Getting insurance is essential if you’re working in the USA as a personal trainer. You are on the front lines of helping people get a handle on their health and extending their lives through fitness. In the unfortunate case where someone might get hurt, having proper fitness insurance by the day in place can protect you, the commercial gym and the client.
Personal Trainer Insurance in Other Countries
In the United States alone, according to statistics provided by the U.S. Consumer Safety Product Commission, around 460,000 fitness injuries happen each year. Of these, just over 10% are caused by equipment and low weights.
You can protect yourself with cheap personal trainer insurance called public liability insurance. In the event that one of your clients hurts themselves while training, and alleges that it’s your fault, this is the insurance that will protect you financially. It covers the claimant’s medical expenses, any lost earnings because of the injury, and any legal fees. It includes the equipment used in the course of a training session too.
In getting fitness instructor insurance quotes, you may want to pay particular attention to the amount of “excess” you have to pay. That means that if you’re in a position where you have to actually make a claim on your insurance, the excess is the amount that you have to pay yourself. When your excess is very high, it makes your insurance premium much lower - but it might then make it hard for you to actually make a claim. Making sure your excess is affordable is an important consideration.
As you’re considering the policies which are right for you, you might want to make particularly sure that the type of insurance cover needed is included in your policy. To help you with this, here’s a short guide to break through the jargon.
You can protect yourself with cheap personal trainer insurance called public liability insurance. In the event that one of your clients hurts themselves while training, and alleges that it’s your fault, this is the insurance that will protect you financially. It covers the claimant’s medical expenses, any lost earnings because of the injury, and any legal fees. It includes the equipment used in the course of a training session too.
In getting fitness instructor insurance quotes, you may want to pay particular attention to the amount of “excess” you have to pay. That means that if you’re in a position where you have to actually make a claim on your insurance, the excess is the amount that you have to pay yourself. When your excess is very high, it makes your insurance premium much lower - but it might then make it hard for you to actually make a claim. Making sure your excess is affordable is an important consideration.
As you’re considering the policies which are right for you, you might want to make particularly sure that the type of insurance cover needed is included in your policy. To help you with this, here’s a short guide to break through the jargon.
What types of cover are there?
- Public liability insurance will protect you if you get hurt, a client gets hurt, or if gym equipment gets damaged during a session.
- Professional liability insurance protects you against legal action if your clients get hurt based on the advice you’ve given them.
- Sports equipment cover allows you to make a claim if your equipment is lost, stolen or damaged. This type of stolen equipment coverage can be especially useful if you own your own stuff, and take it to clients homes or to boot camps.
- Personal accident cover is for you as the trainer. If you get hurt and can’t work, this can pay for physio or rehab.
- Loss of earnings cover is used if you were to become sick or injured and unable to earn money. This would help to cover your expenses until you’re well enough to go back to work.
- Employers liability insurance is relevant if you employ other trainers, and would cover any claims made against your business by them.
National Academy of Sports Medicine
Health, Liability and Accident Insurance
NASM are best known for being an industry leader in personal training certifications, but they also provide accident and public liability insurance as well - which is specifically designed for the fitness industry. Packages start at $11 a month, payable monthly or annually.
One of the best things about the NASM insurance package is the ability to add “bolt-ons” which make your policy totally customisable. This might be useful if you train clients in more than one location, and other insurance policies limit you to a single designated gym named in your policy.
NASM offer three levels of cover - the basic, the pro, and the pro plus. All the plans cover:
The basic plan is the entry-level option. You’ll get:
The pro plan is their most popular option. You’ll get:
The pro plus plan is even more comprehensive. You get:
The plans differ in terms of how much you’re covered for relating to training and nutrition cover, and the price you pay increases accordingly. All plans come with a certificate that you can show the gym (which is often mandatory before you’re able to take classes or train clients).
One of the best things about the NASM insurance package is the ability to add “bolt-ons” which make your policy totally customisable. This might be useful if you train clients in more than one location, and other insurance policies limit you to a single designated gym named in your policy.
NASM offer three levels of cover - the basic, the pro, and the pro plus. All the plans cover:
- Physical injuries to the client
- Damage to equipment used in the session
- Legal action if the client claims you didn’t help them to reach their goals
- Legal action if the client claims sexual misconduct
- Legal action if the client claims your advice on training or nutrition has been harmful.
The basic plan is the entry-level option. You’ll get:
- $500,000 worth of general liability cover (with $0 deductible)
- The option of a dietary/nutrition cover worth $100,000
- This package costs $11 per month
The pro plan is their most popular option. You’ll get:
- $1,000,000 worth of general liability cover (with $0 deductible)
- The option of a dietary/nutrition cover worth $250,000
- Coverage offered at just $14 per month
The pro plus plan is even more comprehensive. You get:
- $2,000,000 worth of general liability cover (with $0 deductible)
- The option of a dietary/nutrition cover worth $1,000,000
- Coverage offered at just $16 per month
The plans differ in terms of how much you’re covered for relating to training and nutrition cover, and the price you pay increases accordingly. All plans come with a certificate that you can show the gym (which is often mandatory before you’re able to take classes or train clients).
American Council on Exercise
Like NASM, ACE are best known for their personal training certifications and specialist CPD programmes. They also have insurance packages for personal trainers. The benefit of their policy is that it’s very broad, and protects the trainer no matter where they’re training clients - gym, park, or client’s home. It would be a great option if you have a varied business and you see clients in multiple locations. It even covers you for up to 30 days if you’re travelling outside of the US and working with clients overseas. This is a particularly unusual element of the ACE policy so if you train clients in multiple locations, it makes it hard to beat.
There are one year or two-year policy liability limits, with three tiers of protection available within each. That means you could be insured up to 3, 4 or 5 million dollars and take out your policy for just one year, or a longer two-year commitment. The prices go up accordingly. There are limits to annual cover for three areas; sexual abuse, products used by clients and damage to premises cover.
The one-year liability limits are as follows:
The two-year liability limits are:
The limits in specific areas are:
There are one year or two-year policy liability limits, with three tiers of protection available within each. That means you could be insured up to 3, 4 or 5 million dollars and take out your policy for just one year, or a longer two-year commitment. The prices go up accordingly. There are limits to annual cover for three areas; sexual abuse, products used by clients and damage to premises cover.
The one-year liability limits are as follows:
- Per-occurrence fee of $1,000,000 and annual total of $3,000,0000 at $172 per year
- Per-occurrence fee of $2,000,000 and annual total of $4,000,0000 at $215 per year
- Per-occurrence fee of $2,000,000 and annual total of $5,000,0000 at $218 per year
The two-year liability limits are:
- Per-occurrence fee of $1,000,000 and annual total of $3,000,0000 at $294 per year
- Per-occurrence fee of $2,000,000 and annual total of $4,000,0000 at $380 per year
- Per-occurrence fee of $2,000,000 and annual total of $5,000,0000 at $386 per year
The limits in specific areas are:
- Liability against sexual abuse is $100,000 per case with a $300,000 annual limit
- Liability limit against products used by clients (such as supplements recommended by the trainer) is $1,000,000
- Damage to premises coverage is $100,000
Insure Fitness Group
The Insure Fitness Group offer substantial coverage for $169 annually, or payable monthly for less than $16. An attractive feature of the policy is that it allows you to make a claim on the policy if the policy has expired, provided the incident you’re claiming for happened during a time when the policy was active. You’ll be covered for:
The Insure Fitness Group are suitable choices for self-employed solo personal trainers, those working in boutique-style studio gyms, and also those based in large commercial chain gyms. Applications happen online, and you get an instant digital certificate.
They offer quite an impressive array of additional benefits too, including:
- Liability cover for both general and professional occurrences
- Up to $1,000,000 coverage per occurrence and $3,000,000 cover per annum
- Up to $1,000,000 coverage per product liability occurrence
- Up to $25,000 identity protection
- Stolen product protection up to $1,000
The Insure Fitness Group are suitable choices for self-employed solo personal trainers, those working in boutique-style studio gyms, and also those based in large commercial chain gyms. Applications happen online, and you get an instant digital certificate.
They offer quite an impressive array of additional benefits too, including:
- Hundreds of dollars worth of exclusive offers and discounts from the leading names in health and fitness.
- Libraries of content geared just towards setting up and maintaining a successful personal trainer business, such as utilizing social media and building a personal trainer resume.
- They even offer done for you workout playlists for fitness classes - and how to put together a playlist yourself which is appropriate to the needs of your clients.
IDEA Health & Fitness Insurance
IDEA are a great choice for fitness professionals working in the industry part-time. Most fitness insurance companies focus instead of full-time professionals, and this influences the cost of their policies. You don’t even have to be qualified yet - which almost every other insurance provider requires - making this a great choice for students who aspire to work in the industry. IDEA provides coverage for full-time professionals working more than 6 hours per week, part-time fitness professionals that work less than 5 hours per week, group trainers and class instructors, and students who work only under the supervision of others.
But IDEA is mindful that not everyone in the fitness industry works in it full time and that’s reflected in their annual pricing ($91 for the whole year!) and the broad range of specialisms they cover, including fitness instructors and personal trainers (as you’d expect) but also: yoga teachers, pilates instructors, aerobics instructors, diet & nutrition coaches, specialists working with seniors and adaptive athletes, rehabilitation specialists, golf coaches, endurance and triathlons coaches, instructors who are based around water sports (this is actually quite unusual and normally offered at an expensive premium), youth fitness instructors, and contact and non-contact martial arts (also really unusual).
Due to the very broad nature of the policy as standard, you’re insured for training clients outdoors. It even covers you outside of the US, although it restricts that you must make the claim inside the US, Canada, or Puerto Rico.
Note that you are somewhat limited to what you’re protected against. Liability fitness insurance with IDEA protects you if a lawsuit is brought against you for negligent practices. This particular policy provides coverage for professional liability (negligence claims) and general liability (accidents). It does not cover you for damage to equipment or your facility - and it doesn’t cover you if you get injured, which may account for the lower annual fee.
Part time not yet qualified personal trainers get:
Part time qualified personal trainers get:
Full time not yet qualified personal trainers get:
Full time, qualified personal trainers get:
Insurance is evidenced through a digital certificate, received via email upon receipt of payment. The membership bonuses with IDEA include exclusive discounts to top brands, client success tools, research-based professional content and more.
But IDEA is mindful that not everyone in the fitness industry works in it full time and that’s reflected in their annual pricing ($91 for the whole year!) and the broad range of specialisms they cover, including fitness instructors and personal trainers (as you’d expect) but also: yoga teachers, pilates instructors, aerobics instructors, diet & nutrition coaches, specialists working with seniors and adaptive athletes, rehabilitation specialists, golf coaches, endurance and triathlons coaches, instructors who are based around water sports (this is actually quite unusual and normally offered at an expensive premium), youth fitness instructors, and contact and non-contact martial arts (also really unusual).
Due to the very broad nature of the policy as standard, you’re insured for training clients outdoors. It even covers you outside of the US, although it restricts that you must make the claim inside the US, Canada, or Puerto Rico.
Note that you are somewhat limited to what you’re protected against. Liability fitness insurance with IDEA protects you if a lawsuit is brought against you for negligent practices. This particular policy provides coverage for professional liability (negligence claims) and general liability (accidents). It does not cover you for damage to equipment or your facility - and it doesn’t cover you if you get injured, which may account for the lower annual fee.
Part time not yet qualified personal trainers get:
- Per-occurrence fee of $1,000,000 and annual total of $1,000,0000 at $121 per year
- Per-occurrence fee of $1,000,000 and annual total of $3,000,0000 at $129 per year
- Per-occurrence fee of $2,000,000 and annual total of $4,000,0000 at $162 per year
Part time qualified personal trainers get:
- Per-occurrence fee of $1,000,000 and annual total of $1,000,0000 at $94 per year
- Per-occurrence fee of $1,000,000 and annual total of $3,000,0000 at $100 per year
- Per-occurrence fee of $2,000,000 and annual total of $4,000,0000 at $122 per year
Full time not yet qualified personal trainers get:
- Per-occurrence fee of $1,000,000 and annual total of $1,000,0000 at $186 per year
- Per-occurrence fee of $1,000,000 and annual total of $3,000,0000 at $200 per year
- Per-occurrence fee of $2,000,000 and annual total of $4,000,0000 at $259 per year
Full time, qualified personal trainers get:
- Per-occurrence fee of $1,000,000 and annual total of $1,000,0000 at $138 per year
- Per-occurrence fee of $1,000,000 and annual total of $3,000,0000 at $147 per year
- Per-occurrence fee of $2,000,000 and annual total of $4,000,0000 at $187 per year
Insurance is evidenced through a digital certificate, received via email upon receipt of payment. The membership bonuses with IDEA include exclusive discounts to top brands, client success tools, research-based professional content and more.
Sadler Sports and Recreation Insurance
Insurance from Sadler is extremely comprehensive and flexible. Since they specialise in sports and recreation, they have a very broad range of options, which include teams, tournaments, leagues, sports camps in a way that most other providers don’t. They also offer an exceptionally broad array of sports and outdoorsman activities, including hunting, bow fishing, shooting, fishing, conservation, collector, sportsmen, archery and re-enactment clubs.
With regards to more traditional forms of fitness professionals, they start by encouraging you to select an option which most accurately describes your role. Each of these areas of insurance is specifically designed to meet the needs of a US-based professional supervising others, on an independent contractor basis.
With regards to more traditional forms of fitness professionals, they start by encouraging you to select an option which most accurately describes your role. Each of these areas of insurance is specifically designed to meet the needs of a US-based professional supervising others, on an independent contractor basis.
- Dance Instructor
- Fitness Instructor
- Sports Instructor (extensively defined)
- Martial Arts Instructor
NACAMS Personal Trainer Liability Insurance
The National Association of Complementary and Alternative Medicines represents several different health professionals in a very broad range of specialisms. In fact, they support more than 350 disciplines, with personal training and fitness instruction being just two of them.
The liability insurance for personal trainers includes:
Evidence of cover is available immediately upon purchase and they offer some interesting benefits, including membership discounts, and a free professional website to promote your business.
The liability insurance for personal trainers includes:
- Per-occurrence fee of $1,000,000 and annual total of $3,000,0000
- Liability limit against products used by clients is $1,000,000
- Damage to premises coverage is $100,000
- An identity protection plan
Evidence of cover is available immediately upon purchase and they offer some interesting benefits, including membership discounts, and a free professional website to promote your business.
Next Insurance
Next Insurance are based in the US and their Personal Trainer insurance is licenced in all 50 states. Their cover offers 3 different levels of protection and all of them cover the basics:
They have a basic, entry-level policy which offers:
The most popular option is called “Pro” and this offers:
Finally, there’s the pro plus option:
You don’t end up paying any more if you opt to pay monthly with Next Insurance. Once you’ve bought your policy, you can log in to the website to download proof within minutes. You can have as many certificates of insurance as you need, free of charge - and they’ll email them out to you within 24 hours of purchase.
- Bodily injury
- Unhappy clients
- Sexual misconduct
- Harmful dietary advice
They have a basic, entry-level policy which offers:
- $500,000 worth of general liability cover (with $0 deductible)
- The option of a dietary/nutrition cover worth $100,000
- Coverage offered at just $11 per month
The most popular option is called “Pro” and this offers:
- $1,000,000 worth of general liability cover (with $0 deductible)
- The option of a dietary/nutrition cover worth $250,000
- Coverage offered at just $14 per month
Finally, there’s the pro plus option:
- $2,000,000 worth of general liability cover (with $0 deductible)
- The option of a dietary/nutrition cover worth $1,000,000
- Coverage offered at just $16 per month
You don’t end up paying any more if you opt to pay monthly with Next Insurance. Once you’ve bought your policy, you can log in to the website to download proof within minutes. You can have as many certificates of insurance as you need, free of charge - and they’ll email them out to you within 24 hours of purchase.
Wrapping Up
Regardless of which insurance provider will be right for you and your business, it’s important that you do get insurance. Having a robust insurance policy in place is a must for any personal trainer, with many gyms insisting that they see insurance documents before you’re allowed to take classes or train clients on the gym floor.
If you have a straight forward set of working circumstances, as a qualified trainer, working with people in one gym location, and not offering any martial arts, or outdoor sports, you can make a decision based on cost alone. But if you need something more flexible with regards to location, being unqualified, or offering outdoors or unusual sports options as part of your training package, you may need to do a little more research.
Making sure that you have the right level of cover, in the locations that you need them, with a manageable “excess” should you ever have to pay it, will be key factors in making a good decision.
If you have a straight forward set of working circumstances, as a qualified trainer, working with people in one gym location, and not offering any martial arts, or outdoor sports, you can make a decision based on cost alone. But if you need something more flexible with regards to location, being unqualified, or offering outdoors or unusual sports options as part of your training package, you may need to do a little more research.
Making sure that you have the right level of cover, in the locations that you need them, with a manageable “excess” should you ever have to pay it, will be key factors in making a good decision.
