Tattoo and Body Piercing Shop Insurance

In recent years, many new tattoo and body piercing shops have opened up across the country. Nearly all of these businesses are small and privately owned. Of course, owning this type of business is not without its risks, so protecting yourself against liability and other disasters with a tattoo and body piercing shop insurance policy is essential.

Luckily, a local independent insurance agent can help you find the right coverage for your tattoo studio or body piercing shop. They'll get you matched to the ideal policy for the job to protect against possible lawsuits, injuries, property damage, and more. But first, here's a closer look at tattoo and body piercing shop insurance and why it's necessary.

What Is Tattoo and Body Piercing Shop Insurance?

Tattoo and body piercing insurance is a specialized form of business insurance tailored to meet the needs of tattoo artists, piercers, and parlor owners. This coverage addresses many of the risks associated with the industry, such as customer lawsuits, guest injuries, commercial property damage, and more. 

Without the right tattoo and body piercing shop insurance, your business could face hefty financial losses you'd have to cover out of your own pocket.

Can You Insure Tattoos?

Insuring a tattoo itself could prove to be tricky in most cases. However, it's possible to insure the part of your body that's tattooed. 

If you want to protect a particularly expensive or intricate design on your skin, it's possible to purchase body part insurance for that area, such as an arm or a leg. If you've declared the tattoo's value in the total amount of coverage under your policy, if you were to damage or lose that body part, it's possible you could get reimbursed for the value of the tattoo.

From a tattoo parlor standpoint, it's possible to insure completed work. Tattoo and body piercing shops need a special type of liability coverage to protect themselves against lawsuits filed by customers who are unsatisfied with the work they've had done. Professional liability coverage can help guard your shop and artists against lawsuit costs from dissatisfied customers and clients.

Is Tattoo Insurance Required?

Whether you're required to carry tattoo liability insurance is dependent on where your shop is located. Be sure to check the laws in your state before you open for business. 

However, you may be required to carry a tattoo business insurance policy if you've taken out a business loan and coverage is required by your lender or if you rent your shop building, and commercial property insurance is required as a term of your lease. Regardless of whether you're required to carry coverage, having a tattoo insurance policy can prevent many types of hazards from bankrupting your company.

Who Needs Tattoo and Body Piercing Shop Insurance?

Many professionals and businesses can benefit from having tattoo and body piercing shop insurance. You should consider getting coverage if you work in any of the following professions or own one of these types of businesses:

Services covered by tattoo and body piercing shop insurance include:

Guest artists, tattoo artists who only work at conventions, and apprentices should also be covered by tattoo insurance. It's also important to have coverage for all artists and piercers who work at your shop or could be associated with it, including employees and independent contractors.

Liability Coverage for Tattoo and Body Piercing Shops

Tattoo liability insurance coverage is particularly important. Lawsuits against tattoo artists and businesses are on the rise as more people are getting inked. 

Even cases that are thrown out of court can financially break a business due to the high cost of legal defense. Tattoo liability insurance can protect your business by covering court-imposed fines as well as any legal fees associated with a covered event. Liability coverage options you can choose from include:

• General liability insurance: This covers costs associated with third-party claims of bodily injury and personal property damage. Coverage can apply to allergic reactions and infections that customers suffer after getting a tattoo or piercing at your shop.
• Professional liability insurance: This covers claims of malpractice in case an artist or piercer severely injures someone or performs work that is clearly substandard. Given the permanence of tattoos, lawsuits for poor work are to be expected. 
• Special event liability insurance: This can cover costs associated with claims of property damage and more made by the venue that hosts an event where your artists perform piercings or tattooing.
• Communicable disease liability insurance: Clean equipment and unused sterilized needles are extremely important when doing tattoos and piercings. Tattoo shop owners take great care of the health of their customers but may still face a lawsuit if a client claims to have been sickened by a blood-borne illness. Sometimes, these lawsuits bear no merit, but you will still need to defend yourself, often at a great cost. This coverage can protect you from such losses.
• Alleged sexual abuse and molestation liability: This covers costs associated with third-party claims of sexual abuse or molestation caused by you or one of your business's employees.
• Product liability insurance: This covers costs associated with third-party claims of injury or other harm caused by the products used or sold at your tattoo shop.
• Commercial umbrella insurance: Also known as excess liability insurance, this type of policy extends your existing liability coverage limits to $1 million or greater to help cover the costs of hefty lawsuits.

Liability coverage can pay for attorney, court, and settlement or judgment expenses if a customer or client decides to sue your tattoo parlor.

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Additional Coverage for Tattoo and Body Piercing Shops

Setting up your tattoo and piercing shop takes a large initial investment. Most of the money you spend will go into the contents of your business, from furnishings to equipment. Without proper insurance, a disaster like a fire can completely wipe out both your business and the investment you put into it. 

Fortunately, you can protect your assets with additional business insurance coverages such as:

• Commercial property insurance: Provides compensation for losses to your tattoo guns, body jewelry, chairs, tables, and décor. Covered losses generally include those caused by fire, severe weather, vandalism, and theft. 
• Signs and glass insurance: Many business policies exclude coverage for outdoor signs and for glass, whether in windows or display cases, so you may need a separate endorsement to insure these elements of your shop.
• Business interruption insurance: Covers continued expenses for your business during periods of temporary shutdowns due to covered perils like fire damage.
• Inland marine insurance: This covers equipment used by your tattoo and piercing shop against many threats like damage, theft, and loss, even while items are in transit, such as on the way to an event.
• Apprenticeship program insurance: Most tattoo artists learn their trade through apprenticeship programs. If you offer this in your shop, this coverage can extend to your apprentices, within limitations, as it does your named employees.
• Guest artist or piercer insurance: Similar to the apprentice program coverage, this allows you to add an additional temporary employee to your policy for a limited time. This coverage is less restrictive than apprenticeship coverage.
• Permanent makeup insurance: If your shop offers permanent makeup services, such as lip-liner, eyeliner, or brow tattooing (microblading), you need to have coverage for these additional services. Eyeliner tattoos, in particular, present the risk of damage to the customer’s eye and can result in hefty lawsuits. All permanent makeup tattoo artists in your shop must be properly certified for you to get this coverage.

Be aware that flood damage is almost always excluded from business insurance coverage, so if your business is located in a flood-prone area, you may need a commercial flood insurance policy as well. 

How Much Does Tattoo and Body Piercing Shop Insurance Cost?

The quoted cost of a tattoo insurance policy will vary from business to business, but most policies are relatively inexpensive. This is a small price to pay for the benefit of protection against expensive lawsuits and property damage or loss. Some factors that can affect the cost of your tattoo insurance include:

An independent insurance agent can help you find affordable tattoo and body piercing shop insurance near you.

An Independent Insurance Agent Can Help You Find Tattoo and Body Piercing Shop Insurance

When it's time to find coverage for your tattoo and body piercing shop, no one's better equipped to help than an independent insurance agent. These agents are free to shop and compare policies from multiple carriers in your area. Your agent can get you a quote today for coverage from a reputable insurance company that offers the best blend of coverage and cost.