What Insurance Do I Need For A Tattoo Shop?

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There is only actually one type of insurance that is required for a tattoo shop, and that’s public liability insurance, however this shouldn’t be the only type of insurance that you consider as it might not cover you for everything you expect.

Don’t be thinking that public liability insurance is localised to the tattoo world either as it’s something that all business owners are required to have in order to protect themselves and their customers.

It might all sound a bit scary, but unfortunately in this day and age, insurance is something you must consider if you’re looking to open a tattoo shop – but that doesn’t make understanding what insurance you need any easier.

What is tattoo insurance?

In most circumstances, when you hear anything referred to as ‘tattoo insurance’, it will be referencing public liability insurance. This kind of cover means that if a member of the public or a client makes a claim linked to an incident that has occurred in your shop, your costs are covered.

For example, if a client was to injure themselves by slipping on your floor, or a bed was to collapse with them laying on it, public liability insurance would cover the cost of the compensation.

It’s worth noting too that UK law states that all tattoo premises must have a license before artists can operate on paying customers (to be obtained from your local council), and in most cases, you’ll need to have at least public liability insurance to obtain one.

To find out more about everything you need to consider for a new tattoo shop, you can read a blog about How to Open a Tattoo Shop.

What insurance do I need for my business?

If you’re looking for Public Liability Insurance, a search online is a good place to start. There are plenty of companies who offer it and there are of course the usual search engine comparison sites to look at. Money Supermarket have a great overview of what is and some FAQs, with a section to then compare providers that can help you decide on the specifics you’d like for your policy.

All quotes will be tailored to you depending on the size of your shop, the amount of people you have working for you and how much protection you want.

However, as we’ve previously mentioned, Public Liability Insurance shouldn’t be the only type of insurance you consider. There might be some aspects you would assume it would cover but it doesn’t, so it’s worth reading up on others to make an informed choice.

We’d recommend also looking into:

Employers’ liability

As well as public liability insurance, we think it’s a good idea to invest in employers’ liability – which is very similar to the former however it covers the cost of claims made against your business by your employees, not just the general public.

Treatment risk insurance

Treatment risk insurance is commonly overlooked by tattoo shop owners as they believe these kind of claims are covered by Public Liability Insurance, and this is certainly not the case. This type of insurance will cover you should a client ever claim they are unhappy with their tattoo. This could be anything from a customer being unhappy with the design or having a bad reaction on their skin.

Unfortunately, Public Liability Insurance will not cover you against these claims.

Contents cover for business

It isn’t vital, but contents insurance will definitely help you out if you were to ever experience a fire, flood or theft in your studio.

It will cover any costs of damage to your building as well as the loss of equipment and supplies of you and your employees. There are a lot of high-ticket price items in a tattoo shop, which is why it’s so important to have this kind of cover.

We would always advise to lock everything away at the end of the day to avoid this happening though – and a good CCTV system couldn’t hurt either.

Income protection insurance

Finally, if you’re self-employed, which most tattooists are, we’d recommend income protection insurance. This ensures that should you need an extended period of time off due to illness or injury, you’ll still have a regular income.

“I have a good insurance that covers the entirety of my shop and additional options that allow me to ensure my hands/my eyes etc., because our hands are our working tools.”

Tito Inkid, L’Atelier Sans Nom, Armentières, France

How much is insurance for a tattoo shop?

There isn’t really a simple answer to this one. Tattoo shop insurance cost will depend on how much cover you want and who you decide to go with. However, you could probably get some basic tattoo shop insurance for as little as £80 a year.

Tattoo insurance is there to protect you and your business, and in our experience, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Obviously we all hope we never have to use it, but we do recommend investing a bit more money in it, just in case.

Like any other insurance, have a look online. Or, if in doubt, speak to other artists to find out how they went about finding the right tattoo shop insurance.