Do massage therapists need insurance?

Starting a massage therapy career comes with lots of big milestones and decisions. You’ll need to choose a class or training program to hone in your craft. Plus, you’ll decide what kind of setting you want to work in, like a spa, franchise, or hotel. Will you start your own business, or work for someone else’s? Will you need to pass an exam or acquire certifications?

Among all these decisions, getting insurance may feel like just another step. You might wonder: Do massage therapists need insurance? My clients love me; they would never complain. Why does a massage therapist need insurance? Do massage therapists with insurance actually have that much peace of mind?

As an insurance provider, it’s probably no surprise that we advocate for massage therapy insurance. We want you to understand the importance of protecting your business, too.

In this article, we’ll share five reasons why insurance coverage is important for every massage therapist, from beginners to accomplished pros.

Why do massage therapists need insurance? 5 reasons why it matters.

1. Insurance may be a prerequisite.

If you choose to work for someone else’s massage practice, they may require you to have your own liability insurance.

If you’re the employer, your need for insurance is even greater. You’re taking on not just your own liability, but also that of your employees. If your employee forgets to put up a sign while mopping, and your client slips on the water and falls, they would likely draw your business into litigation—not the employee.

Additionally, licensure is required in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In order to become licensed, several states require proof of professional liability insurance.

Do massage therapists need insurance to get a license in your state? Browse the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals’ map here for state-specific licensing rules. 

Keep in mind, too, that states which don’t specifically require liability insurance may still recommend it. For example, Utah’s Massage Therapy Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice states: “It is advisable, but not mandatory, to maintain adequate and customary liability insurance.”

2. Slip-ups hurt (and they can happen to anyone).

Do massage therapists have insurance just to meet state requirements? 

No. They also get insurance to prepare for the unexpected.

When you first became a massage therapist, some of your loved ones probably assumed you would just help people feel pampered at a day spa. And, yes, some clients do visit your spa to feel pampered (valid). 

But as a wellness professional, you know there’s so much more at stake than just “me time” for your clients. According to the Mayo Clinic Health System, clients also come to you for physical and mental relief from conditions like:

• Insomnia
• Nerve pain
• Sports injuries
• Digestive disorders
• Headaches
• Joint inflammation
• Low energy
• Depression
• Anxiety

With the right expertise, massage therapy can significantly improve your clients’ overall wellbeing and quality of life. So why do massage therapists need insurance if they’re always healing people?

It’s because working with the human body means small missteps can hurt—a lot. 

Common side effects can include headaches, bruises, soreness, dizziness, and aggravation of existing injuries. Other times, the damages are a little more…damaging. In our article on massage therapy injuries, we described a client who allegedly suffered a herniated disc and other serious injuries after a masseuse worked on her head and neck. One patient in Australia even accused her masseuse of causing a stroke.

Why massage therapists need liability insurance has everything to do with preparing for these accidents before they happen. If a client accuses you of causing harm during your service, insurance can give you indemnity and defense so you aren’t left out to dry.

3. Some clients are just difficult.

Serious injuries are less common. But difficult massage therapy clients are common and, unfortunately, hard to avoid. 

On top of less severe aches and wounds, accusations of poor massages, damage to clients’ property, and bad products sold in your spa can happen to even the best massage therapists.

What insurance does a massage therapist need? Ideally, one annual fee will cover all these potential claims and more, like with WellnessPro’s program. Learn how these types of insurance stand apart.

4. Cases are expensive.

Do massage therapists need insurance? If you still aren’t convinced, consider the costs of resolving a claim, alone.

Without general liability and errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, you’re left to worry if you can afford defense costs, patients’ medical treatments, or compensation fees on your own.

After all, unlike margaritas, your pockets are not bottomless. If a patient accused you of causing a stroke (like in the example above) and demanded compensation, medical treatments, alone, can cost around $30,000-120,000 in the United States. Very few solo practitioners and small business owners can afford these costs out of pocket. If they can, it may still take months or years to recoup from the expenses. That doesn’t include the actual legal costs, which often come with lots of hidden fees. 

And what if another patient threatens you with litigation while you’re facing the first one? That could easily cut into your savings for expanding your small business—or keeping it running.

Even settlements can be enough to run down a massage business. For example, settlements in California cost on average $75,000, depending on the case.

Massage therapists with insurance get more peace of mind. At WellnessPro, if your business is drawn into covered litigation, we’ll take care of your defense fees regardless of the claim’s outcome. That’s a pretty sweet deal for your business’s long-term financial planning. 

5. You probably don’t have the time to resolve cases yourself.

In addition to how expensive lawsuits are, there’s another challenge that comes with being uninsured: time.

Why do massage therapists need insurance to protect their time? Court cases can take months, sometimes years to resolve. Without an insurance provider to tackle the logistics for you, you’re spending weeks upon weeks that could otherwise go to your career. You could be acquiring additional certifications, reading new literature about business management, or planning your social media. 

Alternatively, the time you spend handling your own litigation would likely draw from your personal time with family.

Massage therapists with insurance don’t have that extra burden to bear. Teaming up with WellnessPro means leaving the legal stuff to the people who work on it for a living. In other words, you can focus your time on what you do for a living. You get the best results for the least time investment. Win-win, right?

Let’s leave “tense” insurance coverage in the past tense.

When your patients walk through the door, you want them to know they’re in the best possible hands.

At WellnessPro, we feel the same way about our wellness professionals. Whether you offer facials, massages, acupuncture, or a combination of wellness services, we believe the insurance process should be as smooth and comforting as your gentlest massage. 

No longer asking “do massage therapists need insurance?” or “why does a massage therapist need insurance?” Learn about our massage and bodywork program and apply for same-day coverage here.