Massage Therapy Insurance
There are several choices in massage therapy insurance. Selecting a suitable insurance plan is a must when starting the business, for a massage therapist.
While the regulations vary from state to state and it is not even legally compulsory for all massage therapists to have insurance, it is still important for the massage therapist to have insurance, in case they ever get into a financially difficult situation. There are no defined standards or massage therapy insurance due to variations in each state’s regulations. There are definitely no set rates and the cost of insurance can greatly differ for each state. However, these are no excuses for not having insurance.
There are numerous types of massage therapy insurance. Liability is a huge worry for massage therapists. Still, liability insurance is not the only type of massage therapy insurance around. Several types of insurances have been created to assure the personal safety of massage therapists. While these are all optional, it is in the interest of the massage therapist to purchase these insurance. Some of the recommended massage therapy insurance plans are: health insurance if it is not made available by the employer or the person is self employed; property insurance, one each for both the home and the office and specially important if the office is at home itself and clients are visiting the place; renters or lease insurance in case the office premises are rented. This insurance should cover the replacement cost of products and equipment.
Other insurances cover business, dental expenses, automobile (this is critical if the vehicle is used for mobile massage therapy), and disability insurance that provides for expenses, in case the therapist loses the ability to work.
The procedure for purchasing massage therapy insurance is fairly simple, whether buying for personal or professional reasons. There are local insurance agents who sell different types of insurance. While purchasing, the massage therapist should keep in mind that the local agent may offer very limited choices or policies that are of a very general nature. The cost may also be higher. The reason for all these is that the local agent may have very few clients in the massage therapy field. So the massage therapist will have to perforce buy the insurance policy on an individual basis.
Purchasing massage therapy insurance from a professional organization works best for most massage therapists. Professional organizations deal with massage therapy associations. Therefore, they have the expertise and know exactly the kind of insurance required by a therapist, inclusive of the protections and limits that are needed. Professional organizations also have a large size and larger groups comprising of a number of buyers have better purchasing power. This leads to cheaper policies, if they are purchased from professional organizations.
The right type of massage therapy insurance assures both personal and professional security by accidents, whether related to therapy or for some other reason, do not put a stop to the earning power of the massage therapist.