We believe all personal trainers should protect themselves with specialist insurance. Whether you work for a fitness club, a gym or are self-employed, you leave yourself open to risk every time you train if you don’t have the right coverage. Here are a few stories from personal trainers who had taken out insurance.
Public Liability insurance: Charlotte’s Story
Charlotte is a self-employed fitness instructor and teaches classes at a local health club. One day, Charlotte was teaching a body pump class which involved participants performing a series of exercises while holding a barbell.
One of the participants dropped their barbell from above head height, causing significant damage to the studio floor. Thankfully, as Charlotte had a policy with Insure4Sport, her Public Liability insurance covered the participant’s damage. The floor was repaired, and Charlotte’s classes have continued as normal.
Charlotte: “I just saw it as a no-brainer to protect myself with Public Liability insurance. This way, I’m covered if anybody in my class damages equipment or injures themselves. I’m not sure what I’d have done if I didn’t have my Insure4Sport policy to fall back on.”
Without Public Liability insurance, you could be liable for a substantial amount of compensation, which could leave your business in a precarious financial position.
Public Liability insurance covers you against third-party property damage and injury to another person. It is so essential for personal trainers that, without it, you’ll be lucky to find many (if any) training premises which allow you to train a client in their facilities.
Personal Accident & Loss of Earnings Cover: Eric’s Story
Eric is a fully qualified personal trainer and works in a busy gym. His day consists of both private sessions and larger classes like spin and body pump. Recently, Eric was in the middle of a one-to-one session with a client on the treadmill. As Eric stepped off the treadmill, his foot landed awkwardly, and he went over on his ankle.
He went to the hospital for an X-ray, which revealed he had a chronic ankle sprain. This injury would leave him out of action, and work, for between 8 and 12 weeks.
Luckily, Eric had both Personal Accident and Loss of Earnings cover on his Insure4Sport policy. As a result, he benefitted from private physio treatment, plus a weekly allowance for some of the weeks he was unable to work.
Eric: “I’m so thankful I paid that little bit extra when taking out my Insure4Sport policy. Having witnessed first-hand the benefits of personal trainer insurance, I cannot believe any PT or fitness instructor would take the risk of working without it. The Loss of Earnings weekly allowance has also saved me from getting into money troubles, by helping me keep up with my monthly bills for my rent, car etc.
The physio treatment has helped me recover and get back to training even sooner than expected!”
Professional Indemnity Cover: Paul’s Story
Paul is a self-employed personal trainer. He creates ‘homework workouts’ for his clients to carry out in-between his PT sessions. Recently, Paul was rushing towards the end of a session and gave his client their ‘homework workout’ exercises without thoroughly explaining them.
The client attempted the shoulder exercises for the next six weeks without asking for advice. After a few weeks, the client had damaged ligaments in his shoulder, leaving him unable to train and play football at the weekend. He blamed Paul for giving him the incorrect advice that caused the injury, and the claim ended up going to court.
Paul was found to have been negligent and ordered to pay the client compensation. As Paul was insured with Insure4Sport, the legal fees and compensation costs were taken care of, and Paul could continue his work.
Paul: “This whole process has been a huge learning curve for me. I’m so relieved that I had the support of Insure4Sport throughout the whole process. I will be taking extra care to make sure all ‘homework workout’ tasks are thoroughly explained going forward. Having to pay the legal fees and compensation costs out of my own pocket would have left me and my business in a financial pickle, to say the least!”
All personal trainers should protect themselves from these types of hazards with tailored cover, and at Insure4Sport we offer flexible insurance. With Insure4Sport, you can arrange your policy so you only pay for the cover you need, and you can choose from a range of cover options such as Public Liability insurance including Professional Indemnity, Personal Accident and Loss of Earnings cover. Plus, there are many other cover options available.
