Planning for Success

Know your insurance needs to succeed

As a practicing therapist or student in the natural health and beauty industry, you are providing hands on health and beauty care, a service that is very valuable to your client. The service you provide takes the motivation, talent and expertise of a professional. If you are operating your own natural health and beauty business, it can be very rewarding, but as you would know, it is also a significant responsibility. Proper planning prevents poor performance Say that five times fast! It’s an adage for a reason though – lack of planning is one of the leading causes of failures within business. In the excitement of starting your own business, it may be easy to forget the essentials such as determining the appropriate insurance cover to protect your business. In the initial business planning there are many questions to ask: what will I name my business? ; what financing will I need? However the question that is easily missed but equally as important and vital to your success is what insurance coverage do I need?

Why do you need insurance?

Life comes with risk. Insurance provides protection against unfortunate consequences of future events by transferring the loss from you (the insured) to the insurer. Liability for personal injury or damage to property can arise in various contexts in the workplace. Various types of liability insurance are available to reduce the exposure of individuals and organisations to such risks. As a practitioner, despite your best efforts to do the right thing by your clients and your business, unfortunately, the unexpected can happen. Insurance helps to position you and your business to financially survive any insurable event.

A recent example

OAMPS Claims Executive, Jo Callam, specialises in helping natural therapy and beauty industry clients with their claims. Jo commented “we recently had a very evident example of why having the right insurance is important. Our client, a naturopath, had professional indemnity cover but had also taken a legal cover extension. The client was treating a cancer patient for the side effects of chemotherapy, to make the patient more comfortable, but sadly the patient passed away and the family sued the practitioner and accused her of making claims that she would cure the cancer… Regardless of the circumstance or outcome, the costs can go through the roof. Luckily in this case the client’s $40 insurance extension covered the legal costs that are so far more than $375,000 and counting. Without the insurance, the naturopath would have incurred a massive cost.”

You don’t have to figure it out on your own!

OAMPS Insurance Brokers specialises in insurance that is specific for the needs of the natural therapies and beauty industry. For practicing professionals in the natural health and beauty industry, it is good to know there are cost effective insurance solutions available. Their policies cover an array of commercial activity including professional indemnity, product liability and public liability insurance. OAMPS Natural Therapies broker Lyndal Bennetts suggests “ask yourself what you would do if someone sued your business? How would you survive legal or claims costing hundreds of thousands of dollars? What impact would it have on your reputation and your client base? It’s not all doom and gloom – there is cover designed to protect you from business-crippling financial costs. We’re here to talk to you about your business, understand your needs and provide proactive advice and solutions.”

What are the common types of insurance policies for natural therapies and the beauty industry?

• Professional indemnity insurance is an integral part of the operation of a professional business. If professionals make a mistake, insurance is available to cover it. This applies to all people engaging in providing advice, not just traditional professionals such as lawyers, doctors and accountants.
• Products liability insurance is for anyone who sells, makes, installs or delivers products. It protects in the event that any products sold by you or your employees for therapeutic use cause injury or property damage. 
• Public liability protects you in the event that an injury occurs in the premises where you carry out do business. For example: you could be held responsible for the injury of a client who slips on the floor sustaining an injury.

OAMPS has developed an insurance policy that provides the necessary insurance for natural therapy practitioners and students alike.

Find out more

 OAMPS has been looking after insurance for the natural health and beauty industry for decades. Contact OAMPS Insurance Brokers at www.oamps.com.au or call 1800 222 012 to speak to a dedicated, friendly team member about all your insurance questions.