L&J Insurance Services, Inc. has access to all Massage Envy approved insurance programs. Our specialties include:
Professional Liability (PL)
Sexual Misconduct and Molestation Liability (SML)
Insurance Coverage for Massage Envy Franchise Owners
The largest insurance expense for any Massage Envy franchise is typically the Sexual Misconduct and Molestation Liability policy (SML). It represents the lion’s share of premium cost and deserves the most attention. How to control and minimize that cost is a major focus for any diligent ME franchise owner.
Other insurance coverages include:
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) which covers all of the “isms” and “wrongfuls” of hiring, employing and firing. Another area rife with claims and lawsuits.
Professional Liability (PL) responds to injury/harm to a client due to the negligence or harm received during a therapy session (think excessive pressure or burns).
Worker’s Compensation (WC) is the same as any other ongoing business. Safe workspaces and protecting employee health and wellness is key here.
Cyber Liability (Cyber) is one of the most overlooked and badly needed insurance policies for today’s business environment. The danger of being hacked by a bored teenager is outdated. Today’s cybercriminals are well funded, well organized and ruthless. They take great pains to access financial statements during electronic intrusions to determine the full ability of the business/victim to pay the ransom for return of control/data. The one bright spot here is that the insurance market for this coverage is extremely competitive at the moment and it is very much a buyer’s market. Take advantage!
General Liability/Property (GL or BOP) represents just about everything else including fire, slips and falls, sewer backups, thefts, glass breakage and much, much more. The most reasonably priced coverage in terms of value proposition, it is also the most readily available. No restrictions of broker selection are present for these coverages.
It is entirely possible that the totals for all of the above may not equal a single SML policy. As the largest line item, SML deserves a closer look.
SML coverages are written on a claims-made basis, which differs greatly from the common understanding of how insurance should work. Should you have a fender bender, everyone can agree on where and when the accident took place. Your insurance company is notified and eventually the process results in repairs. No questions about timing. However, with claims made coverage, the policy is triggered only when a claim occurs. It is possible that a client has an uneasy feeling after a treatment and only decides to raise the issue several months later. Theoretically, the clinic could change insurance companies during that time. Who is the responsible insurer? Claims made coverage outlines the method to determine just that. It is confusing and counterintuitive by nature. We’ll help you navigate tail, nose, prior acts and extended reporting periods. We won’t let the ball drop.
Self-insured retentions are also in play with these policies. The first specified dollar amount is the responsibility of the insured. Expense costs will be their responsibility until the SIR is met. Multiple claims mean multiple iterations of the SIR responsibility. Five individual claims will mean five unique SIR requirements. Depending on the size of the SIR in question, the results of multiple claims can be devastating to a small franchisee with a limited war chest for these costs.
Additional insureds on the policy means you are sharing your milkshake, whether you like it or not. The famous “milkshake” scene from “There Will Be Blood” is illustrative here. Your policy limits are inclusive of any additional insureds on your policy. They will use up (erode) your per claim limit and this will serve to diminish your own protection. It is critical to understand how this works and plan accordingly.
Participation in established programs and notification protocols is critical. Compliance with notifications to Redirect and insurance carriers is more than necessary; it is the first important step in making sure your coverage is triggered and the system is ready to respond. Communication being key, fast response is the best path forward.
The most common question is how to control costs by changing carriers. The current SML program is battle tested and stable. There is no magic bullet solution provided by other insurance companies to halve your premiums. Other carriers and options exist and always will. Their long-term viability, commitment to the marketplace and willingness to match policy terms with the current program are not assured.
We always recommend strength in numbers by participating in the SML program so that should a claim occur, you are not faced with uncertainty and other interests crowding your needs to the bottom of the priority list.
how to change brokers
Changing brokers is simple and can be done almost any time during your policy year. To do so, you’ll just need to send us copies of your current insurance documents and sign an authorization letter. That’s it.