What Insurance do Holistic Therapists Need?

Holistic therapists work to help their clients recover from illness, injury and trauma using complementary medicines and treatments. But what if disaster strikes your business and a client is injured at your place of business or you accidentally damage someone's property in the course of your work?

Holistic insurance can help to mitigate the risks specific to the profession, from injury and illness to damage claims, which can come from your clients, employees or other third parties. Here's what you need to know about complementary therapy insurance to protect you and your business, whether you are self employed or you run a larger business.

• What kind of insurance does a complementary therapist need?
• Does a holistic practitioner need insurance?
• How much is holistic insurance?

Types of Holistic Insurance

While insurance needs can vary from business to business, there are a few common types of insurance that a holistic business or complementary therapist might need. Here we define what they cover and how they work, through some examples to help show how they can protect a business.

Public Liability Insurance

Public Liability insurance protects against claims of property damage or bodily injury by a client or other member of the public. However, the types of bodily injuries covered by a public liability policy are limited to accidental situations such as slips and falls, not injuries directly related to any bodywork you perform or advice you give—to cover those types of claims you'd need professional liability/malpractice as discussed below.

What specifically does public liability insurance cover? It provides access to legal experts, as well as covering legal costs and compensation claims if you're sued. You'll frequently find limits of £1 million, £2 million, £5 million or £10 million in the UK marketplace for public liability insurance.

Professional Liability/Malpractice Insurance

Professional Liability/Malpractice Insurance (sometimes called Professional Indemnity insurance) can protect against claims from dissatisfied clients who have complaints about the professional advice or service you gave. This type of insurance can cover legal defence costs and compensation settlements if you're sued and found liable.

Employers' Liability Insurance

Employers' Liability insurance is a required by law for a business that has any employees. So if your business is growing and you hire someone to manage your office or you expand your team of practitioners then you'll need to buy employers' liability insurance. This type of insurance covers legal costs and compensation claims if an employee becomes ill or is injured at work and sues as a result.

Tools/Equipment Insurance

Tools/Equipment Cover is for a holistic business that uses treatment couches or chairs, massage tools, hot stones, sterilisers, and other equipment that can be lost due to damage (e.g., fire) or theft. Those with a mobile holistic practice can get cover when taking their equipment away from their home or regular place of business. Proper equipment is critical and you can't work without it, so insuring it against loss and theft can be critical for a holistic practitioner.

Personal Accident Insurance

Personal Accident insurance can provide a financial benefit to you if an injury prevents you from working. Most insurance policies only cover accidental injuries that occur at work, but some in the marketplace expand their cover to include accidental injuries anywhere (e.g., on holiday). Personal accident cover is a "benefit" (so it's not tax deductible) and is usually offered as a weekly payout in case of a temporary injury (e.g., broken arm) or a lump sum payout for a permanent disability (e.g., loss of a limb).

Vehicle Insurance

A therapist who makes home visits or visits multiple work locations will need to declare business use on their car insurance. This might cost a bit more, but would be required by law. You wouldn't be likely to need commercial vehicle insurance, however. If you're unsure it's best to check with your insurance company or a specialist broker.

In addition, there are many other types of business insurance that you might need. Talk to a specialist insurer or broker if you are unsure of the coverage you need.

Do Complementary Therapists Need Insurance?

Yes, most holistic or complementary therapists need business insurance. Whether you help clients recover from illness, improve mobility, lower stress levels, aid sleep, assist with weight loss or stopping smoking, or a host of other services, you will certainly face risks that can be mitigated with the right business insurance package. And even if a claim is unfounded, you will still need to pay to defend it, which can cost thousands of pounds in legal expenses.

Here is a quick recap of a few of the more common types of holistic insurance coverages:

Whether or not you need other types of business insurance as the owner of a holistic treatment business will depend on the specific risks you face, such as personal accident, commercial property insurance if you own your business premises or want to protect contents, business interruption insurance, etc.

How Much is Public Liability Insurance for a Holistic Therapist?

The average cost of public liability insurance for a complementary therapist business starts from around £61 a year (providing £2 million of cover). But a holistic medicine business's total insurance costs can quickly rise to multiples of that amount depending on the additional coverages you need.

If you go for a higher coverage limit on your public liability insurance your premium will go up, but not by much—the first £1 million of cover is the most expensive, with each additional £1 million of cover typically costing less.

Ultimately, the cost of business insurance depends on a number of factors, such as the type of cover you need, the amount of cover you need, your turnover, the types of therapies you carry out, your previous claims history, the number of employees you have and even where you work. Here are average business insurance costs for a holistic or complementary therapy practitioner who operates as a sole trader, to give you a rough idea of how much you might need to pay for cover:

How can I save money on my holistic business insurance?

You may be able to save money on business if you belong to a professional organisation, such as the British Holistic Medical Association, British Complementary Medicine Association or the Association of Holistic and Complementary Practitioners. Your insurer may not offer a discount for belonging to a professional organisation, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Another way to potentially save money is by purchasing all of your business insurance from one source as a package versus buying each type of coverage separately—which has the added benefit of lining up payment and renewal dates. Another way to save on complementary therapy insurance is by paying upfront, since paying monthly typically results in interest charges which can add more than 12% to your insurance costs.

FAQs

Holistic Therapist Employment and Earnings Statistics

According to the latest Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), most therapy professionals earn in the region of £29,947 a year in the UK, but pay depends on your experience level, the type of work you do, how much you work and where you live. There is limited data available for holistic practitioners specifically. For instance only one holistic therapist has listed their pay at GlassDoor—£48,821. Here are some statistics on how much therapy professionals in general (including holistic practitioners) earn a year from more widely reported government data:

Holistic insurance can cover a wide range of practitioners, including but not limited to the following complementary therapies: