Do your clients need vampire facial coverage this Halloween?

You may have seen Instagram influencers posting shots of their faces covered in their own blood – a macabre-looking skincare treatment known as a ‘vampire facial.’

Easily mistaken for scary Halloween make-up, a vampire or blood facial, or platelet-rich plasma therapy, is actually a procedure that involves drawing a person’s own blood. It extracts the blood plasma and spreads it over the client’s face to rejuvenate the complexion and promote cell growth.

Gruesome as it sounds, beauticians who are busy treating their clients with this luxurious treatment for Halloween will need to make sure they have the right insurance in place should something go wrong.

“There are a lot of these smaller salons and spas that are investing very heavily in this new technology, and of course, they need their insurers to react to it,” Gary Hirst, president and CEO of managing general agency CHES Special Risk, told Canadian Underwriter in an interview. “We are able to look at these new machines, new techniques, and provide insurance. Because without insurance, these entrepreneurs wouldn’t be able to be in business.”

The consequences of any mishap during this delicate procedure could be devastating for beauty-care professionals – anything from unexpected financial losses, tarnished reputations and even salon closures.

Insurance for vampire facial providers needs to cover errors and omissions/medical malpractice, but also commercial general liability, Hirst said.

“There is a fine line there between CGL and E&O or medical malpractice, and that is something that our package overcomes,” he said. “You are working on a third party’s body. But if there is a claim, is it injury to a third party, or is it medical malpractice because for some reason the technique used was wrong for the individual or the dosage was wrong or the application was wrong?” Hirst asked.

As an emerging procedural offering, vampire facials use new machinery and chemicals, such as lasers for rejuvenation of skin tissue or chemicals for tattoo removal, Hirst said.

“We do have our finger on the pulse in terms of the new techniques that are out there. They’re using these machines to penetrate various levels of the skin, or the body or the muscle mass,” Hirst explained. “And of course, different people have different reactions to these techniques. If the reaction is adverse… we would expect to be looking at paying claims in that area.”

While the machines are manufactured by reputable companies, it’s still a nascent technique, said Hirst. “Without insurance, the entrepreneurs that own these spas and clinics could be in big trouble.”

In addition to E&O/medical malpractice and CGL, CHES’s policy also covers physical damage to the machine (if there is water damage or a fire, for example) as well as theft and equipment breakdown.

To date, CHES hasn’t seen any claims from this type of treatment. But with all the vampires prowling around neighbourhoods this week, it’s better safe than sorry.

Feature image by iStock.com/sdominick