your own hand eczema, back or shoulder complaints are not liability but loss of income, for which there is disability insurance. And knowingly carrying on against a clear warning can, as recklessness within the meaning of Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code are interpreted.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
What to look out for
Four points that determine for a self-employed hairdresser whether a complaint becomes an insured claim.
Treatment damage or ordinary property damage
The person or the hair you are working on is treated by some insurers as property in your care, custody and control. That means that precisely the loss you are insuring against can fall outside cover. Have your insurer confirm in writing how it sees this. It is the most important question you can ask before you sign.
Working at clients' homes
When hairdressing at home you bring chemicals into someone else's living room. Colour on a sofa, a bleach mark on a rug or a bottle knocked over is property damage to a third party and covered in principle. Do report that you work on the move, because a policy based on a fixed salon does not automatically cover work on location; see Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code about the duty of disclosure.
A rented chair or rented space
If you rent a chair in a salon or a space of your own, you are a tenant. Fire or water damage to the premises is then your liability as a tenant, and that section is not in every policy as standard. Ask for tenant's liability and check what the lease says about liability and underinsurance.
What you sell alongside the treatment
Shampoo, styling and care products that you resell make you a supplier. If such a product causes a reaction, product liability; see the product liability insurancecomes into play. Keep the source and batch details, so that you can refer the claim to the producer instead of carrying it yourself.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the usual basis for a sole trader
- Treatment damage included: the most important cover question in this trade
- Chemical treatments: bleaching, perming and colouring weigh more heavily than cutting
- Fixed location or mobile: hairdressing at home brings damage in clients' houses with it
- Tenant's liability: needed with a rented chair or your own space
- Sum insured and excess: per claim and per insurance year
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| A client slips on the wet floor by the basin and breaks her wrist | Yes | Yes |
| While hairdressing at home you damage the client's wooden floor with your work stool | Yes | Yes |
| Curling tongs leave a burn mark on a client's scalp | No | Yes |
| A client is left with bald patches after a perm | No | Yes |
| A shampoo you resold causes a rash on a client | Provided that | Yes |
| You cannot work for weeks because of hand eczema from the bleaching product | No | No |
Extended here means a policy on which treatment damage is expressly included; ask what your insurer calls that section.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
A client has an allergic reaction to hair colour. Is that covered?
Only if treatment damage is included on your policy. Some insurers exclude damage arising from the treatment itself. If the cover is there, the question is whether you offered an allergy test and whether you asked about earlier reactions. Your client record determines the outcome here, not your good intentions.
The hair breaks off after bleaching. Do I have to refund?
Refunding the price of the treatment or putting it right free of charge is performance of your contract and does not fall under liability insurance. If the client also asks for compensation without demonstrable injury, it is pure financial loss, which is excluded on this policy. If the scalp is damaged, it is an injury claim.
I spill colour on a client's coat.
That is property damage to a third party and this policy is intended for it. It is conceivable, though, that an insurer regards clothing you hung on the rail yourself as property in your care. Let clients look after their own coats as far as possible and always use a gown. That saves both damage and argument about cover.
I work as a self-employed hairdresser in a salon. Am I not insured through the salon?
Usually not. The salon owner's policy covers his own business and staff. A self-employed person with her own clients and her own turnover is a separate business. Have it recorded in writing whether you are included as a joint insured. If you are not, you need liability insurance of your own, even if you are in the same salon every day.
Read more
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