The self-employed makeup artist insurance you need

Makeup artistry is a great way to empower clients through your creativity. Still, it’s a service industry so things can go wrong. When accidents happen, they could have a lasting impact on your business and threaten its future.

The best way to prepare for unfortunate scenarios is to make sure you take out relevant insurance. But with so many types of cover available, it’s crucial to know which ones will suit your needs.

This guide discusses self-employed makeup artist insurance, which includes:

• Public liability insurance
• Product liability insurance
• Equipment and contents insurance
• Business interruption insurance
• Cyber insurance

There’s no legal requirement for you to have insurance if you’re the only person in your business. But without cover, you won’t have peace of mind that you’ll be able to continue if something goes wrong.

You work in a close quarter service industry, so you’re in constant contact with members of the public. So you’ll likely need self-employed makeup artist insurance, which covers those interactions.

You get help with legal fees and compensation from public liability insurance if someone outside your business files a claim against you. It covers injuries or damage to public property.

If you’re a well-trained professional, it doesn’t mean that accidents can’t happen. It could be a client that’s affected or even someone else while you work.

For example, you work for a bride at their wedding and the foundation causes a reaction that ruins her special day. They may seek compensation for the event.

Alternatively, you could work on a film set applying makeup to actors. A busy production could mean that someone trips on your kit, and breaks an expensive camera. The company could seek payment for the damages.

In a scenario that sees you in court, you’ll need to pay for a lawyer and compensate the affected people. That could bankrupt your business, so an insurance cover to help could be a lifesaver.

Countingup’s insurance partner, Superscript, offers public liability insurance from £5 a month.

Like public liability, someone could face an injury or damage from a product you sell. Some beauticians make extra money offering brushes or powders to clients, which means they’re liable for those transactions.

If you sell items, an essential self-employed makeup artist insurance can be product liability cover. Even if you aren’t the manufacturer, you could face legal action if it’s defective or dangerous.

For example, you can sell an eyeliner to a customer that they later use and suffer from eye damage. There could be an issue in the production stage, but you could face the blame if they can’t reach the manufacturer.

Suppliers outside the UK could be challenging to chase or one could go under. You’re responsible for what you sell, and a relevant cover can help you deal with any potential adverse consequences.

Superscript offers product liability insurance from £29.95 a month.

You’re probably aware of how expensive your equipment and products that make up your kit can be, whether those are professional standard brushes or high-end blushers.

You could spend a lot of money to build a set to deliver quality looks for your clients. So a self-employed makeup artist’s insurance to consider is equipment and contents cover.

You can damage your items, be the victim of theft, or lose something important. Whether you travel between locations or use a studio, it’s vital to protect the essential things you need to work.

An insurance provider can help you replace your items and ensure that you can get everything you need to avoid disruption.

Superscript offers equipment insurance from £4.67 a month.

Although tools are an essential part of your operation, other things could stop you from doing your work. 

If you travel, your car could break down and leave you unable to get to clients while waiting for repair work. Alternatively, if you use a studio, you could have a fire or flood that puts your space out of action.

With business interruption insurance, you can prepare for those problems. You can guarantee that you’ll have cover for loss of earnings and help for crucial repairs.

Superscript offers business interruption insurance from £16.95 a month.

One self-employed makeup artist insurance you might not expect to need is a cyber cover. But when you take bookings from clients, you will likely need to know some information about them.

That could be names and contact information, potentially valuable to cybercriminals. If you are the victim of a hack, your clients could be affected.

Alternatively, you could accidentally leak people’s information. 

Both scenarios mean that you would breach GDPR (general data protection regulations), so you could face legal action from those affected or fines from authorities. Cyber insurance helps to cover legal fees and compensation.

Superscript offers cyber insurance from £10.79 a month.

Superscript is an insurance provider that offers specific support and cover to small business owners. They provide beauty therapist insurance, which provides some of the previously mentioned covers.

Beauty therapist insurance includes:

• Public liability insurance
• Equipment and contents insurance
• Cyber insurance

In addition, this cover can also provide your business with employers liability insurance just in case you hire employees in future.

Superscript offers beauty therapist insurance from £5 a month.

You’ll pay for insurance monthly in addition to your current business costs. But how can you make sure to keep up with payments? The answer is good financial management.

Countingup is a online business account with built-in accounting software. The app’s expense categorisation feature sorts your costs automatically with HMRC approved labels, so you always know what you can and can’t afford.

Get started for free.

For more tips for makeup artists, see:

• 17 tools every makeup artist needs
• Make the most of makeup artist networking
• 4 best video editors for makeup tutorials