Consider the following scenario if you are deciding whether to purchase massage therapy liability insurance or what kind of policy to purchase. A man gets into a car accident, but the damage seems fairly minor, and he walks away with little more than a headache. Four months later, however, his neck is aching and he can barely turn his head to look around.

Not making the connection between the car accident and the neck pain, he makes an appointment with a massage therapist, in the hope that a few deep bodywork sessions will relieve what must be the result of sleeping the wrong way or too much computer work. Although the touch therapy provides short term relief from the pain, the man finds that his neck actually gets even tighter in the weeks following these massage therapy appointments.

Again, not making the connection between the car accident—which he never mentioned to the massage therapist—and the neck pain, he does not consider that this is most likely a slowly developing case of whiplash, and one that should be taken up with the other driver’s insurance company. Instead, in a bout of pain and anger, he blames the massage therapist, as the pain grew much worse after these recent bodywork sessions.

It may sound a bit far fetched, but these are the types of scenarios that make it necessary to secure a massage therapy liability insurance policy. As practitioners of professional touch, massage therapists and bodyworkers work with members of the public on a daily basis, in a close and personal setting. The very nature of this work calls for a strong liability insurance program.

You likely feel as if you know your most loyal clients, and they would never make such a false claim of damage or injury. However, you can’t control for what might happen in your clients’ lives that could cause change, and you most certainly can’t control for the behavior of new clients who book appointments with you.

Of course, the possibility of a “loose cannon” client claiming malpractice due to an incident that occurs on the massage table is probably less likely than the possibility of a car wreck on the highway—but it’s still a possibility. These are the reasons insurance exists.

Fortunately, the annual fee for a high quality massage therapy insurance policy is very likely to much less than the cost of car insurance. In fact, the one-time fee might actually be nearly the same as the cost for one month of car insurance. Look for a solid massage therapy liability insurance program for no more than $200.

One of these policies will protect you from unexpected scenarios, such as the one outlined above, as well as other unpleasant occurrences that may be out of your own control. A thorough massage therapy liability insurance policy will offer protection for malpractice claims, accidents that may take place on your property, client claims of damage or injury from a product used in your practice, and much more.