One in four UK beauty therapists is performing treatments without insurance and a third of those have never been insured, according to the results of a new survey.
However, only 17% of therapists have ever been asked by a client or potential client about whether they have the correct insurance.
The poll of 821 therapists, all aged over 18 and working full-time in beauty therapy, was conducted by industry association and insurance provider Babtac
Respondents were first asked if they currently had adequate insurance to cover all of their treatments and practices, to which 26% admitted they did not. Of the remaining respondents, 15% were unsure and only 59% stated that they were confident that they were fully insured.
Those who were not insured were asked if they had ever taken out an insurance policy in the past. 66% said they had, but had let the insurance lapse, while 34% had never been insured while practicing in the industry.
All respondents were asked if they had ever been asked by a client or potential client about their insurance. Only 17% had been asked about their policies and, of those, 84% stated that it was after they had finished the treatment.
Babtac general manager Colin Webster said, “These results reveal just how many beauty therapists out there are not protecting themselves and, essentially, their clients. If something goes wrong, not only will the client have nowhere to turn and no compensation, but the therapist will not be covered against these unfortunate eventualities which can be a very harrowing and expensive experience for the professional.”