When you started your personal training career, you probably were, at one point or another, met with this blanket question—did you invest in personal trainer liability insurance?
There’s nothing wrong with that question. In fact, if someone did ask you that, we’re glad—they obviously care about your career. Liability insurance is an important and necessary part of being a personal trainer.
But liability insurance isn’t generalized, blanket coverage.
Believe it or not, there are actually dozens of types of liability insurance out there that tackle all different kinds of risk. And as a professional in the personal training industry, it’s your job to reach out, learn about, and understand what types are available and how they can help you protect your career, your business, and your future.
Admittedly, that can get a little overwhelming. That’s why we’re here to help.
This article is all about understanding the top 3 types of liability insurance that you absolutely need to have as a personal trainer—no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
If you’re new to the liability insurance game, don’t sweat it—we’ll start with a few basics to help build up your fundamental knowledge. Then, we’ll make sure you’re well aware of those 3 important types of liability insurance you absolutely have to have to protect your personal training career.
What Exactly Is Personal Trainer Liability Insurance?
Before we can dive headfirst into the types of liability insurance that you should invest in as a personal trainer, it’s probably more helpful to identify exactly what personal trainer liability insurance is in the first place.
We’ll keep this short and sweet so we can get to the stuff you’re really looking for.
Liability insurance is essentially a safety net that you invest in so that you’re totally protected in the unlikely or unpredictable case that something happens, a claim is brought against you, or someone alleges that you’ve done something wrong.
In other words, liability insurance is a type of risk management where you—the insured party—can be protected and relieved of financial responsibility for a potential loss. As a bonus, it’s also a useful tool for providing you with the peace of mind to do what you do best—be a personal trainer—without worrying about being unprepared for any type of negative repercussion.
Need a more expansive definition? Don’t sweat it—liability insurance is a comprehensive topic that takes a bit to get the swing of. Check out our 101 guide right here that really breaks down what personal trainer liability insurance is.
Why Do Personal Trainers Need Liability Insurance?
If you’re sitting there thinking something like, “I’m a badass personal trainer and I don’t make mistakes—why would I need liability insurance?” please know that we’re not suggesting insurance with such vigor because we think any differently.
In fact, we know that you’re a badass personal trainer—and that’s exactly why we think you need personal trainer liability insurance.
There’s this common thought that liability insurance is only for the personal trainers who are unprofessional, unskilled, and who are likely to deal with accidents or mistakes (or worse, allegations or claims being brought against them). But that’s simply not the case. Liability insurance is an absolute necessity for personal trainers—no matter how experienced, skilled, or professional they might be.
Let’s explore this point a little further. But first, let’s get something out in the open.
Yes, we’re Insure Fitness Group—emphasis on Insure. AKA, we’re an insurance company that specializes in insuring and protecting professional personal trainers just like you.
And while admittedly there’s a level of bias there that we can’t possibly avoid, we’re going to be straight with you—even if you don’t partner with us for your insurance needs, you still need to find liability insurance.
Why? Because quality liability insurance is a must-have for professionals who want to ensure that their career, their livelihood, their finances, and their future are protected at all costs.
The biggest reason personal trainers need liability insurance? We work one-on-one with clients in an intense, hands-on way that directly involves them pushing their physical limits to meet their goals.
You’re guiding them, training them, communicating with them, and leading them toward their goals through physical activity.
No matter how many safety precautions you take, there are tons of moving parts here—if you’re not investing in liability insurance, you’re unprotected against allegations, claims, and litigation.
Further, personal trainer liability insurance can do a few additional things for your career:
- Protect You—Above All Else
- Safeguard Your Finances
- Protect from the Unlikely, Improbable, and Unpredictable
- Keep Your Career Running Without Interruption
- Show Your Clients You’re a Prepared Professional
Want a better understanding of why personal trainer liability insurance is so important for personal trainers like you? Check out our article here that outlines—in detail—why liability insurance is an absolute must for trainers who are looking to build a badass career.
The Three Types of Liability Insurance Every Personal Trainer Should Have
By now, the message is probably pretty clear—we’re big on liability insurance, and you should be, too. But that doesn’t mean that you should just find an insurance policy that says “liability” on it and call it a day. In order to be fully protected, you’ll need a solid grasp of the different types of liability insurance that are available to personal trainers and choosing the right one.
Further, you should understand what each of these liability insurance types will cover, because spoiler alert, they all cover different things.
We won’t lie to you, there are dozens of types of liability insurance out there. And sorting through each of them can be a bit overwhelming. So, we’ve saved you a little trouble by bringing you the list of the top 3 must-have types of liability insurance. These three types of liability insurance are precisely what you should be lookin’ out for when you’re searching for your perfect insurance policy—they’ll cover all your liability insurance bases (and then some).
So, without further hesitation, let’s dive into three types of liability coverage that every professional personal trainer should have: Professional Liability Insurance, General Liability Insurance, and Product Liability Insurance.
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional Liability Insurance is a type of insurance that’s specifically targeted at protecting you from things that relate directly to your services, your career, and your actions. Oftentimes, this type of insurance is called malpractice insurance or errors and omissions insurance.
Professional liability insurance is important because covers negligence (or claims of negligence) that’s related to your professional services or advice. In other words, it’s a type of insurance claim that covers damages and injuries that are alleged to have been directly caused by you. It will cover claims that clients or customers file against you on the basis of suffering from an injury, damage, or negligence by your actions, services, or advice directly.
Think about it this way: Client A has just decided to start working with you. During one of your sessions, you advise Client A to correct their form while lifting a weight. Client A doesn’t listen and accidentally injures themselves. But Client A says that they were injured as a result of your poor direction and advice. It’s your word against Client A’s word and Client A is determined to make you pay for their injury. With professional liability insurance, you’re safeguarded against the financial burden of Client A making this claim. In other words, even if this claim is unfounded, the court and litigation costs associated with this claim are going to be covered by your insurance, leaving you protected and financially unburdened despite this issue.
General Liability Insurance
Think of general liability insurance as your basic “slip-and-fall” insurance. In fact, that’s exactly what general liability insurance is often referred to as.
General liability insurance covers damages and injuries that weren’t directly caused by you, your services, or your advice, but happened in relation to you. So, unlike professional liability insurance, this coverage isn’t about your direct actions whatsoever.
Instead, general liability insurance tackles issues, claims, and allegations that are brought against you that are relative to your business.
For example. Let’s revisit Client A again. Let’s say Client A walks into your gym just as happy as a clam. They’re so focused on getting into the gym and starting their session, they don’t even notice the new rugs you so thoughtfully added to the entrance. Client A trips, falls, and breaks their ankle. Client A, of course, says this is your fault.
But, you invested in general liability insurance, so you’re protected! This type of liability insurance is going to cover the costs of paying out this claim, the court costs associated with proving this claim is unfounded, and other litigation costs that might be necessary.
Product Liability Insurance
This type of insurance will provide you with protection from a client or customer having a negative reaction (or claiming to have a negative reaction) to a product that you used during the course of your service or training session. Further, it can protect you from any damages caused by a product that you sell or endorse that led to injury or damage.
This type of insurance offers a type of warranty or guarantee on a product and is specifically created to cover you in the event that your product malfunctions or causes injury or damage to a third party.
What we’re saying is this—personal training doesn’t’ always include equipment, but when it does, your client’s risk of injury goes up. All it takes is a loose spring or an improperly secured chain to cause a world of problems. Product liability can protect you from the repercussions of this.
Let’s go back to Client A one more time. (Wow, what a troublemaker. It might be best to not work with Client A anymore, just saying). Client A is using a piece of equipment that you can’t help but rave about. You’ve used it for years and can’t get enough of it and you’re sure it will get them the results they’re looking for.
But the safety chain is loose (somehow) and Client A ends up being injured by this piece of equipment that you wanted them to use. Your product liability insurance helps protect you in this type of situation so that you’re not stuck dealing with the brunt of the financial expenses that could be associated with a lawsuit.
Are you ready to invest in the protection that your personal training career deserves? We thought you might be. While we absolutely stand by what we said at the beginning of all of this (reminder: you don’t need to partner with us for liability insurance, but you do need liability insurance), we’re still going to make sure you’ve got all the details and info you need to make a decision about working with us.
At Insure Fitness Group, we’ve created a liability policy specifically for personal trainers just like you—that means we’ve got you covered when it comes to the specific risks associated with your career. Further, we’ve got those three types of liability insurance on lock, too (professional, general, and product liability insurances are all included in our policy).
Don’t just take our word for it, though—see how we compare to some of the other big names in the liability insurance industry.
Still unsure of how to shop for the right personal training insurance for you?
We’ve got you covered here, too. Check out our guide on how to choose the best personal trainer insurance for you—from policy types and services covered to costs and customer service, we’re covering it all.
At the end of the day, your career, your finances, and your future matter most of all—make sure you partner with an insurance company that’s going to put you first and protect you at all costs.
