While you hope that you never need it, tattoo shop insurance is essential for every tattoo business. Operating without it is - at worst - illegal, and - at best - really risky.
Just like commercial auto insurance is separate from your home insurance, different types of business insurance will protect you from different things. For example, a client getting injured in your shop is different from a fire or flood, and they require different types of insurance.
In this article, we’ll be breaking down all the tattoo shop insurance policies you need to know, including the insurance policies that cover:
- Client injury or client property damage
- Workers’ compensation for artists working in your studio
- Physical damage to your shop
By the way, this is not legal advice. We are not lawyers, and we’re not your lawyers. Get help from proper legal counsel while setting up your business and insurance.
Table of Contents
Preparing to Get Your Tattoo Insurance Policy
Choose Your Tattoo Shop Insurance Policies
What Insurance Does Not Cover
Tattoo Shop Insurance Cost
Body Piercing Insurance
Prepare to Open Your Own Studio
Preparing to Get Your Tattoo Insurance Policy
Before you get your insurance policy, make sure you have everything in line so that your business is an official entity. Here’s a quick look at what you need:
Register Your Business
You will probably want to register as a Sole Proprietorship or an LLC. A sole proprietorship means you and your business are legally the same.) If someone sues your shop, your personal assets (car, home, etc.) could be at risk. As a sole proprietorship, you are self-employed.
An LLC offers limited liability protection. That means your personal assets (car, home, etc.) are generally protected if someone sues your shop. Only the business’ assets are at risk. Depending on how you file taxes, you can technically an “employee” of your LLC.
You also need to get an EIN (number needed for filing taxes), register for taxes, and get a business license.
Choose Your Tattoo Shop Insurance Policies
There are several different types of insurance tattoo shops need to keep in mind.
Ideally, you’d pick an insurance company you trust and get all the insurance policies you need from them. The insurance agent can then help bundle everything and get you a lower price.
1
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance protects your business if someone gets hurt or their property is damaged in your shop. (Ex: someone trips over equipment in your shop and gets hurt.) It helps pay for the legal costs in case your shop gets sued and protects the business from financial losses.
Most major insurance companies offer general liability coverage like Geico, State Farm, and The Hartford. These larger companies can be really helpful because they often package together general liability, workers’ comp, and property insurance into “small business bundles.”
Insurance Specifically for Tattoo and Body Piercing Shops
Some smaller insurance provider companies offer lability packages specifically for tattoo and body piercing shops. Tattoo insurance providers understand the situations that tattoo shops are more likely to end up in and sometimes include things specific to you as an artist (like working at tattoo conventions). Companies like Three Insurance, Allen Financial Insurance, or PPIB have tattoo liability insurance.
Which option you pick will depend on what your goals are as a tattoo artist and shop owner.
2
Workers’ Compensation for Tattoo Artists
If you own a tattoo shop, the tattoo artists in your shop probably aren’t employees, they are subcontractors working in your space (and pay a “split” as their rent).
Depending on where you live, you may sill have to provide workers' compensation to your independent contractors. (Workers’ comp helps cover medical expenses if one of your artists gets injured in your shop.) If the state law requires that both employees and contractors have workers' comp, you'll need to have that coverage.
3
Commercial Property Insurance
Whether you rent or own your space, commercial property insurance covers your building and equipment (including things like tattoo machines, needles, inks, furniture, decor, etc.).
It covers unexpected events like fire, theft, or vandalism.
For example, if a water pipe bursts overnight and floods your shop, commercial property insurance would apply. Without insurance, you’d have to pay for repairs, replace damaged equipment, and cover the income lost while you’re closed. With commercial property insurance, those costs are covered, and you can reopen faster without a massive financial hit.
Insurance is Often Required for Loans and Rentals
If you're financing your shop through a loan or renting a commercial space, insurance is often required by lenders or landlords.
Business Interruption Insurance
Some commercial property insurance policies include business interruption coverage, which covers lost income and ongoing expenses (like rent) while you get back on your feet after an even that causes you to close temporarily. For example, if a fire damages a shop and you have to close for repairs.
4
Professional Liability Insurance
This helps cover legal costs and settlements if a client sues you for an error in the services you provided whether you actually made a mistake or not (ex: if the client claims their tattoo was done incorrectly, caused an infection, allergic reaction, etc.).
While general liability insurance covers things like slip-and-fall accidents in your shop, it doesn’t cover professional mistakes or claims related to your actual tattoo work. That’s where professional liability insurance steps in—it protects you from claims tied directly to the services you provide.
5
Commercial Umbrella Insurance
Commercial umbrella insurance helps cover costs that exceed the limits of your other insurance policies. For example, your general liability insurance might cap out at a $1 million coverage limit. If a client sues your shop for $1.5 million due to a severe allergic reaction they claim was caused by your ink how do you pay the remaining $500,000?
That’s where umbrella insurance steps in—it covers the remaining amount, so you’re not paying out of pocket.
6
Sexual Abuse Insurance
Sexual abuse and molestation insurance is a specialized form of liability coverage that protects businesses and professionals from claims related to allegations of sexual misconduct, abuse, or harassment.
It’s an uncomfortable topic, but this type of insurance can be something to keep in mind in an industry like tattooing where close physical contact with clients is a routine part of the service.
Avoiding Problems Before They Happen
Making sure all artists in your studio have gone through sexual harassment training and have a strong understanding of how to tattoo more intimate areas professionally is important. Let your artists know that they have every right to turn down a tattoo if the placement or situation makes them uncomfortable.
7
Apprenticeship Program Insurance
This is a more niche type of insurance, but it is essentially an extended version of your other types of insurance. This is because apprentices are still learning, which can increase the chance of error in a tattoo. Some states or landlords might require additional insurance if you offer an apprenticeship program.
What Insurance Does Not Cover
No type of insurance will cover any kind of illegal activity.
Tattoo Shop Insurance Cost
How much your professional liability coverage, commercial property coverage, tattoo artist liability protection coverage and the like costs together is going to be dictated by the company you pick and the amount of coverage you choose.
Tattoo Insurance Costs by Type
Here’s a general cost range for each type of coverage. Please keep in mind that the cost will vary based on your state, the number of artists, etc.
- General Liability: $400 - $1,000 per year
- Workers Compensation Insurance: $1,000-$2,500 per employee, per year
- Commercial property: $750 - $2,500 per year
- Business Interruption: $500 - $1,500 per year
- Professional Liabiliy: $600 - $1,500 per year
- Commercial Umbrella:$500 - $1,500 per year
- Apprenticeship Program Insurance: $500 - $1,500 per apprentice, per year
We’ll save you the math: that’s anywhere from $4,550 - $14,000 per year depending on location, your business’ size, whether you include other services like body piercing or cosmetic tattooing, and your claims history (if you have had insurance claims in the past).
How to Save on Tattoo Shop Insurance
There are a few ways you can save a bit on your insurance:
Bundle Policies
A lot of insurance providers offer packages like “Business Owner’s Policy” that combines a few types of liability insurance for a lower rate.
Increase Deductibles
If you choose a higher deductible, it can lower the yearly amount. (The flip side to this is that if you end up having a claim, you’ll have to pay more.)
Make Sure Your Shop is Safe
If you use proper sterilization techniques, training, and safety protocols, you’ll have fewer claims (or ideally no claims), and that can lower your yearly costs.
Our Take: Always Get Insurance
Insurance is a big expense, but it’s safe to say that insurance for your tattoo studio will cost much less than any legal defense costs you might have as a tattoo shop owner. It’s not worth “risking it” to save money.
Body Piercing Insurance
Generally, body piercing and tattoo services overlap in a lot of ways, and a lot of studios in the tattoo industry offer piercing. However, when you apply for insurance coverage, it’s worth talking to the insurance agency about any additional coverage you might need as a body piercing business.
For example, you’d want coverage that applies to risks specific to piercing procedures, such as:
- Infections from piercings (which might be more common than tattoo-related infections)
- Jewelry-related injuries (like allergic reactions to metal)
- Migration or rejection of piercings, leading to potential claims
- Damage from improper piercing techniques, such as nerve damage or scarring
Your local health department might require separate licensing and insurance for piercing services, even if they’re offered in the same shop.
Prepare to Open Your Own Studio
Opening your own tattoo studio is an exciting step in your journey as a professional tattoo artist. Whether you’re just opening a small space for yourself or you plan to have artists work under you in a shop, it’s important to make sure you’re set up properly.
Inside our 2 Week Studio Course, you’ll learn how to get licensed, pass the health department’s inspections, and make your first $1K within hours of opening your doors…in as little as 2 weeks.
We’ll break down legal fees, walk you through the legal jargon, and make sure you’re ready to open your doors safely.
>> Visit the 2 Week Studio Course.
