Professional and Commercial General Liability Insurance

For massage therapists running their own business, there are dozens of things to take care of beyond the care of your clients. For example, market & sales, accounting, and making sure that your business is properly insured in the case of an accident.

Liability insurance defends you from a lawsuit stemming from your negligence as a RMT. Both your actions OR your inactions can find you in legal hot water.

One type of policy is Commercial General Liability. This is the slip and fall part of your insurance and covers accidents that happen outside your control, like: people slipping on the front sidewalk, a table breaking, or the client fainting and hurting themselves.

The other type of liability insurance you have is Professional Liability. This stems from a lawsuit due to bodily injury from a treatment. The most common thought that comes to mind is you hurting someone during massage but almost always it’s your non-actions or the actions of others that find you in legal hot water. Whether it is by the failure to perform a certain treatment or not asking the right a questions before the treatment begins. Also you can find yourself treating a client who has been mistreated by another practitioner. What if your client has just received a dangerous chiropractic adjustment then finds themselves on your table? You both may be drawn into a lawsuit if something were to happen. Professional liability defends against these types of situation.

So if you’re running your own massage business or are considering starting your own business, be sure to take a moment to talk to an insurance company about proper coverage!

This is a guest post by Chris Stark, Associate at Lackner McLennan . Lackner McLennan Insurance has been providing a Registered Massage Therapists Insurance Program for the last 20 years, and insures more RMTs in Canada than any other brokerage.