Personal Trainer Insurance:

Are You Fully Insured?

Certified personal trainers and fitness professionals have to deal with a lot of risks that could bring substantial losses to their business. Whether it is potential lawsuits from clients or any damage to the clients’ well being, trainers need to safeguard their business from all kinds of exposures. Depending on the nature of work, there are different coverage that trainers need to consider.

If you run a self-owned facility with fitness equipment, purchasing a business owners policy would broadly cover most of your exposures.

But if you’re a fitness trainer working independently, you need to equip your business with more specific coverage. To do just that, we advise you to consider insuring your business with personal trainer insurance.

Personal trainer insurance- How does it work?

Personal trainer insurance coverage is a collective coverage that is specialized to protect independent trainers and their businesses. Fitness professionals working as personal trainers have a lot of exposures related to third-party claims – mostly bodily injuries and property damage.

According to the analysis conducted by the National Safety Council, 498,498 injuries out of a recorded 7,804,940 in 2018 were due to exercise and exercise equipment. Trainers need to keep in mind that exercise is one of the most significant causes for bodily injury and this policy covers for the consequences that come with it.

Likewise, the trend for personal training business has sky-rocketed in recent years. According to the annual survey by ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal, personal training ranks on the fifth of Top 20 Fitness Trends of 2020. The profession of personal training is more accessible online, in home, and in fitness studios.

Types of professionals:

Personal trainers can work in different fields. Following are the most common fitness professionals:

Athletic Trainers
Gym Assistant
Yoga Instructor
Physical Therapist
Group Fitness Instructor

If you are working independently for a gym that you do not own; you may get some coverage from the gym’s policy. However, personal trainers who conduct training away from a fitness facility carry more risks that could harm their clients.

Depending upon the type of fitness business you run, you need to be more selective on the coverage you purchase to cover related risks. For instance, if you’re a yoga instructor, purchasing yoga insurance will provide you more specialized coverage.

To obtain specialized coverage, you need to evaluate your risks first- what are the incidents that cause them and how likely they occur. Hence, securing your business with the right coverage is something you should focus on before you buy insurance.

Types of personal trainer insurance you need

According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of fitness instructors is expected to grow 13 percent from 2018 to 2028. With such significant growth, every fitness professional, require insurance if they want to protect themselves from potential losses. This goes for yoga instructors who take sessions in clients’ homes as well as personal instructors working in commercial gyms.

Purchasing a fitness instructor insurance may or may not be compulsory, depending on the state laws. It is always better to be safe than sorry, so you might want to consider being insured.

Out of the different policies that insure personal trainers, the most important coverage is personal trainer insurance. Since, fitness businesses demand frequent interactions with clients, trainers need to safeguard themselves from third-party liabilities. In support of that, personal trainers require general liability and professional liability insurance. Similarly, if you run a gym or a studio, you should not miss out on purchasing commercial property insurance.

We’ve briefly outlined the types of personal trainer insurance for you:

Commercial General Liability Insurance:

Personal liability insurance, also referred to as general liability insurance covers three significant exposures trainers usually face. These include third-party bodily injuries, damage to property, and reputational harm.

Following are some of the most common liability coverage:

Bodily injuries: When your client sprains an ankle during an exercise.
Damage to property: A dumbbell gets tossed up in the air and lands on your treadmill.
Reputational harm: Your client sues you for spreading false rumors that affected their business.

You can take notes from these examples where having general liability insurance can save you from substantial costs. Trainers can get product liability insurance through this policy to cover against injury claims caused by the product. Even if the trainer is not the manufacturer of the product, whether it be protein supplements or gym equipment, they can get lawsuits for making clients use faulty product.

Having a liability insurance for fitness professionals pays their medical bills or legal fees in case the injured files a lawsuit.

Professional liability insurance:

If you’re a professional working in any field of business, having professional liability insurance is a necessity. Personal trainers are prone to exposures like errors and omissions in their services. Such errors can directly harm their clients, leading to possible lawsuits.

In case your client sues you for failing to deliver the results you promised or any injury caused by your misguided instructions, this coverage has your back.

Professional liability insurance for personal trainers will cover all the legal expenses in case their clients pursues litigations for illegitimate claims.

Commercial Property Insurance:

Commercial property insurance provides coverage that secures your business’s tangible assets. If you run a gym or a studio, your gym insurance covers all the equipment, fixtures as well the furniture within its premises. In case of accidents, this policy pays to replace or repair them within the insurable amount minus the deductible. The coverage is applied depending upon the type of peril that caused the property damage. These perils usually include:

Fire
Theft and vandalism
Hail or windstorm

Business Owners Policy (BOP):

Personal trainers who provide services in their studio should consider purchasing a business owners policy. A BOP offers broader coverage with general liability, commercial property, and business income combined in a single affordable package.

Business Interruption Insurance:

A business interruption insurance policy covers your business from loss of revenue in case of an interruption in your operations.

For instance, your studio is damaged by an accidental fire, and you can no longer provide services to clients until the losses are indemnified. Business income insurance pays for the loss of income for a set period until your business is up and running.

Workers compensation insurance:

If you run a gym studio and employ trainers to work for you, purchasing a workers compensation insurance is a must. Workers’ comp protects your employees from:

Emergency medical costs in case of bodily injury while working
Running medical expenses in the process of recovery
Loss of wages while your employee is recovering

Most of the state laws mandate the purchase of a worker’s compensation policy. Before purchasing this coverage, make sure to check the state requirements as each state has its unique set of laws.

Commercial auto insurance:

Commercial auto insurance protects your business-owned vehicles for your training business. For most states, business owners must purchase this policy to cover their liabilities. Personal trainers need this policy if they use vehicles to commute to their client’s place or transport equipment from one place to another.

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Standard exclusions in personal trainer insurance

You need to understand that an insurance policy has certain exceptions in most industries. If you overlook these exceptions, they can severely impact your business. Especially in liability claims, most coverage are only limited to cases of negligence and not intentional damage. Likewise, here are some standard exclusions that personal trainers face:

Location: If you train your clients in their home, the setting may not be familiar to you, which also includes the type of equipment they use. Be sure to obtain specific coverage with the location’s environment accordingly.
Coverage for nutrition and supplements: If you consult your clients with what dietary supplements, it would help to choose a policy that provides you with this coverage.
Working in personal spaces of clients can often lead to physical contact with clients. Even if there is no intention of misconduct, your clients can still file a lawsuit against you. Also, even if the allegations are false, the legal expenses can be costly. Keep in mind that your policy provides coverage against such cases.