As a massage therapist or bodyworker, the last thing you want to worry about or even consider is whether a future client will ever file a legal claim against you for damage or injury. This probably seems so unlikely that the chances of something like this happening may have never even crossed your mind. However, it is important for massage therapists and bodyworkers to realize that a client could sue for damage or injury, even though the possibility remains rare.

Recognizing this uncomfortable reality is necessary in order to understand why you need to purchase massage therapy liability insurance for you and your practice. Only when you have acknowledged the facts will you understand why massage therapy liability insurance is a worthy investment in your own peace of mind.

You can think of massage therapy liability insurance much like automobile insurance—there is a good chance you will drive all year without having an accident, but if you do have one you will want and need the coverage. In your professional massage therapy or bodywork practice, there is a good chance you will go all year or many years in a row without ever having a client file a claim for damage or injury. However, if such a situation does unfold, you will want and need the coverage of massage therapy liability insurance.

You may be more familiar with the concept of liability insurance as it pertains to medical doctors, as these health care professionals make sure to maintain such a policy in case a patient feels he or she was treated improperly and decides to file a malpractice claim. Although massage therapists and bodyworkers are not performing any kind of invasive techniques, such as the treatments or surgeries a doctor would perform, practitioners of healing touch are still working quite closely with their clients.

With a high quality massage insurance policy, you will get the professional or malpractice liability coverage you would need in case a client ever did claim damage or injury due to a lack of skill or competence on your part as the professional massage therapist or bodyworker.

As an example, let's say a new client comes to you but fails to mention on his intake form that he has a previous neck injury. If that client leaves a session with you and then begins to feel that his neck injury has been exacerbated, he could form the conclusion that it was something you did during the session that made the neck pain worse. If this client does decide to sue you because of the increased pain, you would need the malpractice or professional liability portion of your massage therapy liability insurance policy to see you through the legal process and prove the claim to be untrue.

One of the more likely reasons you need massage therapists insurance, however, would be for the general liability coverage such a policy would provide. The general liability portion of your massage therapy liability insurance offers coverage in case a client has an accident on your property, such as a slip, trip or fall.