Best Personal Trainer Insurance April 2024: Options & Cost

Are personal trainers liable for client injuries?

Yes, as a personal trainer, you can be held liable for client injuries if you do not take the necessary precautions to keep your clients safe.

This involves maintaining your required licenses, employing proper training techniques, providing safety protocols, monitoring client progress, providing appropriate tools and equipment, and understanding first aid.

For this reason, we recommend getting professional liability insurance to protect yourself from claims resulting from poor or incomplete client service or misrepresentation of services and client benefits.

Below we detail what a personal trainer insurance policy is likely to cover.

What does personal trainer insurance cover?

Personal trainer insurance protects fitness professionals from potential liabilities and lawsuits that may arise from issues or accidents when working with clients.

Here are some common scenarios that personal trainer insurance covers:

• Injury to a client while engaging in physical activity with a trainer
• Damage to business property caused by clients during training
• Damage to client property caused by you or your trainers during training
• Failure to provide promised services due to negligence or incapacity
• Legal expenses associated with defending false claims made against you, your business, or its employees
• Medical expenses for clients injured by you or another trainer in your practice
• Loss of income due to business interruptions caused by incidents or certain natural disasters
• Advertising liability resulting from promotional activities
• Expenses incurred when dealing with workplace accidents involving you or your employees

In the fitness industry, the most common liabilities stem from physical injury, damage to client or business property, and failure to provide accurate or adequate service to customer expectations. As such, this personal training insurance typically includes professional indemnity, public liability, and professional liability insurance to cover the costs of financial losses.

Furthermore, some personal trainer policies may cover other scenarios, such as advertising damages, workers’ compensation, and legal expenses associated with defending your business.

Who needs personal trainer insurance and how much coverage you need depends on the nature of your business. Below, we cover this in greater detail.

Who needs personal trainer insurance?

Every trainer should have individual insurance coverage regardless of where they work.

Personal trainer insurance is especially essential if you own a gym, are an at-home trainer, or work with clients in the health and fitness industry. It’s important to have insurance that protects you from potential liabilities that can otherwise bankrupt your business.

If you own your own business, you can tailor policies to your specific practice, including coverage for where you operate (whether in a gym, online, or as a home-based business). Depending on your business operations, you may need several types of insurance coverage.

Here are some examples:

If you are an at-home trainer and a self-employed contractor, you may need additional policies to cover the risks of working with clients in private locations. These could include general liability, professional liability, or product liability insurance.

As another example, if you are an online personal trainer and store confidential client data electronically, you may want to consider cyber liability insurance. This can protect you against the costs of cyber threats like data breaches and hacking.

Are personal trainers required to have insurance?

Personal trainers are not typically required to carry insurance unless your state licensing requires it. That said, certain types of business insurance are required in all states except Texas, such as workers’ compensation insurance for one or more employees.

Even if insurance isn’t legally required in your state, we recommend having general liability insurance at a minimum. General liability insurance for personal trainers can protect you and your business from potential lawsuits arising from injuries or other damages clients suffer while training.

Since state laws can dictate what types of insurance you need, it’s important to ensure you have a comprehensive understanding of the laws and regulations applicable in your area so you can make informed decisions when choosing insurance. For help understanding your requirements and coverage needs, we recommend speaking with an insurance professional.

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What types of insurance do personal trainers need?

Generally speaking, all professional personal trainers should have general liability insurance to protect against client injuries or resulting lawsuits.

As we mentioned above, the types of insurance you need as a personal trainer depend on many factors, including the types of services you provide and where you practice.

These are some of the most common types of insurance for personal trainers:

General liability insurance

General liability insurance will cover your business, clients, and employees if someone is injured during normal operations. This type of policy covers medical expenses for those injured, as well as protects the business against any other financial losses that may arise due to legal action taken by a client or member of the public.

Let’s say your client slips and falls on a wet floor at your training studio. They get seriously injured and sue your business for medical expenses and other damages. General liability insurance can cover the costs of the claim, including legal fees and settlement costs.

General liability insurance typically covers claims related to bodily injury, property damage, and advertising injury, but it may not cover all types of claims. Be sure to review your policy carefully and speak with your insurance agent to understand the specific coverage limits and exclusions of your policy.

Professional liability insurance

Professional liability insurance can protect you and your business if your professional services cause damages to a client and they decide to sue you.

Professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions insurance, typically covers the following types of claims:

• Negligence
• Malpractice
• Personal injury
• Slander
• Copyright infringement

For example, imagine you push a new client too hard in their first session, causing them to suffer a serious back injury. The client then sues you for the cost of medical bills, lost wages, and other damages from the injury. With professional liability insurance coverage, your insurance company could help cover the cost of the damages.

Commercial property insurance

Commercial property insurance protects your business’s property from risks such as fire, theft, vandalism, and natural disasters. We recommend having this type of coverage if you own the facility or the equipment.

Let’s say a heavy rainstorm causes a leak in the roof of your gym, damaging the flooring, equipment, and other property. Your commercial property insurance may cover the costs of repairing or replacing your damaged property so that you can resume operations as soon as possible.

Workers’ compensation insurance

Workers’ compensation protects your employees if they become injured or ill as a direct result of their job. Its benefits may include reimbursement for medical care and lost wages.

If a personal trainer employed in your gym falls while demonstrating an exercise to a client and injures their back, workers’ comp could cover their medical bills and lost wages during the time they are unable to work. It may also cover other related expenses, such as physical therapy or rehabilitation.

Workers’ comp is primarily handled on a state level, and the benefits vary greatly between states. All states but Texas legally require employers to maintain this type of coverage for at least some of their employees.

Business owner’s policy

A business owner’s policy (BOP) is an insurance package that includes a combination of coverages based on a particular business’s needs. In most cases, BOP combines commercial property and general liability insurance into one policy. This means it could help cover claims resulting from theft, vandalism, or natural disasters, as well as from your business operations.

For example, let’s say a piece of equipment malfunctions at your studio and causes your client to suffer an injury. They then sue you for negligence for failing to properly maintain the equipment. If the claim is covered under your BOP, the coverage would cover the client’s medical expenses and lost wages, as well as your legal defense costs.

How much does personal trainer insurance cost?

The cost of personal trainer insurance can range from as low as $20 per month to over $2,000 for comprehensive coverage for trainers who own their facilities.

That said, the overall cost of personal trainer insurance ultimately depends on your specific practice. You must understand the different types of policies available and the cost of each so that you can choose according to your particular needs.

These are some of the factors that can influence the cost of personal trainer insurance:

• Location: The risks facing businesses vary in different states and countries. Therefore, the same policy can cost more in some areas than others.
• Your experience level: Experienced trainers may get lower rates since they have a proven track record of providing safe, effective instruction.
• Type of coverage: Different insurance policies offer different amounts of coverage for various risks. The more comprehensive the policy, the higher the cost.
• Coverage limits: Depending on the policy, there may be limits on how much protection you can get against particular risks. Higher coverage limits mean a more expensive policy.
• Deductible amount: This is the amount you must pay out of pocket before insurance kicks in if a covered event occurs. Higher deductibles usually mean lower premiums.
• Number of employees: If you employ other coaches or fitness instructors, those employees represent an additional risk to your business. As such, you may also need to purchase additional coverage—such as workers’ comp—specifically for your employees.
• Annual revenue: The more money you make each year, the more you have to protect against potential claims.
• Claims history: Your history of previously filing insurance claims can signal to a carrier that you are more or less likely to file a claim in the future. This can impact your cost of coverage.

Because coverage costs vary so widely based on these factors, we recommend you shop around and get quotes to find the best coverage at the best price.

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Tips for getting personal trainer insurance

Follow these tips when choosing personal trainer insurance for your business:

Determine what type of policies and how much coverage you need

As a personal trainer, you must have general liability insurance because this helps protect you against claims and lawsuits that a client could bring against you if they are injured while working with you.

Additionally, commercial property insurance helps cover damage to any property belonging to your gym or studio, and workers’ compensation can help protect you and your employees in the event of workplace illnesses or injuries.

When deciding the type of coverage and how much you need, we recommend you think about how your business runs on a day-to-day basis. Considering the potential risks will help you decide if you need additional types of insurance coverage. You can also consult an insurance expert to get advice on what coverage best suits your specific situation.

Get quotes and compare multiple providers

Before buying coverage, take the time to compare offerings from multiple insurance providers. Getting multiple quotes is a great way to get a sense of all your options and improve your chances of finding good coverage at a competitive rate. You can use an online comparison tool like the one offered by LA Times, work with an independent insurance broker, or directly contact insurance providers to get quotes and compare your options.

Purchase a policy

After considering your needs and shopping around for insurance, you can take the final step of buying coverage. You’ll need to finalize your application for coverage, get approved by the carrier, and begin paying your premiums.

It’s also important to periodically review your insurance policy. Changes to your personal or business circumstances can affect your coverage needs, and you might need to make adjustments to your policy to accommodate them.