Tools and equipment insurance for barbers
Tools and Equipment Insurance for Barbers
Clippers, trimmers, scissors and a dryer are expensive to replace, and you cannot work without them. If they are all stolen, you pay for new tools and lose the income from the days you cannot work.
Shop contents cover protects the things that stay in the shop. Tools and equipment cover protects your kit when you take it to clients, events or a chair you rent.
Cover is subject to the policy terms and the insurer's acceptance.
Reviewed by
Founder and Director, Grace Insurance. Diploma in Broking, Fellow CIP. In insurance broking since 1992.
What tools cover pays for
What Tools and Equipment Cover Pays For
Tools and equipment cover pays to repair or replace your clippers, scissors and styling tools if they are stolen or damaged. It covers them in the shop, in the car and at a client's home.
Clippers stolen from your car
Your tool bag is stolen from the boot of your car while you are away from it for a few minutes. Tools cover pays to replace it, as long as you meet the policy's rules for theft from a car, such as the car being locked.
A dropped trimmer or a cracked dryer
Accidental damage, such as a trimmer knocked off the bench, can be covered as well as theft. Check your policy includes accidental damage and not only theft.
A break-in at the shop where you rent a chair
If you rent a chair, your tools belong to you, so the shop's contents cover, which insures the owner's things, usually will not pay for them. Your own tools cover does.
Tools stolen at a wedding or event
Event and mobile work means your tools spend time in cars, venues and clients' homes. Tools cover usually protects them anywhere in Australia, not only at the shop.
Read the fine print
What Conditions Should You Check on a Tools Policy?
Theft from a car has conditions
Many policies only pay for theft from a car if it was locked, the tools were out of sight and someone forced their way in. Some do not pay for tools left in the car overnight.
List your most expensive tools
Specified items are listed on the policy one by one with a value. Unspecified items share one total amount, with a limit on any single item, so list your most expensive tools by name.
Wear and tear is not covered
Tools cover pays for theft and damage, so it does not pay when clippers wear out or blades go blunt with use.
Check how a claim is valued
Some policies pay what a new tool costs, called new for old, and others pay what your old one was worth after wear. Ask us which one a policy uses.
Tools cover cost
What Affects the Price of Tools Cover?
Your premium, the price of the policy, depends on the total value you insure, where your tools go, how you store them, your excess and your claims history. The exact figure is confirmed on your quote.
The total value you insure
The sum insured is the most the policy will pay. Set it at what it would cost to replace your kit new.
Where your tools go
Tools that stay in one shop carry less risk than kit that travels every day.
How you store them
Insurers look at how you store your kit. A locked cabinet, an alarmed shop and taking the bag inside at night all lower the risk of theft.
Your excess and claims history
The excess is the amount you pay towards each claim. A higher excess usually lowers the premium, and recent claims can raise it.
You can pay the premium in one go, or spread it with premium funding, where a finance company pays the insurer for you and you repay it weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly or every six months.
Who it is for
Who Needs Tools and Equipment Insurance?
Any barber who owns their own kit needs it. It matters most to mobile barbers, who carry their tools in the car, and to chair renters, whose tools are not covered by the shop's policy.
Barbershop owners can cover the shop's tools under contents cover while they stay in the shop. Add tools cover for anything that leaves the shop.
Related covers
Other Insurance to Consider With Tools Cover
Shop Contents and Fit-out
Covers your chairs, mirrors, stock and fit-out, the benches and plumbing you put in, whether you own or lease.
Read about shop contents and fit-out →
Public Liability
Covers claims from clients and the public for injury or damage to their property, with limits of $5 million, $10 million or $20 million.
Read about public liability →
Personal Accident and Illness
Helps replace your income if an injury or illness stops you working, which matters most when you are self-employed.
Read about personal accident and illness →Tools and Equipment FAQ
Tools and Equipment Questions
Often not. Many home and car policies leave out tools you use to earn money, so read the policy wording before you rely on it.
Tools cover usually protects your tools anywhere in Australia, not only at one address. The area is written on your policy, so check it if you travel for work.
It is the insurer's name for cover on the portable things you use to earn money, such as clippers, scissors, trimmers and dryers. It pays to repair or replace them after theft or damage.
You can list expensive tools by name as specified items, or cover them under one total amount, which usually has a limit on any single item. Keep receipts or photos of your kit either way.
Usually not by the shop's policy. The shop's contents policy covers the owner's things, so as a chair renter you need your own tools cover.
Tools cover quote
Get a Tools and Equipment Quote
Tell us what kit you carry and where it goes, and a broker will contact you with your options.
1800 556 777Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm Perth time
