Personal trainers and other exercise and fitness professionals enjoy helping people learn new activities and achieve their health and fitness goals. Depending on several factors, including whether or not you are certified by an accredited organization and if your fitness club provides coverage for you, you will need personal trainers’ liability insurance that covers several things to protect you from claims in case someone you are training gets injured. Here are some basics on insurance for personal trainers to help you make an informed decision.
General Liability Insurance for Personal Trainers
provides protection from bodily injury or property damage claims that your clients might make. If you directly supervise an individual or a group, you need to protect yourself. For example, if someone you are training, instructing, or supervising slips and falls in your gym and gets injured, general liability insurance will cover you. Here are some important general liability insurance terms that will help you better understand what you are purchasing:
- Damages to Premises Rented to You applies to damages caused by fire (or something else) to the building that you might be renting to conduct temporary (1-day, or 1-week) offsite personal training and instruction.
- Personal and Advertising Injury coverage combines personal injury coverage and advertising injury coverage. Personal injury coverage provides protection in case someone claims they suffered harm other than bodily injury; advertising injury insurance covers claims of “injury” due to such things as libel or slander.
- General Aggregate refers to the maximum amount that your insurance company will pay for all damages, including bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, and advertising injury, during the term of your insurance policy. Consider this when choosing your Aggregate, because when your insurance company has exhausted (paid out) the maximum amount covered for the term of the policy (usually one year), you will be responsible for any additional losses and expenses.
- Per Occurrence is the maximum the insurer will pay out for each unique insurable incident. This maximum amount includes the sum of all of the types of damages for that occurrence. Again, you would be responsible for anything that exceeds the per occurrence limit.
- Products-completed Operations Aggregate generally doesn’t apply to fitness instructors and personal trainers. It covers bodily injury and property damage that results from products or work transferred from the insured to the claimant that happens off-premises. But, for personal trainers, any instances that would arise from normal practice or sale of equipment would be covered under the general liability rather than products-completed operations.
How much is liability insurance for personal trainers?
The cost of your coverage will be affected by several factors. Whether or not you are certified by an accredited organization will have an impact on your costs and choice of coverages. If you have received certification from one of the accredited organizations, or you have 200 or more hours of training, the cost of your insurance may be less than that for non-certified personal trainers. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the American Council on Exercise (ACE), and the National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF) are three well-known nationally-accredited organizations that conduct certification exams.
Cost of liability insurance for personal trainers can be confusing, as it depends not only on certification and training, but on your zip code. This is why we, at Dance Studio Insurance, offer two programs from which to get personal trainer liability insurance quotes. We suggest you fill out both applications to see which yields the cheapest rate for you. (Filling out applications takes five minutes, so it’s worth it.) Annual premiums range from $115 to $266.
If you instruct individuals or conduct classes outside the U.S. (e.g. on a cruise ship), you should consider adding worldwide coverage endorsement to your policy. If you intend to conduct personal training from inside your home, you will need a fitness studio insurance policy.
Additional factors that can affect your coverage needs
- Have you had any claims in the last three years?
- Do you own or operate your own studio or facility?
- Are signed waivers required for all participants, including adults?
- Are you 18 years or older?
Having insurance for the life of your career is important, because you can be exposed to a lawsuit even years after injury has occurred. Many gyms and facilities will require you to provide your own insurance, but some may cover you under their own policy. Be sure to find out if they cover you while training at their facility.
Disability Insurance for Personal Trainers
As a personal trainer, you will no doubt be providing instruction and supervision where there is a risk for injury to you or where your clients can claim to be injured. You may also consider disability insurance for some level of income protection in case you get injured. To find out more about this type of insurance, talk to your financial advisor.
Understanding these personal trainer insurance basics will help you select the best insurance coverage. Look for additional tips on keeping your personal trainer career on track here at DanceStudioInsurance.com/blog.