Most personal trainers love the part of their job where they get to help clients transform and crush goals. The part many trainers don’t love? Jumping through all the business hoops—like getting personal training insurance.
As boring as it might be, personal training insurance is a must-have for trainers running their own business, no matter your specialty. We know financial things like insurance can be confusing if you don’t have much experience with them. That’s why we’ve put together an FAQ guide to answer all your most pressing personal training insurance questions.
In this article, we’ll cover why you need insurance, what types of policies you can (and should) get, the cost of personal training insurance, how to get it, and the top companies to get it from.
Let’s get started!
Why Do Personal Trainers Need Insurance?
When you’re just starting your personal training business, money is usually tight. You may be asking yourself whether paying for personal trainer insurance is worth it. If you know you’re careful and experienced enough to train safely, do you really need insurance?
The answer is yes—you absolutely need personal training insurance.
No matter how experienced or cautious you are with clients, accidents can happen, often outside of your control. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 8.6 million Americans are hurt engaging in physical activity every year. You must protect yourself in the event of an accident, injury, property damage, or lawsuit.
Here are some scenarios in which personal training insurance will cover you financially:
- A client gets injured during a session
- A client gets injured at home from following your advice
- A client gets injured due to negligence on your part
- You or a client cause damage to your training equipment or space
- Your equipment causes client injury
- Your property is stolen
If you’re not protected in these situations, you’ll be stuck paying any medical costs, settlements, and lawsuit costs out of pocket. Those expenses run steep and can often mean financial ruin for your business and personal finances if you don’t have insurance.
Being insured will also make you appear more credible and professional in the eyes of your clients and any employees or partner businesses. Some licensing organizations and states even require that you have personal training insurance.
What Types of Insurance Do Personal Trainers Need?
There are a few different types of personal trainer insurance policies that protect you and your business from various claims and situations. Not every personal trainer will need every type of insurance, but there are several areas where every trainer should be covered.
Let’s take a closer look at the different types of personal training insurance.
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance covers you financially for accidents and any ensuing lawsuits that aren’t your fault. In the UK, it’s often referred to as public liability insurance.
For example, if you’re training a client and they trip on a dumbbell and break their ankle, your general liability insurance will cover their medical costs and, if they were to sue you, any legal fees or settlements.
Think of this as an overarching policy that covers basic accidents and any incidents not caused by you directly.
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability insurance protects you from paying for costs associated with accidents, injuries, or damage you cause. This type of policy is also sometimes called “errors and omissions coverage,” or, in the UK, professional indemnity insurance.
There are two different scenarios where professional liability insurance will cover you—when an action your take directly causes an injury or damage, and when you cause an injury or damage by not taking an action you should’ve.
Let’s say you’re strength training with a client and advise them to add ten more pounds to their next set of barbell squats. Then, they hurt their knee trying to get back up because they can’t handle the extra weight you told them to add. They can claim that your instruction led to their injury and sue you for medical costs. This is an example of an “error” covered in your error and omissions coverage.
Now, let’s say your client hurts their back doing barbell squats because you were looking at your phone instead of spotting them. This is an example of an “omission” or negligence. Negligence claims can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars if you’re not covered.
We recommend that every personal trainer have professional liability insurance before they begin training clients.
Product Liability Insurance
Product liability insurance protects you if a client claims injury or damage from using one of your products or a product you recommend.
If your client is running on a treadmill at your studio, for instance, and it malfunctions and they fall off and get hurt, that would fall under product liability. Or, if you sell supplements and a client has an allergic reaction after taking one you’ve recommended, any associated costs would be covered.
Product liability policies will cover medical expenses, legal fees, and any lawsuit settlements.
Personal Accident & Loss of Earnings Insurance
Personal accident insurance is a policy that protects you if you get injured. For example, if you’re training a client and accidentally drop a kettlebell on your foot, your policy would cover the cost of any treatment.
Loss of earnings insurance may be a separate policy at some insurance companies, but it goes hand in hand with personal accident coverage. Let’s say that foot injury from your kettlebell accident prevents you from working for the next six weeks. A loss of earnings policy would provide financial support while you’re unable to train.
Employer’s Liability/Worker’s Compensation Insurance
Your personal training business may be just you for now, but you might grow your business and need to hire other trainers in the future (yay you!).
If you end up employing even just one other person, you must have employer’s liability or worker’s compensation insurance. In fact, in most U.S. states, worker’s comp coverage is required as soon as you hire your first employee.
This type of insurance covers any costs that are incurred if one of your staff members gets injured on the job.
How Much Is Personal Training Insurance?
The cost of your personal training insurance will depend on the policy you get.
Most small businesses pay less than $50 per month for general liability insurance and around $500-$1000 per year for professional liability insurance in the U.S. In the UK, general or public liability insurance costs an average of £118 a year, while professional liability insurance can cost anywhere from £47-£1200+ per year, depending on your industry.
Insurance companies will also consider other factors when determining the cost of your policy, such as:
- Business location
- Claims history
- Types of training offered
- Coverage limit
- Number of employees
How Do I Get Insurance for My Personal Training Business?
The first step to getting personal training insurance is to decide on the policies and coverage you need. Once you know what you want, shop around and get quotes from different companies.
What Is the Best Personal Training Insurance?
There are many options for personal training insurance on the market. Again, the right one for your training business will depend on your coverage needs and budget.
The best insurance will be different for every trainer, but here are some popular options to consider in your research:
- Insure4Sport (UK)
- Next Insurance (U.S)
- Insure Fitness Group (U.S.)
- Financial Fitness (UK)
- Hiscox (U.S. & UK)
Bonus Tip: Personal trainers working in the UK can get a discount on a My PT Hub subscription when they get their personal trainer insurance through Insure4Sport!
Take Your Personal Trainer Business to the Next Level
After you’re licensed, insured, and ready to get your personal training business off the ground, get all the tools you need to succeed from My PT Hub.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to grow your PT business to the next level, our personal training software will make your job easier, your client experience better, and your revenue higher. From client management and communication features to a custom workout builder, finance tools, and more, we provide everything you need in a single app.
Start your free 30-day trial to experience the difference My PT Hub can make!
