Here's something that catches most med spa owners off guard: your medical director's personal malpractice insurance doesn't protect your business. If a client has a reaction to Botox or files a lawsuit over laser treatment results, your spa's business entity needs its own coverage. Without the right insurance checklist in place, you could be personally liable for everything from legal fees to settlements—and those costs add up fast in the aesthetic medicine world.
The good news? Protecting your medical spa isn't complicated once you understand what coverage you actually need. This checklist breaks down the essential policies, the optional add-ons worth considering, and when to review everything to make sure you're not leaving gaps. Whether you're opening your first location or managing multiple sites, having the right insurance foundation means you can focus on your clients instead of worrying about worst-case scenarios.
Essential Coverage: The Non-Negotiables
Let's start with what you absolutely must have. These three insurance types form the foundation of any medical spa insurance program, and skipping any of them puts your entire business at risk.
Professional Liability Insurance (Medical Malpractice) is your primary defense against claims related to the aesthetic procedures you perform. This covers everything from Botox injections gone wrong to laser treatments that cause unexpected blemishes or burns. The industry standard for coverage limits is $1 million per claim with a $3 million annual aggregate, though some practices opt for higher limits of up to $6 million aggregate depending on their service volume and risk tolerance.
General Liability Insurance handles the non-medical incidents that can happen in any business. Think slip-and-fall accidents in your waiting area, damage to a client's designer handbag, or even claims of wrongful eviction or advertising injury. This policy also covers bodily injury and property damage that occurs in your facility. While it might seem less critical than malpractice coverage, general liability claims can be just as expensive—and they're more common than you'd think.
Workers' Compensation is required by law in most states if you have employees. This coverage pays for medical bills, rehabilitation costs, and lost wages if someone on your team gets injured on the job—whether that's a nurse injector who develops carpal tunnel or a receptionist who strains their back moving equipment. Even if your state doesn't mandate it for small businesses, having workers' comp protects you from potentially devastating lawsuits from injured employees.
Optional Coverages Worth Considering
Beyond the essentials, several optional coverages can fill important gaps depending on how your medical spa operates. Not every business needs all of these, but most med spas benefit from adding at least a few to their insurance package.
Cyber Liability Insurance has shifted from optional to nearly essential in recent years. Your med spa collects incredibly sensitive information—medical histories, payment details, treatment photos, and personal health data protected under HIPAA. A single data breach can result in regulatory fines, notification costs, credit monitoring for affected clients, and serious damage to your reputation. With ransomware attacks targeting healthcare businesses more than ever, this coverage protects you when digital threats become reality.
Commercial Property Insurance covers your physical assets—laser devices, microneedling equipment, furniture, computers, and potentially the building itself if you own the property. A single laser machine can cost $50,000 or more, and replacing all your equipment after a fire or theft would be financially devastating without coverage. Many med spas bundle this with general liability in a Business Owner's Policy (BOP), which often provides better value than buying policies separately.
Products Liability Insurance becomes important if you sell skincare products, supplements, or cosmetics to clients. If someone has an allergic reaction to a serum you sold them or a product causes unexpected skin damage, this coverage handles the legal defense costs and any settlements. Even if you're selling reputable brands, you can still face claims—and manufacturers don't always step in to protect retailers.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) protects your business against claims from current or former employees alleging wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, or other workplace issues. In the aesthetic industry where team dynamics and client-facing roles create unique pressures, having this coverage can save you from expensive lawsuits even when allegations are unfounded. Defense costs alone can run into six figures without insurance.
Supervising Physician Coverage extends your med spa's professional liability policy to include your medical director or supervising physician. This is especially valuable if your medical director provides hands-on supervision or performs treatments at your location. Adding this to your policy costs extra but ensures continuity of coverage and can be more affordable than the physician carrying separate coverage just for their med spa work.
When to Add or Update Coverage
Insurance isn't set-it-and-forget-it. Your coverage needs to evolve as your business grows and changes. Here are the key moments when you should reassess your insurance package and potentially add new policies or increase limits.
Adding new services is one of the most important times to contact your insurance provider. If you're introducing body contouring, IV therapy, PDO thread lifts, or any other procedure you haven't offered before, your current policy might not cover those treatments. Some insurers exclude certain high-risk procedures entirely, while others charge additional premiums based on your service menu. Always get written confirmation that new procedures are covered before you start offering them to clients.
Hiring additional practitioners changes your risk profile significantly. More injectors mean more procedures, which means more exposure to potential claims. Your professional liability premium typically scales with the number of providers on your team. Additionally, bringing on your first employee triggers the need for workers' compensation in most states, so make sure you're compliant before anyone starts work.
Opening additional locations requires updating your policies to cover all your business addresses. Each location needs adequate property coverage for its equipment and inventory, and your liability policies need to extend to all sites where you operate. Some multi-location med spas also add commercial auto coverage if staff members drive between facilities.
Significant revenue growth might mean your current coverage limits are too low. If your business has doubled or tripled in size since you first bought insurance, your potential exposure has grown too. Inadequate limits leave you personally liable for anything above your policy maximum—a risk that grows as your business becomes more valuable.
Annual Review Checklist
Even if nothing major has changed, you should review your entire insurance program every year at renewal time. This annual checkup helps you catch coverage gaps before they become problems and ensures you're not overpaying for protection you no longer need.
Start by verifying that all your current services are explicitly listed and covered under your professional liability policy. Insurance companies regularly update their coverage forms and exclusions, so a procedure that was covered last year might have new restrictions this year. Review your policy documents carefully—not just the declarations page that shows your premium, but the actual policy language that explains what's covered and what's not.
Next, confirm that your coverage limits still make sense for your business size and location. The standard $1 million per claim might have been adequate when you started, but established med spas in litigious states often carry $2 million or $3 million per claim limits. Ask your insurance agent about claims trends in your area and what limits similar med spas typically carry.
Check your property coverage against your current equipment inventory. If you've added expensive laser devices or upgraded your technology, make sure those assets are covered for their full replacement value. Many business owners forget to update their property coverage and find out too late that they're underinsured when equipment is damaged or stolen.
Review your employee count and payroll for workers' compensation accuracy. Premium calculations are based on these numbers, and if your actual payroll is higher than what you reported, you could owe additional premium at audit time. It's better to get this right upfront than face a surprise bill later.
Finally, reassess whether you need any additional coverages you previously declined. Maybe you've started selling more retail products and now need products liability. Or perhaps your client data has grown to the point where cyber liability makes sense. Your insurance needs will change over time, and what seemed unnecessary at startup might be essential three years later.
Getting Started With the Right Coverage
The medical aesthetics industry is booming—growing from about 8,900 locations in 2022 to over 10,400 in 2023, with 18% of med spas being brand new businesses. With that growth comes increased scrutiny, higher client expectations, and more potential for things to go wrong. Having comprehensive insurance protection isn't just about checking boxes for compliance; it's about building a sustainable business that can weather unexpected challenges.
Most med spas can expect to invest between $2,500 and $7,500 annually for a complete insurance package that includes professional liability, general liability, property coverage, and workers' compensation. That might seem like a significant expense, but it's a fraction of what a single uninsured claim could cost you. Work with an insurance agent or broker who specializes in medical spas and understands the unique risks you face—they'll help you build a coverage package that protects your business without paying for coverage you don't need.
