Massage & Bodywork

MARCH | APRIL 2018

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110 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k m a r c h / a p r i l 2 0 1 8 PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS PROPERTY Areigna Preston practiced massage for 15 years without a serious incident—until last year. In August 2017, a drunk driver crashed into the front corner of her rented office building in Bluefield, West Virginia, and destroyed her work space. The call came just before midnight and she raced to see the damage: crumbled building exterior and shattered office furniture and filing cabinets. She winced, knowing that hours earlier she would have been there, and she could have been seriously injured—or worse. "Literally, if he had veered a foot in either direction, I can't imagine the devastation," Preston says. She was also relieved she had added Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals' Business Personal Property (BPP) insurance coverage to her annual membership. "I thank my lucky stars I had it," she says. That night, Preston immediately kicked into gear. "I took pictures of everything; that was really key. The very next day I went to the local police and got a copy of the police report and submitted that with my insurance claim. That really helped speed things along." ABMP SUPPORT Taking calls from members in need, such as Preston, keeps ABMP Risk Management Manager Debbie Higdon on her toes. "We're a liaison between the member and the insurance company. We're the first point of contact when our member has a claim," Higdon explains. "We help walk them through the process so they can get all the paperwork submitted. We answer any questions they have about the process and what's going to happen along the way." Although damage from hurricanes and forest fires grabbed national news headlines in 2017, most claims for ABMP members involve miscellaneous theft and building fires, Higdon says. She cites a litany of incidences that include fires and associated smoke damage, and pipes breaking and flooding an office space, both of which can shut down a practice for an indefinite amount of time. One of the all-too-common occurrences is fire when sheets and towels combust in the dryer because they're saturated in massage lubricants. "The toughest call is talking to a member who thinks they have the coverage and they don't," Higdon says. "They just assume it's part of their liability policy and it's not." The additional coverage is either $95 a year for $10,000 in property coverage, or $250 a year for $25,000 in coverage. "We equate this BPP coverage to renter's insurance where they need a policy that covers their contents." Talking shop with Higdon brings a real awakening about the kinds of catastrophes that can—and do—happen. But after 24 By Leslie A. Young, PhD ABMP & YOU

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