Insurance for Health, Wellness, and Personal Care Businesses in Washington and Idaho
Hands-on and one-on-one services create a mix most generic policies miss: a client injured during a treatment or session is a professional liability claim, a slip in the lobby is general liability, and the intake forms in your scheduling software are health data. A good program covers all three, plus the equipment and space you depend on.
What usually goes wrong
- A client injured during a massage, facial, workout, or treatment
- Allergic reactions or burns from products and equipment
- Claims of inappropriate conduct during a session
- Health information on intake forms and in booking software
- Independent contractors and booth renters working under your roof
The coverage we typically build
- Professional Liability (E&O)Claims that your advice, work, or service cost a client money. Excluded from every BOP and GL policy.Details
- General LiabilityInjury and property damage claims from customers, clients, and the public. The policy most contracts require.Details
- Business Owners PolicyProperty, liability, and lost income bundled into one policy. The right starting point for most small businesses.Details
- Cyber LiabilityRansomware, data breaches, and wire fraud. The claim small businesses are now most likely to file.Details
- Workers Comp (Idaho)Required for most Idaho employers from the first employee. Bought from private carriers or the State Insurance Fund.Details
Professional liability is the core policy for most of these businesses, and it is usually excluded from a business owners policy. Many carriers offer it packaged with general liability for individual practitioners.
The gap we see most
The most common gap is the line between employees, independent contractors, and booth or room renters. Each needs to be insured, either on your policy or their own, and your lease or space agreement should say which. A renter without coverage whose client is hurt in your space can bring the claim straight to you.
Insurance by trade
Licensing, contract requirements, and the coverage we build for each.
- Massage Therapist Insurance in Washington and Idaho
Insurance for massage therapists and massage businesses in Washington and Idaho: professional and general liability, sexual misconduct coverage, licensing (DOH in Washington, the Board of Massage Therapy in Idaho), owners' liability for unlicensed staff, and what landlords and spas require.
- Salon, Barber, and Esthetician Insurance in Washington and Idaho
Insurance for salons, barbershops, estheticians, and booth renters in Washington and Idaho: Washington's $100,000 public liability requirement for salon/shop licenses, booth renter rules, master esthetician devices, and the professional liability most salon policies miss.
- Insurance for Therapists and Counselors in Washington and Idaho
Professional liability and business insurance for mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and clinical social workers in Washington and Idaho: licensing, duty to warn, mandatory reporting, confidential records, telehealth, and the coverage to carry.
- Insurance for Personal Trainers and Fitness Studios in Washington and Idaho
Insurance for personal trainers, gyms, and yoga, pilates, and boutique fitness studios in Washington and Idaho: why waivers are not enough, Washington's Health Studio Services Act, professional and general liability, and the coverage gaps studios miss.
- Daycare and Child Care Insurance in Washington and Idaho
Insurance for child care centers and family home daycares in Washington and Idaho: Washington's day care insurance requirement for licensed centers, the family home opt-out, Idaho licensing at seven children, abuse coverage, and what parents and landlords expect.
Stories from health, wellness & personal care
Illustrative stories: what each business came in for, and what the review found.
A Physical Therapy Clinic's Growth Plan Needed an HR Plan, and an Insurance Plan to Match
A two-location physical therapy practice was opening a third clinic and hiring fifteen people. The review found employment exposure, an owner's malpractice policy that didn't cover the clinic's other therapists, and a lease that asked for more.
EPLIE&OBOPFitness and wellnessThe Fitness Studio That Thought Its Waivers Were the Insurance
A strength and conditioning studio relied on signed waivers and a basic liability policy. The review found gaps in how trainers were covered, a policy that excluded the injuries most likely to happen, and no plan for staff claims.
GLE&OEPLIPersonal servicesWhy a Salon's Business Owners Policy Didn't Cover the Client Whose Color Went Wrong
A salon owner assumed her business owners policy covered everything that happened in the chair. It covered a client who slipped on the floor, but not one whose chemical treatment went wrong. Here is what closed that gap.
BOPE&OEPLICommon questions
Does general liability cover a client injured during a massage or treatment?
Usually not. Injuries arising from the professional service itself are typically a professional liability claim. General liability covers things like a client tripping in the lobby. Most practitioners need both.
Do booth renters and independent contractors need their own insurance?
They should. Require proof of their own professional and general liability, and confirm in writing who is responsible for what. Otherwise a claim involving their client may land on your policy.
Does Washington's My Health My Data Act apply to wellness businesses?
It can. It covers consumer health data collected outside HIPAA, which can include fitness measurements, wellness apps, and marketing data. Treatment records kept by licensed health care providers, such as massage therapists, under Washington's health care information law (RCW 70.02) are exempt. See our guide to the My Health My Data Act.
Insurance for health, wellness & personal care, reviewed line by line.
Send us what you have. We review it line by line against your leases and contracts, and tell you plainly what is missing. Free, and no obligation.