Tanning salon insurance, and the law that shapes it

What insurers print for this trade

Buying cover for a sunbed business

1. Start with the age duty, because the policy will. The 2010 Act bars under eighteens from commercial sunbed use, and a tanning policy normally requires an age verification procedure and a record of it. A salon operating an unstaffed or coin operated room needs to be able to explain exactly how that check happens when nobody is on the floor.
2. Record the session limits and the client declaration. Burn claims turn on whether the salon followed the manufacturer's session times and skin type guidance and whether the client declared photosensitising medication or skin conditions. A signed declaration and a session log are what turn that from an argument into a defence.
3. Insure the equipment for what it costs to replace. Sunbed units are the largest asset in the shop and the hardest thing to replace quickly. A contents sum insured carried over from an earlier, smaller fit out is the most common underinsurance this trade has, and it reduces every claim, not just a total loss.
4. Declare every other treatment on the floor. Most tanning shops also sell spray tanning, teeth whitening, red light or beauty treatments, and those change the rating and sometimes the insurer. Teeth whitening in particular is restricted work and is excluded on a number of standard salon policies.
5. Check maintenance and lamp replacement conditions. Policies commonly require servicing at the manufacturer's interval and lamp replacement at stated hours. Those records are cheap to keep and expensive to lack, since an electrical fire or a burn claim will be investigated against them.

Common questions

Is tanning salon insurance a legal requirement?

Employers' liability is once you have staff. Public liability is not required by statute but is required in practice by landlords and, in several local authority areas, as a condition of trading. The Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010 duties are separate from insurance and apply whether or not you are insured.

Are sunbed burns covered?

Public and treatment liability is written to answer for them, subject to the policy conditions: the age check, the manufacturer's session guidance, the client declaration and the maintenance record. Where those were not followed the insurer will normally decline.

Does the policy cover coin operated or unstaffed rooms?

Not always. Unsupervised operation is a rating question and some insurers decline it outright because the age and session controls are harder to evidence. Tell the broker how the shop is actually run before you buy.

What about spray tanning and teeth whitening?

Spray tanning is normally added to a tanning policy without difficulty. Teeth whitening is restricted and is excluded by a number of insurers unless carried out by a registered dental professional, so it needs naming rather than assuming.

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