Face painting insurance

Q: Can I buy business insurance if I’ve had any CCJs or IVAs?

Each insurer looks at CCJs and IVAs differently – some apply stricter rules than others, but having a CCJ or IVA doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to buy insurance.

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10% of customers pay the equivalent of £4.95 a month*

Insurance for face painting – why is it important?

Side hustle or a full-time job, face painting does carry specific business risks. It’s a face-to-face activity, bringing you up close to clients, and you’re using all sorts of products and materials to bring your creation to life. Accidents do happen, so specific insurance can be an essential tool, covering injuries, property damage, stock, and equipment.

public liability insurance for face painting, up to £10 million
optional personal accident cover, in case an incident stops you working
rated 4.8/5 based on 39.9K public liability customer reviews

What does face painting insurance cover?

Typically, we’ll start with face painting liability insurance, built to cover businesses like yours against third party accidents, from property damage to an injury or illness. From there, you can add specific cover for your employees – if you have any, employers’ liability is usually a legal requirement – stock, tools, and equipment, depending on your business needs.

Face painting public liability insurance

In case your business causes an injury, illness, or property damage.
Employers’ liability insurance

In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your business.
Business and office equipment insurance

In case something happens to equipment like your laptop or compressor.
Tools

In case your face painting tools are lost, stolen, or damaged.
Stock insurance

In case the products you rely on are lost, stolen, or damaged.
Legal expenses insurance

In case you’re faced with legal costs while running your business.
Personal accident insurance

In case you or anyone you’ve covered has an accident, at work or elsewhere.

Face painting public liability insurance

In case your business causes an injury, illness, or property damage.

What’s typically covered by face painting liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:
- damage to someone’s property, caused by your face painting business
- an injury or illness caused by your business activities or products
- accidental damage or injuries caused by your employees
For example:
- a child has an allergic reaction to a paint you’ve used, and their parents make a claim against you
- you spill product over a customer’s handbag, causing permanent damage
**If you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.**

Read more about public liability insurance
Employers’ liability insurance

In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your business.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:
- an injury or illness that happens as a result of working for you (including temps and casual workers)
**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**

For example:
- an employee slips on your wet stock room floor, injuring her lower back
- a temp you’ve hired for the busy summer season cuts her hand on the tool kit you’ve provided
Business and office equipment insurance

In case something happens to equipment like your laptop or compressor.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?
- accidental damage to your fixtures and fittings, or the equipment you use to run your face painting business
- theft, flood, and fire damage
For example:
- there’s a break-in at your home studio, and your new mini compressor machine is stolen, as well as your laptop
- a burst pipe causes a flood which damages your tablet beyond repair
Read more about business and office equipment insurance
Tools

In case your face painting tools are lost, stolen, or damaged.

What’s typically covered by tools insurance?
- loss, damage, or theft of your face painting tools and equipment
- handheld, portable tools, including electronics
- cover for your tools in transit in any vehicle owned or leased by you, anywhere in the UK
For example:
- your kit is stolen from your booth, while you’re working at a school fair
- a temp you’ve hired leaves her kit bag on the bus while travelling from an event, and it’s never handed in
Read more about tools insurance
Stock insurance

In case the products you rely on are lost, stolen, or damaged.

What’s typically covered by stock insurance?
- loss, damage, or theft of the essentials you keep in stock, like face paints, special effects materials, and accessories
For example:
- a delivery of new palettes and special effects product falls from your car boot, and isn’t recovered
- a shelving unit in your premises collapses, destroying a large amount of stock
Read more about stock insurance
Legal expenses insurance

In case you’re faced with legal costs while running your business.

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
- legal costs that you’re responsible for, within your business
- property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
- tax and compliance disputes and investigations you need help with
- access to expert advice – including a tax advice phone line, confidential 24/7 legal phone line, and crisis PR support to help you protect your reputation as a popular face painting business
For example:
- you haven’t registered your company properly with HMRC, and incur legal costs as a result
- a Christmas temp sues you for unfair dismissal and you need to pay for legal representation
Read more about legal expenses insurance
Personal accident insurance

In case you or anyone you’ve covered has an accident, at work or elsewhere.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?
- accidental injury or death of anyone you’ve chosen to cover in your policy – whether this happens at work or elsewhere
- lost income, hospital bills, or other medical costs associated with the accident
For example:
- you slip on some water that’s spilled from your table at an event, injuring your lower back
- your employee (who you’ve covered on the policy) breaks their knee while hiking at the weekend
Read more about personal accident insurance

This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of business insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions

How much does face painter insurance cost?

Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.

Prices start from £4.95 per month

Get tailored quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.

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The price is for up to £2 million of public liability insurance – 10% of customers paid £59.34 or less annually between 1st Feb – 30th April 2025. Equivalent to £4.95 a month (and excludes the extra costs for paying monthly). 82% of customers have a £1 million limit and 18% £2 million. If you complete a quote, more types of cover will be available. These all have additional costs.

Example face painting insurance quotes, real prices

£9.58 /month

£75.82 /year

A highly skilled self-employed face painter who works at festivals and parties

1-2 years’ experience
Sole trader
No employees
Based in Sheffield

Public liability

£1,000,000

Employers’ liability

Not included

Stock

Not included

£33.00 /month

£293.31 /year

A family run face painting ltd company who specialise in children’s parties

5+ years’ experience
Limited company
2 employees
Based in Leicester

Public liability

£2,000,000

Employers’ liability

£10,000,000

Stock

£2,500

How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 16/08/2021). They’re based on a range of factors, like employees and location. Your own quote will be based on what you tell us about your business. Prices may go up or down from day to day, so the prices you’re quoted may differ to the ones you see here.

What kind of excess should I expect?

An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.

Insurance cover	Lowest excess	Highest excess
Public liability	£100	£2500
Employers’ liability	No excess	No excess
Tools	£60	£500
Stock	£100	£500
Business and office equipment	£50	£750

The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.

How it works

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How do I choose insurance?

Making sure you have the right type and level of business insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Read our tips for guidance on what to consider when buying a policy.

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?
Can I just cover my most expensive tools?
Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?
Does face painting insurance cover my work correctly?
Do I need cover for other types of work?

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.

If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.
Can I just cover my most expensive tools?

Make sure you cover the total cost of replacing all your tools or you’ll only get a proportion of your claim paid out if something happens to them. Learn about tools cover.
Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?

Depending on what you use to do your work, you may need other covers.

You may need more cover – for example, business equipment insurance if you have a work laptop.
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.
Does face painting insurance cover my work correctly?

Make sure you’re picking the right cover to protect you properly. It’s important to know that if you have another trade or job, you’ll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider performers insurance or DJ insurance ?
Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered
Other types of insurance

Talk to an expert

Our team of UK-based insurance experts are here to help, Mon 09.00am – 05.30pm, Tues 09.00am – 05.30pm, Weds 09.00am – 05.30pm, Thurs 09.30am – 05.30pm, Fri 09.00am – 05.30pm, Sat 09.00am – 02.00pm

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Find answers to common insurance questions

How do claims work?

Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive.

£51 million in claims paid out in 2023

83% of claims were settled in 2023

The figure above is rounded across our range of products. “Settled” covers paid, declined or withdrawn. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis. Our specialist partner Sedgwick will pay the claims on behalf of the insurer. Reviewed on 26/02/2025.

Example claim

Having face painters’ insurance through Simply Business has saved professionals thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.

Ella saved more than £1,000

Ella (not her real name) arrived to open her premises for the day and found the door had been kicked in, and a laptop stolen. The business and office equipment cover added to Ella’s face painting insurance policy helped cover the replacement cost.

Insurance payout

£1,000

Covering the cost of theft

Insurance payout

Covering the cost of theft

Chosen by nearly one million small business and landlord customers

We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then, with nearly a million customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.

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Rated 4.5/5

Based on 39.9K Feefo reviews

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Insurance for face painters FAQ

Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about face painting insurance. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.

Do you need insurance to face paint?

Your public liability cover is likely to be central to your face painting insurance policy. This insurance covers you for compensation claims made by a member of the public for injury or damage caused by your business. For example, if you get face paint in a child’s eye and cause damage to their sight, or if you spill a pot of paint over someone’s carpet, you could face an expensive compensation claim. Public liability insurance can pay the legal expenses and the compensation amount, which can take into account costs like medical bills and lost income.

Can you be sued for face painting?

It’s possible to be sued in almost any job or profession, but the nature of a claim against you will depend on your activities, business type, and clients or customers.

Public liability insurance is a popular cover for face painters, as it can protect you from a claim if someone is injured or their property gets damaged because of your work. Lots of people also choose to add tools, business equipment, and stock cover for the essential items they rely on.

And you’ll usually need employers’ liability insurance if you employ anyone – for example a temp you hire during the busy summer season or an assistant. It’s almost always a legal requirement, so don’t leave it out, even if you only employ temporary or casual workers.

Can I buy business insurance if I’ve had any CCJs or IVAs?

What’s the difference between paying by Direct Debit and paying in one lump sum?

You can choose the payment type that suits your business and cash flow best. Some customers prefer to pay in one go, while others prefer to pay a regular monthly amount, like you do with lots of other bills. Simply Business offer three ways to pay for your policy:

one-off credit or debit card payment
BACS payment
Direct Debit

If you choose to pay by Direct Debit, our credit provider, Premium Credit, pays Simply Business the full amount for your policy up front. You then repay Premium Credit in 10 monthly instalments.

Does public liability insurance cover my business for the actions of my employees?

This will depend on whether you have employers’ liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against the consequences of legal action brought by members of the public for injuries or damage to their belongings. But when it comes to your employees causing injury or damage, this protection only activates if you also have employers’ liability insurance.

If you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance.

There’s one exception here. Family businesses that aren’t incorporated as a limited company are not legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. The government defines a “family business” as one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild or half-sibling). So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it’s important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn’t cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.

We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions

Face painting insurance

Insurance for face painting – why is it important?

What does face painting insurance cover?

Face painting public liability insurance

What’s typically covered by face painting liability insurance?

Employers’ liability insurance

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Business and office equipment insurance

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

Tools

What’s typically covered by tools insurance?

Stock insurance

What’s typically covered by stock insurance?

Legal expenses insurance

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

Personal accident insurance

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

How much does face painter insurance cost?

Prices start from £4.95 per month

Example face painting insurance quotes, real prices

What kind of excess should I expect?

How it works

Pick what goes into your policy

Get prices from a range of insurers

Buy online in minutes

How do I choose insurance?

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Can I just cover my most expensive tools?

Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?

Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Does face painting insurance cover my work correctly?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

Talk to an expert

Online

Phone

FAQs

How do claims work?

£51 million in claims paid out in 2023

Example claim

Ella saved more than £1,000

Compare and buy in minutes

Rated 4.5/5

Here to help

24/7 claims

Insurance for face painters FAQ