We have an increasing awareness of our health these days, and we’re also becoming increasingly aware that there are more ways to ensure that we stay fit than just spending half an hour a week jogging around the local park.
As such, the fitness industry is growing rapidly. It’s currently growing at around 5% per year, and according to the 2017 State of the UK Fitness Industry Report, one in every seven people in the UK is a member of a gym. The UK fitness industry is worth nearly £5 billion.
It’s also hugely diverse. It ranges from large, national gym chains to sole traders who operate as fitness instructors and private trainers. But these businesses all have one thing in common and that’s the fact that they face risks that need to be insured via
fitness instructor insurance.
What does fitness instructor insurance cover?
In many respects, fitness instructor insurance is similar to standard business insurance. It covers the property and equipment that you use in your business. It also includes liability insurance to cover you against any compensation claims made against you.
However, unlike standard business insurance, an insurance policy designed for the fitness industry will include malpractice Insurance. This is an important type of insurance and without it, many claims made against people operating in the fitness industry would be uninsured.
Fitness instructor insurance can be extended to cover other risks, too. Legal expenses insurance is available which covers you against any unexpected legal bills that you incur if you become involved in legal action. Personal accident and sickness insurance can be added to protect your income if you’re unable to work due to an injury or an illness, either via a weekly benefit if you’re off work temporarily, or via a lump sum if you’re permanently incapacitated.
Malpractice insurance
Malpractice insurance is a vital component of a fitness instructor insurance policy.
Whereas a standard business insurance policy will include public liability insurance, which covers you if a compensation claim is made against you because you have injured someone or damaged their property, this won’t cover claims arising out of professional activities. This causes two problems.
First, many claims made against people in the fitness industry arise from activities that would deem to be professional activities. If someone is injured because of the fitness plan you’ve designed for them, for instance, that claim would not be covered because it would be deemed to be professional negligence.
Compensation claims arising out of personal injuries can be expensive to settle. Some of the more serious injuries, such as spinal injuries, can end up being settled for amounts in excess of £100,000. Unlike the public liability insurance in a standard business insurance policy, malpractice insurance covers such claims.
Second, standard public liability insurance only covers claims involving personal injuries or damage to someone’s property and doesn’t cover claims that only involve purely economic losses. Malpractice insurance covers purely economic losses as well as claims involving injuries and property damage.
So, who needs fitness instructor insurance?
Anyone involved in the fitness injury needs a fitness instructor insurance policy rather than a standard business insurance policy because the malpractice insurance in a fitness instructor insurance policy is so vital.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a sole trader or a national fitness chain. Accidents can happen no matter how small or large your business is.
And it doesn’t matter how much experience you have, or how well qualified you are. We all make mistakes and given the potential for a substantial compensation claim to be made against you, it’s not worth running the risk of going without insurance just to save a small amount of money.
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