NACAMS Esthetician Insurance Review

Pros Explained

• A+ (Superior) financial strength rating: Arch Specialty Insurance Company, which underwrites policies for NACAMS, is highly rated by AM Best for its superior ability to honor its insurance obligations, such as paying claims. 
• Few complaints with the NAIC: Arch Specialty Insurance Company also drew very few complaints from consumers over the last three years. In fact, it had the lowest incidence of consumer complaints of all the best esthetician insurance companies we reviewed.
• Occurrence-form coverage: You’ll be covered as long as the incident occurred while your policy was in effect and you file a claim for professional or product liability within two years of your policy’s expiration. Some of NACAMS’s competitors offer a different type of coverage which only protects you while the policy is in force.
• Includes a free professional website: You’ll get a customizable website you can use to advertise your services. 

Cons Explained

• Business personal property coverage lacking: The NACAMS policy provides coverage up to $1,000 for stolen equipment, which is a relatively low coverage amount (some competitors offer coverage up to $25,000). It also doesn’t cover damage to equipment.
• No commercial auto coverage: If you travel between clients, you’ll need commercial auto insurance, but NACAMS doesn’t offer this coverage as an add-on. 
• Coverage for named individuals only: Coverage is just for you and won’t extend to your spouse or employees. 

Complaint Index

Arch Specialty Insurance Company, the underwriter for NACAMS esthetician liability policies, has received very few complaints over the last three years with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Each year, the NAIC calculates a complaint index for every insurer based on the number of complaints it receives from consumers. 

An index of 1.00 indicates an expected number of complaints relative to the insurer’s size, while an index less than 1.00 means the insurer received fewer complaints than expected. Over the last three years, Arch Specialty Insurance Company has had an average overall complaint index of just 0.17, which bodes well for the company’s customer satisfaction. 

Third-Party Ratings

The underwriter for NACAMS also receives high marks for financial stability from AM Best, an independent ratings agency that evaluates the creditworthiness of insurance companies. A good grade from AM Best indicates a high likelihood that a company will be able to pay claims to policyholders. 

We typically don’t recommend insurers that score below the A bracket. Arch Specialty Insurance Company has an A+ (Superior) financial strength rating with AM Best, the second-highest available score. 

Competition

Policies Available

NACAMS Professional Policy

This policy includes up to $2 million per occurrence and up to $3 million annual aggregate for professional and general liability coverage; product liability coverage is included up to $2 million annually. You’re also covered for up to $100,000 in rental damage, $25,000 in identity protection, and $1,000 in stolen equipment with a $250 deductible. The policy further includes bonuses like a free professional website and beauty magazine subscription. Since coverage is for individuals and does not extend to employees, this policy is designed for solo practitioners.  

Available Riders

Riders are add-ons that let you customize your coverage. NACAMS offers add-ons for additional businesses for $10 per business, or $30 for unlimited additional businesses. You can also add other types of additional insureds, such as your landlord or employer, for $10. However, the company doesn’t offer other options for customizing or expanding your coverage. If you can’t get what you need from the NACAMS basic policy, you’ll need to look elsewhere. 

Customer Service

You can contact NACAMS via this online form or by calling 1-800-964-0158. However, NACAMS doesn’t list operating hours for its customer service team online. There is a member portal where you can view your policy, and you can request to add additional insureds online, but there’s no mobile app or live chat support like some providers offer. 

Price

The NACAMS Professional Policy costs $179 per year or $279.95 for two years. Students can get the same policy for $55 for their first year of work. Adding additional businesses costs $10 or $30 to add unlimited additional insureds. 

Is NACAMS Insurance Right for Me?

NACAMS is our top pick for the best esthetician insurance companies of 2022 because of the low price for occurrence form coverage and high ratings for financial strength, but it’s best for individual practitioners who don’t have employees and don’t travel in between clients. Estheticians who work with expensive equipment may also find that the stolen equipment coverage offered by NACAMS isn’t sufficient. While many estheticians may need more robust coverage, NACAMS offers a reliable basic policy that’s good for workers who are just starting out or who work alone in a rental space. 

Our Methodology: How We Review Esthetician Insurance Carriers

To determine the best insurance companies for estheticians, we collected 20 data points on the top esthetician insurance companies by premium. These data points include:

• Financial strength
• Cost
• Policy types and features
• Exclusions
• Consumer complaints
• Online tools
• Billing options
• Coverage limits

We gave preference to companies with top ratings from AM Best, a low rate of customer complaints, and those that offer coverage based on the date of the occurrence as opposed to when the claim was made. Companies with high aggregate coverage limits, monthly billing, low premiums, online purchase options, and those that offer property coverage got ratings boosts. To rank the companies we researched, we applied the following weights to each customer-focused category:

• Types of coverage and features: 40% 
• Financial stability: 20% 
• Consumer complaints: 25%
• Online purchase: 10%
• Billing options: 5%

We delved further into product and company specifics to determine which companies were best for which types of consumers. Using this research, we determined which companies offer the best esthetician insurance.

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