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Whenever you run a business where you have people come through your doors; For instance, when running a hair salon, microblading studio, beauty center, or tattoo studio – it’s a good idea to carry the right business insurance. If you have a solid policy from a reliable carrier, you won’t have to spend every day worrying about what might happen if a client files a lawsuit or when commercial property gets damaged.

Whether you’re a self-employed tattooist or a tattoo shop owner, it can be challenging to determine how much you can expect to pay and what are the policies to choose for your tattoo insurance. Here’s a guide that will help.

Why Get Tattoo Shop Insurance and Tattoo Artist Insurance?

Society has embraced the idea of having tattoos. And so, many make a living either by running their own tattoo studio or working as independent or employed tattoo artists. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the median income of tattoo artists is $23.62 an hour or $49,120 a year.

With that being said, tattoo services can be a stable and lucrative source of income right now. However, just like any other profession out there, it comes with risks. These risks are:

• Accidents that might cause personal injuries or property damage to clients
• Negligence and errors resulting in economic or financial loss to the client
• Damage to commercial property
• Accidents the commercial vehicle causes

 

Tattoo Liability Insurance

 

Tattoo liability insurance is the first kind of insurance that tattoo artists and tattoo shops need. There are several types. The most common ones included in tattoo artist insurance and tattoo shop insurance are:

• General liability insurance
• Professional liability insurance
• Public liability insurance

General Liability Insurance for Tattooists

General liability coverage in tattoo artist liability insurance functions to provide money if the tattoo artist or tattoo shop/studio is accused of causing injuries or property damage to the client.

There are a lot of hazardous equipment and substances used in tattoo service. Examples are inks, needles, razors, and tattoo machines. Spilled ink if not removed immediately from the floor can cause the guest to slip and fall or stain their belongings. Needles and razors can cause cuts and lacerations. Finally, tattoo machines have cords that, if not kept well, will cause the client to trip.

Personal injury and property damage lawsuits against tattoo artists and tattoo studios are not cheap. Court judgments can sometimes demand compensation for the aggrieved party’s losses that amount to hundreds or even millions of dollars. For this reason, getting general liability insurance is essential.

General Liability insurance for tattoo artists and tattoo studios will take care of property damage and personal injury claims from a client, vendor, visitor, or any other third parties. In practice, this type of tattoo parlor insurance will pay for attorney fees, other legal costs, and compensation if the claimant wins the legal battle.

Some insurance companies offer general liability insurance with rented premises liability coverage. This one is useful for tattoo studio owners or tattoo artists renting a commercial space. When fire damages the rented commercial space, rented premises liability coverage will reimburse the losses of the property owner on behalf of the policyholder

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Does Tattoo Artist and Tattoo Studio General Liability Insurance Cover Copyright Infringement?

Copyright infringement is another exposure that tattoo artists and tattoo studios might face. This can happen when:

• The tattoo artist or tattoo studio gave a tattoo to a client referencing a particular image without knowing that the image is actually an intellectual property
• The client asked the tattoo artist or tattoo studio to have a tattoo based on a copyrighted image

Copyright infringement lawsuits can really happen, and they’re expensive. Here’s an example:

• Photographer, Jeff Sedlik, sued famous tattoo artist, Kat Von D, who used his photograph of a famous jazz musician as a reference for a client’s tattoo. The said lawsuit amounts to $150,000

General liability coverage in tattoo artist or tattoo studio insurance provides protection against copyright infringement lawsuits. However, it can only do so if it comes with advertising injury coverage on its terms. Advertising injury coverage takes care of copyright infringement claims, slander claims, libel claims, and other forms of advertising or reputational harm.

Professional Liability Insurance for Tattooists and Tattoo Shops

Tattoo artists and tattoo studios all follow health protocols to avoid causing permanent injuries to their clients. In the US, state and local health departments regulate and implement guidelines for proper tattoo practice. With that said, clients might file a claim if the tattoo or tattoo shop commits the following:

• Failure to use clip cord/sleeve for the tattoo machine
• Failure to store tattoo equipment neatly and properly
• Failure to change gloves or wear gloves while working
• Reusing needles or cartridges
• Failure to sterilize tattoo equipment

Professional negligence lawsuits are costly. Compensation to the victim starts at $10,000 – $30,000 for minor injuries. In case of severe infections that result in scarring of the skin and other permanent injuries, a tattoo shop or tattoo artist might have to pay $100,000 – $500,000 to the victim.

Professional liability insurance in tattoo business insurance provides protection from any professional negligence lawsuit against a tattoo artist or tattoo shop. It provides $1 million up to $2 million so that the policyholder can pay for legal costs, attorney fees, and compensation for damages.

Professional liability insurance also covers incidents where the tattoo artist or tattoo shop is accused of not following the instructions of the client or giving the client an infected tattoo. Here are some examples:

• Blank Ink tattoo was sued by a customer who reported that her tattoo was oozing liquids and was painful
• A client sued Ceaser’s tattoo shop for $500,000 after her tattoo became infected
• A client sued for $11,520 after the tattoo artist left her face with numerous star marks when she only asked for three

Tattoo Public Liability Insurance

Tattoo public liability insurance is a policy that offers protection against customers, vendors, and other third parties filing a personal injury claim or property damage claim. Yes, in a way, general liability insurance and public liability insurance are the same. But still, you need to know that:

• General liability insurance includes the language of public liability insurance
• General liability insurance can take care of advertising injury claims or reputational harm claims public liability insurance can’t
• General liability insurance comes with a rented premises liability coverage whereas public liability insurance doesn’t have this

To put it simply, the main difference between general liability insurance and public liability insurance is that the former is more comprehensive while the latter is very limited in its scope.

Commercial Property Insurance for Tattoo Studios

Tattoo shops don’t only have to worry about their liability to third parties. There are other perils to think about such as the destruction of stocks, business equipment, and other physical assets. And so, tailored tattoo shop insurance or tattoo studio insurance includes commercial property insurance.

The primary function of commercial property insurance is to cover the commercial building of the tattoo studio. It will:

• Reimburse the losses of the policyholder if fire or extreme weather totally destroys the commercial building. The amount of reimbursement is equal to the current market value or the original market value of the commercial building
• Reimburse losses of the policyholder if fire, extreme weather, vandalism, theft, and other covered perils caused damage to the commercial building. The amount of reimbursement is equal to the value of the damage incurred

There’s business equipment and tools coverage in commercial property insurance for tattoo studios. Business equipment and tools coverage’s function is to reimburse losses when tools and equipment used in tattoo service become lost or damaged due to theft, fire, vandalism, and other covered perils. Common tools and equipment covered are:

• Tattoo beds or reclining chairs
• Tattoo machines
• Tattoo scanner and design computer
• Tattoo lighting systems/kits

Aside from equipment and tools, there are other valuables such as tattoo inks, tattoo needles and needle sterilizers, and sanitary kits. What covers this in case of damage or loss due to fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils is stocks and contents coverage – another inclusion in commercial property insurance.

Commercial Auto Insurance for Mobile Tattoo Artists and Tattoo Studios

Some tattoo artists and studios don’t do business in a fixed commercial space but instead, take their services to the client’s personal space. And aside from liability insurance policies, they will also find commercial auto insurance useful.

Commercial auto insurance covers exposures associated with using a vehicle for commercial purposes. It offers the following protection:

• Auto liability coverage
• Physical damage coverage
• Emergency roadside assistance

A tattoo artist’s or tattoo studio’s commercial vehicle might cause an accident on the road. In connection, the function of auto liability coverage in commercial auto insurance is to cover the medical expenses of injured third parties. This will also reimburse the losses of individuals whose property incurred damage due to the accident.

Physical damage coverage has two forms – collision and comprehensive. Collision physical damage coverage will take care of parts repair or replacement if the commercial vehicle got damaged because it collided with an object or another vehicle while running. As for the second type – comprehensive physical damage coverage – it will take care of parts repair or replacement if fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils damaged the commercial vehicle.

The resulting out-of-pocket expenses are very expensive when the commercial vehicle suddenly experiences issues on the road – dead battery, flat tire, running out of gas, etc. This is why commercial auto insurance for tattoo artists and tattoo shops includes emergency roadside assistance. Emergency roadside assistance will reimburse what was spent on gas delivery, tire delivery, tire repair, battery jump start service, and more.

Workers Compensation Insurance and Disability Insurance for Tattoo Artists

The hands are the bread and butter of tattoo artists. Severe injuries to the hands will make it impossible for tattoo artists to work. While it’s not possible for tattoo artists to insure their hands only, it’s possible to get protection against injuries to the hand and other body parts through worker’s compensation insurance.

Tattoo artists can get worker’s comp insurance for themselves so that they’ll have a policy that provides coverage for the treatment of hand injuries and lost income compensation.

Tattoo shops can get worker’s compensation insurance as soon as one or more individuals are hired. Failure to get workers compensation insurance is punishable by law.

One thing to note though is that workers comp will only apply if a work-related injury impaired the hands.

With that said, if a tattoo artist’s hands got injured during a car accident, then workers comp won’t provide coverage even if it’s active. And so, we recommend tattoo artists also get disability insurance for themselves as it will cover injuries that didn’t happen at work.

Workers comp insurance and disability insurance are almost the same in the sense that:

• Both have an elimination period, which is the length of time the policyholder has to wait before receiving money through insurance
• Provides money based on the policyholder’s income
• Helps to pay for hospitalization and other medical expenses

Is There a Self-Employed Tattooist Insurance?

 

Yes, there is. Tattoo artists who run their own small studios, do tattoo sessions in their house, or at the house of the client can opt to get self-employed tattooist insurance. This has general liability coverage and professional liability coverage. For tattoo artists who go to their client’s address for tattoo sessions, self-employed tattooist insurance also offers commercial auto insurance as an additional option.

 

Tattoo Shop Insurance Cost

• Tattoo shop insurance cost $35.92 a month or $431.04 a year and gives the policyholder $1 million general liability coverage
• Professional liability insurance for tattoo shops and artists starts at $28.67 a month or $344.04 a year
• Public liability insurance for tattoo shops and artists is $30 a month or $360 a year

For further reference, here are the specific rates of the best tattoo shop insurance companies: