Spray Tanning Salon and Technician Insurance
Spray tanning is a treatment delivered as an aerosol, which means the product reaches more than the client.
An Aerosol In A Small Room
Solution applied by spray does not stop at skin. It settles on the floor, the walls, the equipment, the next client's clothing and the technician's airway, and it transfers onto bedding, car seats and light coloured fabric for hours afterwards. The claims in this trade split along exactly that line: a client who reacted to the product or whose result was not what they expected, and property that has been marked by solution that travelled.
The occupational side is quieter and worth taking seriously. A technician spraying several clients a day in a small room is inhaling the product repeatedly, which is why extraction is a question rather than a nicety.
What Spray Tanning Insurance Covers
Treatment risk
The core cover. A reaction, irritation or injury arising from a treatment, which is different from somebody slipping in the salon.
Allergic reaction to solution
Reactions to DHA, fragrances and other ingredients, which is the claim this trade actually gets from clients.
Damage to clients' property
Solution transferring onto clothing, shoes, bags, bedding and car seats, which is the frequent small claim.
Damage to premises you work in
On mobile work, overspray onto a client's carpet, walls, furniture and bathroom, which is somebody else's home.
Public liability
Clients in a salon with a wet or powdery floor, and visitors to a treatment room. £2 million upward, with landlords often specifying £5 million.
Employers' liability
Compulsory at a £5 million statutory minimum if you employ anybody, including part time weekend staff.
Equipment and stock
Compressors, guns, tents, booths and solution stock, which on mobile work travels in a vehicle.
Where The Cover Stops
Wordings differ between insurers, so treat these as the usual position rather than as universal fact. Where one of them matters to you, it is worth checking on your own schedule before you need to.
Patch testing conditions
Cover is frequently conditional on patch testing where the manufacturer recommends it, with a dated record. See our nail studios page for how that condition works.
Results and expectations
Streaking, patchiness, an unexpected shade or a result affected by the client's preparation is a dissatisfaction claim rather than an injury.
Overspray on premises
On mobile work the overspray lands in somebody's home, and some wordings restrict damage to the premises you are working in.
Extraction and inhalation
Repeated inhalation by the technician is an occupational exposure, and extraction is what an insurer asks about.
Qualifications for the treatments offered
Cover generally depends on holding recognised training for what you actually do, including any additional treatments.
Mobile and home working
Treating in clients' homes or working from your own changes the premises position and needs declaring.
The Reaction Claim And The Condition That Decides It
Client claims in tanning are reactions, and whether they are covered usually turns on one condition in the policy.
Solutions contain DHA, fragrances, moisturisers and in some products additional actives, and clients react: redness, itching, a rash, and occasionally a reaction that spreads or affects the eyes. Some have reacted to a product before, some have sensitive skin, some have a condition they did not mention, and some are using a medication that affects their skin. Many treatment risk policies make cover conditional on patch testing where the manufacturer recommends it, and on that test being recorded with the date and result.
So the client record is part of the treatment rather than admin. Known allergies and previous reactions recorded, a patch test where recommended with the date and outcome written down, the products used noted, aftercare advice given and recorded, and a note where a client declines a test and asks you to proceed. On mobile and event work the temptation to skip it is strongest because you are in somebody's kitchen with four people waiting, and the consequence of skipping it is identical.
It Transfers Onto Everything
The frequent claims in this trade are not injuries. They are other people's clothes and other people's houses.
Solution is designed to develop on skin over several hours, which means it is on the skin and transferring for that whole period. Clients get it on underwear, light clothing, shoes, a handbag, a car seat, bedding and a sofa. In a salon, overspray settles on the floor and on anything stored in the room. On mobile work it reaches a client's carpet, skirting, bathroom and anything within range of the tent, in a home where nobody expected a fine mist of brown liquid.
So the practical controls are protection and instruction, and they are cheap. A tent used properly on mobile work rather than freehand spraying in a bedroom, floor protection extending well beyond the tent, disposable items offered to the client, clear aftercare instructions about dark loose clothing and bedding, and a frank conversation before the first spray in somebody's home about where the mist goes. Then check whether damage to the premises you are working in is covered, because some wordings restrict exactly that and mobile work is where it bites.
You Are Breathing It All Day
The occupational exposure in this trade is quiet, cumulative and frequently ignored because the product is cosmetic.
A technician spraying several clients a day stands in the mist for the duration of every treatment. The product is designed for skin rather than for lungs, and repeated inhalation over years in a small, poorly ventilated room is a real occupational exposure rather than a theoretical one. Rooms used for tanning are frequently the smallest in a salon, sometimes without a window, and the extraction is sometimes an open door. Mobile work is worse again, because a client's bedroom has no extraction at all.
So extraction is the question an insurer asks and the thing worth spending money on. A tanning tent with a working extraction unit rather than a tent alone, a room with mechanical ventilation rather than a door, a respiratory mask for the technician as a matter of routine rather than when a client comments, and limits on consecutive treatments in an unventilated space. On mobile work, a portable extraction tent and opening a window are the minimum. A business that can describe its extraction presents very differently from one that says the room is fine.
Hen Parties Are A Different Job
A large share of mobile tanning is group bookings, and a party is not simply several appointments in a row.
A hen party, a group before a night out or a wedding morning means six or eight people in somebody's house, a tent in a bedroom or a kitchen, a queue, a timetable that has already slipped, and frequently drink. Nobody is in a mood for paperwork, the client who booked is not the person being sprayed, and the people being treated have not individually been asked about allergies, previous reactions, medication or skin conditions. Then somebody reacts, or somebody's dress is marked the next day, and there is no record of who was told what.
So the group booking needs a process rather than goodwill. The booker given the pre-treatment information to pass on, with a clear statement that each person needs to answer for themselves; a short record per person rather than one for the party; a stated position on treating anybody who has been drinking, because consent and aftercare instructions both depend on somebody taking them in; and enough time in the booking to do it rather than a slot per head that assumes none of it. A wedding morning in particular is the worst possible time to discover a reaction.
How To Choose A Broker For Spray Tanning
Treatment risk and overspray decide this one. We are an FCA regulated broker and will not tell you we are the best choice. These are the questions that decide it.
Is treatment risk covered, not just public liability?
A reaction arising from a treatment is different from somebody slipping in the salon, and a basic policy may answer only the second.
What exactly is the patch testing condition?
Cover is frequently conditional on testing where the manufacturer recommends it, with a dated record.
Is damage to clients' property covered?
Solution transferring onto clothing, bedding and car seats is the frequent small claim.
Is damage to premises you work in covered?
On mobile work the overspray lands in somebody's home, and some wordings restrict that specifically.
Is mobile and event work declared?
Treating in clients' homes or at events changes the premises position and may need declaring separately.
Are group and event bookings covered?
A party of eight in somebody's house is a different job from eight appointments, and the records are the first thing to slip.
Factually, here is what we do against those questions. We confirm treatment risk is covered rather than public liability alone, we get the patch testing condition in writing because that is where reaction claims are declined, we check damage to clients' property and to the premises you work in is covered because mobile work is where that bites, and we make sure group and event bookings are inside the cover. We are a broker, so it goes to several insurers rather than one.
We also insure nail studios, beauty salons and mobile hair and beauty businesses, so treatment risk, overspray and mobile work are familiar ground here.
What Moves The Price
Every policy is priced on the business behind it. These are the things that move the premium:
- Whether work is salon based, mobile, at events or all three
- The number of technicians, and employed against self employed
- Qualifications held for the treatments offered
- Extraction and ventilation arrangements
- Whether other beauty treatments are also offered
- The limit of indemnity your landlord or venues require
- Equipment and stock values, including mobile kit
- Any reactions, complaints or claims
We are a broker, so we take it to several insurers rather than quoting one. Call 02382 000820 for a quote.
What We Need To Quote
- Where treatments take place: salon, mobile, events or home
- Number of technicians, employed and self employed
- Qualifications held for every treatment offered
- Extraction and ventilation in treatment rooms
- Whether other beauty treatments are provided
- Your patch testing and client record procedure
- Equipment and stock values, including mobile kit
- Any reactions, complaints or claims in five years
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this policy.
- Nail studiosTreatment risk and patch testing, with its own chemistry.
- Beauty salonsThe wider treatment business, if you offer more.
- Mobile hair and beautyTreatments in clients' homes, and damage to premises.
- HairdressersThe other treatment that leaves the room covered in product.
- Tattoo and piercing studiosTreatment risk where skin is the product.
- Talk to a brokerAsk what your patch testing condition says.
Common questions
What insurance does a spray tanning business need?+
Treatment risk cover rather than public liability alone, because a reaction arising from a treatment is a different thing from somebody slipping in the salon and a basic policy may answer only the second. Then cover for damage to clients' property such as clothing and bedding, damage to premises you work in on mobile jobs, public liability at £2 million upward with landlords often specifying £5 million, employers' liability at a £5 million statutory minimum if you employ anybody, and equipment and stock cover.
Do I have to patch test spray tan clients?+
Check your policy, because cover is frequently conditional on patch testing where the manufacturer recommends it, and on that test being recorded with the date and result. Solutions contain DHA, fragrances, moisturisers and sometimes additional actives, and clients react with redness, itching, a rash or occasionally something that spreads. Some have reacted before, some have a condition they did not mention and some are on a medication affecting their skin. The temptation to skip testing is strongest on mobile and event work and the consequence is identical.
Who pays if solution ruins a client's clothes?+
You will, and it is the frequent claim in this trade rather than a reaction. Solution develops on skin over several hours, which means it is transferring for that whole period onto underwear, light clothing, shoes, a handbag, a car seat, bedding and a sofa. So give clear aftercare instructions about dark loose clothing and bedding, offer disposable items, and make sure damage to clients' property is inside your cover rather than assuming public liability reaches it.
What about overspray in a client's home?+
Check whether damage to the premises you are working in is covered, because some wordings restrict exactly that and mobile work is where it bites. Overspray reaches a client's carpet, skirting, bathroom and anything within range of the tent, in a home where nobody expected a fine mist of brown liquid. So use a tent properly rather than spraying freehand in a bedroom, protect the floor well beyond the tent, and have a frank conversation before the first spray about where the mist goes.
Is inhaling the solution a real risk?+
Yes, and it is frequently ignored because the product is cosmetic. A technician spraying several clients a day stands in the mist for every treatment, and the product is designed for skin rather than lungs, so repeated inhalation over years in a small poorly ventilated room is a real occupational exposure. Tanning rooms are frequently the smallest in a salon, sometimes without a window, with an open door as the extraction. So use a tent with a working extraction unit, mechanical ventilation in the room, and a respiratory mask as routine.
How should we handle a hen party booking?+
As a different job rather than several appointments in a row, because the records are the first thing to slip. Six or eight people in a house, a tent in a bedroom, a queue, a timetable that has already gone, and frequently drink, with the person who booked not being the person sprayed and nobody individually asked about allergies, previous reactions, medication or skin conditions. So give the booker the pre-treatment information to pass on with a clear statement that each person answers for themselves, keep a short record per person rather than one for the party, take a position on treating anybody who has been drinking, and allow enough time to do it.
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