Had to renew my Allied beauty insurance today and was told they no longer cover Fitzpatrick Scale skin type 5 and 6 for electrolysis. They said this was due to lawsuits due to hyperpigmentation, I did not renew as we have several clients that would be excluded. Has any one else noticed insurance company’s not covering some skin types?
Wow, that’s the first I have heard of this! Please let us know if you find an alternative insurer that does not have race-based restrictions.
Have the insurer document this coverage denial on their company letterhead so you have clear evidence that they deny coverage based on skin types. What state are you in? I can guarantee you this company’s CEO would not sleep at night if this brazen racial discrimination in coverage hits social media or mainstream media. A story like this is too good to pass for any journalist. If it involved me, I would file a formal complaint with my state’s attorney general and commission of human rights.
I’d have cancelled my policy too.
The sad part is hyperpigmentationis a temporary manifestation. Let me give you an example. @ years ago I severely burned myself on the arm while wiring a trailer lights, I had a hot soldering iron on the ground next to me I inadvertently set my arm on and got a significant burn ( second degree? Third Degree? Not even sure) . I had a near black mark for more than a year. IT had faded but not gone away in that time. It’s been 2 years now and there is Literally no trace of it. It was the most significant hyperpigmentation I’ve ever experienced. I used it as an example of “what is hyperpigmentation” for my client consultations for more than a year. There is no way I could EVER cause that much damage or generate that much heat with an electrolysis needle no matter how carelessly it was used. I honestly dont think it is even remotely possible to create “permanent” hyper-pigmentation with an electrolysis probe. So these insurers afraid of lawsuits, are honestly the cause of their own losses. This information is well documented medically . Hyperpigmentation is temporary. Always!!!
I never did receive the documents from Allied beauty. They just called and said they were getting my policy finish up and would get it emailed to me. Then he said oh I needed to let you know we not longer cover skin types 5 and 6. At that point I though he was mistaken, and stated no we only do electrolysis and it is safe for all hair colors and skin types. That when he said that they had one incident in NY state that was on skin type 6. That’s when I asked him to put my policy on hold, also asked if I could get an email of the changes but never received the email because I called back about 10 min later to just cancel the policy. I went with CPH & Associates, I called them and they have no restrictions on skin types treated. The policy was also half the cost of allied beauty. Our office is located in TX, a non licensed state.
The incident was a beard removal for a M2F client. He also stated the area got infected by improper after care but being in NY apparently the business is still liable. The only other info I could get out him was the other claim was skin type 5 diabetic that was left with purple marks on face. The agent I spoke with name was Josh.
Sorry to hear about your insurance issues.
This is not my experience in Ontario, Canada.