The United States has seen a remarkable surge in awareness surrounding health and wellness. As individuals increasingly prioritize their physical well-being, the fitness industry has evolved into a thriving and dynamic sector, reflecting a nationwide commitment to leading healthier lifestyles.
Consequently, the demand for qualified fitness instructors has risen dramatically and is projected to grow 14% from 2022 to 2032. Expectedly, many become fitness instructors and focus on helping others lead more active lives. However, certain risks come with this job, so fitness instructors are recommended to have insurance policies.
If you need such a policy as a fitness instructor, you can easily find many insurance companies that will sell you one for a small fortune. These companies also offer various types of coverage, from general to professional and premises liability coverage. However, we want to tell you how you can get the most out of the policy and possibly even personalize it to get coverage for whatever you need.
If you want to learn more about the available fitness instructor insurance policies and how to prepare the perfect one for yourself, you have come to the right place! Stick around as we tell you more about what this insurance covers and why you might need such coverage if you decide to start working as a fitness instructor.
The Importance of Having Fitness Instructor Insurance
Fitness instructor insurance is essential if you start working in this sphere, regardless of whether you are based in a gym or have online classes with just a few trainees. The insurance policy guarantees that you are safe from any financial burden in case of an issue with a client. Furthermore, it ensures you will be compensated for any damage to your equipment or space while covering your health and well-being.
However, one must understand that no two insurance policies are alike. The details depend on the company and the specific policy you choose. Thus, you need to know more about the different types of coverage you need so that you can always stay protected.
While doing our due diligence on the topic, we found that most insurance policies come with four types of coverage: professional liability coverage, general liability coverage, premises liability coverage, and supplemental coverage. Here’s more on what each of these means:
Professional Liability Coverage
Professional liability coverage is a common term in fitness instructor insurance policies. This coverage means that you are protected against any claims made by a client alleging that they suffered an injury during a training session because of incorrect advice or instructions provided by the trainer, or rather – you!
Sometimes, the allegations can be quite serious, as various injuries can be sustained while training, especially when discussing high-intensity training or training with weights. One study shows that up to 64% of all injuries sustained while training were acute, meaning anyone who works out in a gym or uses any type of workout equipment will likely suffer an injury at some point during their training journey.
Despite fitness instructors doing their best to explain the exercises well, poor form or negligence when using any workout equipment can lead to an injury, causing the client to turn on the instructor. In such a case, professional liability coverage would pay all the expenses of the client’s injury and leave you with no financial burden.
General Liability Coverage
Besides professional liability coverage, fitness instructors can benefit from general liability coverage. This means they are entitled to compensation if a client causes them some kind of injury during a training session.
Usually, general liability insurance does not cover only bodily harm but also harm or damage done to your surroundings, which can be the space where you work out or the equipment you own or rent. However, we will explain more regarding premises liability coverage in the following section.
Premises Liability Coverage
So. premises liability coverage can be but is not always a part of the general liability coverage. If it does not fall under that category, it is wise to take out a separate policy, as damage to premises or workout equipment is likely to happen when you have various people using them daily.
However, the best option is to look for fitness instructor insurance that covers both the general and the premises liability into one policy so that you do not have to spend extra to add one to your overall insurance policy. Luckily, many insurance companies make this possible, so you do not have to worry about finding one.
Supplemental Coverage
Finally, we have supplemental coverage, which means that all additional treatments, services, and supplements needed by the fitness instructor will come at no extra charge. While not many policies have this type of coverage, it is wise to get it since massages and similar treatments are usually excluded from the standard health insurance but are necessary for a trainer.
After all, spending countless hours in the gym can lead to injury, general tiredness, and muscle pain. A full-body massage and some vitamins can go a long way in such situations, so why not have them covered by your insurance rather than paying for them from your pocket whenever you need them?!
Additional Types of Coverage for Fitness Instructor Insurance Policies
Although the above-mentioned coverages are most common in fitness instructor insurance policies, there are a few more things to consider when choosing the best policy for your needs. Here’s a bit more information on each one:
Participant injury
We’ve not mentioned this thus far, but being the instructor for an entire group of clients warrants more serious insurance policies, as you need to be covered in case of injury to any of the participants in the group training. Participant injury coverage can be convenient, as it allows you to be covered in case anyone from the group gets injured under your supervision.
Medical payment coverage
This type of coverage is useful in case someone suffers a more serious injury while training. It covers everything from the actual doctor visit to all the expenses regarding scans, tests, emergency room fees, etc. Thus, you should look into it if you are the instructor for more demanding exercises.
Tips & Tricks for Choosing the Best Fitness Instructor Insurance
If you are lucky, your fellow employees at the gym will let you know what type of insurance you need. However, if you are a freelance instructor or simply new to this sphere, you will need to do some research on your own and consider several things. We’d like to help you out, so here’s a list of things to focus on:
- Personal or employment coverage: Not every instructor needs to take out a personal insurance policy. Often, once you start working at a gym as an actual employee, the gym will put you under its employee insurance, eliminating the need to take out one yourself. However, if you need your own insurance, ensure you look into personalized options catering to your specific needs.
- Insurance policy expiry date: As one can expect, no policy lasts forever. Most insurance policies last one or two years, after which you must request an extension to keep the coverage. While that much is clear, you need to ask the insurance company whether it covers claims made after the expiry date but for an event that took place while the policy was still valid. It’s wise to have a policy covering such events or claims.
- Work environment coverage: Not all instructors are based in a gym nowadays. Since the coronavirus pandemic, many have started providing fitness instructor services from the comfort of their homes or even from overseas. If this accurately represents your situation, you must clarify to the insurance company when taking out the claim. That way, they will know to adjust the policy and have it cover the type of work environment you expect to have.
- Type of exercise: Finally, it is also wise to consider the type of exercise the policy covers. Often, insurance companies do not cover all types of exercise, especially not the more demanding ones. So, you need to be careful and find out if there are any restrictions to the type of exercises you usually teach or practice yourself. If those are not covered, you will not receive any compensation or help in case of an injury to yourself or some of your clients.
Get Reliable Fitness Instructor Insurance
Thank you for reading our detailed guide on fitness instructor insurance policies and the types of coverage they usually come with. Remember that working in this sphere warrants such a policy, so you must always have general, professional, premises, and supplemental coverage. Additional policies might require a larger investment, so ensure you really need them before paying for them.
One of the best companies you can turn to for such policies is API Fitness, which offers specific fitness instructor and personal trainer policies.
If you want to learn more about any policies, contact us at your earliest convenience! We’ll be glad to answer any of your questions.
