Regardless of how many precautions you put in place during your personal training sessions or how experienced you are, mistakes and accidents can happen at any time. And when this happens, some clients may end up filing a lawsuit and suing you, as much as it may not have been your mistake.
Unfortunately, the court may end up ruling in your client’s favor, and you may be forced to part with thousands of dollars in compensation. And this can be disastrous for your fitness business. The good news is, personal trainer insurance can help to cover you whenever you find yourself in such unfortunate situations.
But, if you’ve never purchased insurance before as a personal trainer, you may be probably confused as to how to go about the process. Well, this guide is specifically aimed at you. In this article, we will walk you through what personal trainer insurance is, the different types available, as well as how to find the right coverage for your needs.
1. About Personal Trainer Insurance
Personal trainer insurance is an umbrella term, which can refer to various types of insurance coverages. These insurance coverages are designed to protect personal trainers from lawsuits, financial losses or anything else that may go wrong in the course of offering your services. Personal trainer insurance will protect you against things like:
- Client injury during your training sessions
- Defective workout equipment that may injure a client
- Accusations that your training methods are ineffective
- Damage or theft to your workout equipment
- Getting into an auto accident when heading to a personal training session
2. Types of Insurance Coverage that Personal Trainers Need
As you can see, personal trainer insurance is something essential for every personal trainer. It will protect you against work-related risks and losses, thus giving you peace of mind. So, what insurance do you need as a personal trainer? Here are the main types of insurance for personal trainers.
2.1 Public Liability Insurance
Whether you work as a freelance personal trainer or you are employed to work in a gym, public liability insurance is considered a requirement for all personal trainers. This personal trainer insurance will cover take care of the legal costs to defend you, in case a client suffers an injury under your supervision. Liability insurance for personal trainers also extends coverage to allegations of third-party property damage.
For example, if a client slips at your gym, trips when training with you, or gets an injury using equipment in your gym, this insurance coverage will protect you against medical, legal or other settlement costs that may arise.
On the same note, if you are showing a client how to do proper squats using a barbell and you accidentally drop it on their phone, your liability insurance personal trainer policy will cover the costs to replace that phone.
2.2 Professional Liability Personal Trainer Insurance
Also known as errors and omissions insurance, this personal trainer insurance policy is designed to cover you against loss, in case a client files a claim of professional negligence. It will cover the legal costs involved in such a lawsuit. Also, it may cover the compensation payments, in case the ruling goes against you.
For instance, you may be training a marathon runner, as they prepare for an upcoming race. Unfortunately, the runner may fail to perform as they may have expected. As a result, they may fail a lawsuit, claiming that your poor training methods cost them a win, leading to the loss of a lucrative sponsorship deal.
You may also be working with a certain client, whom you had guaranteed that they would cut a certain amount of weight within a specific timeframe. And for whatever reason, that client may fail to achieve that goal. Consequently, they may sue you for professional negligence.
Defending such lawsuits can be quite costly. And this is where a professional liability personal trainer insurance cover will come in. Hence, it’s also an important insurance cover for every personal trainer to have, regardless of whether you are employed in a fitness center or you are a self-employed personal trainer.
2.3 Employer’s Liability Insurance
If you are a self-employed fitness coach or you work mostly as a freelance personal trainer, then you may not need this insurance, since you will be mainly working alone.
On the other hand, if you usually offer your personal training services in your gym and you have some employees, then you will be required by law to have this personal trainer insurance policy in place.
An employer’s liability insurance policy will protect you against claims in case one of your employees becomes ill or gets injured in the course of their work. For example, one of your personal trainers may trip over a cable at your gym, ending up with injuries. In case they file a lawsuit, this policy will safeguard you against legal and compensation expenses.
2.4 Personal Accident Cover
If you work as a freelance personal trainer, you may sometimes have to offer your services to your clients at their homes or business premises. And this means you will have to travel frequently.
In case you happen to get an accident during one of your travels and you are no longer able to offer your services, this insurance cover will provide compensation for temporary loss of income, permanent disablement, as well as medical expenses arising from that accident.
2.5 Business Equipment Insurance
If you happen to offer mobile personal training sessions or you frequently offer training boot camps, you may need to rent some space, where you will be keeping your workout equipment.
And during storage, your workout equipment may be damaged by fire or even stolen. Business equipment insurance will compensate against this loss and help you to replace your workout equipment.
Without this type of insurance coverage, you may be forced to replace the lost, stolen or damaged equipment, which may be worth thousands of dollars.
If you currently don’t have the money to replace the equipment at the moment, your personal training business will be disrupted considerably. Therefore, it will also be highly advisable to protect your fitness business with this insurance coverage.
2.6 Cybersecurity Insurance
If your business is online and you offer online personal training classes, there’s a high chance that you’ve set up an online booking system, through which your clients pay for your services. And, most of your clients pay for your services using credit cards.
If a hacker gains access to your online booking system and releases the credit card numbers and other personal details of all your clients, you may end up facing a costly lawsuit. And this is where cybersecurity insurance comes in. So, if you teach virtual fitness classes, it will be highly advisable to purchase this insurance coverage.
3. Considerations When Purchasing Personal Trainer Insurance
Several companies offer personal training insurance policies. As you may expect, each policy varies from one provider to the next. Hence, it’s important to take your time, do proper research, read the fine print and then choose a provider that aligns best with your needs. With that said, here are some of the factors to consider when purchasing personal trainer insurance.
3.1 Liability Coverage
This is, without a doubt, one of the most important factors when it comes to purchasing personal trainer insurance. Before you sign the paperwork, go through it carefully to check the amount you will be covered for different losses. For personal trainers, liability coverage ranges between $1 million to $10 million, depending on the policy that you choose.
3.2 Exclusions
You should also check for exclusions when purchasing personal trainer insurance. As the name suggests, exclusions refer to those things or situations you won’t be covered for.
For instance, you can purchase a personal trainer insurance policy that only covers you when offering your services in your gym but doesn’t extend to outdoor workouts. In case a client is injured during your outdoor workout session and they file a lawsuit, you may find yourself in serious trouble.
So, before purchasing a personal trainer insurance policy, make sure you enquire about possible exclusions. If possible, you should purchase a policy that covers all the personal training services that you offer, to ensure you are adequately protected.
3.3 Cost of Premiums
It’s also worth considering the cost of insurance premiums when purchasing your personal trainer insurance. Again, the cost of premiums will vary from one provider to the other. So, check what the different providers are charging for their premiums and the level of coverage you are getting. And from there, you can choose a cover that offers the best value for money.
4. The Best Personal Trainer Insurance Covers
Certified personal trainers have plenty of options to choose from when it comes to personal trainer insurance. You simply need to shop around and compare the offers. Having said that, some of the best personal trainer insurance covers on the market today include:
- IDEA Fitness Insurance
- Next Personal Trainer Insurance
- K&K Fitness Instructor Insurance
- ACE Liability Insurance
- Personal Trainer Insurance: A Simple Guide
5. Wrapping It Up
At the end of the day, every business has risks, including yours. And, personal trainer insurance is designed to help you mitigate these risks. While it may look like an unnecessary expense, you just never know when you might need it. So, if you don’t have one already, do your research, shop around, compare options and then choose a cover that offers the appropriate level of protection.