Any business can pick and choose the insurance policies that suit them as their business grows and business needs change. From protecting your property to protecting your staff and the people who visit your premises, a simple rule of thumb in insurance is that, the more you have, the more you need to protect – and protect against.
Furthermore,
‘underinsurance’ is a major issue in our business. It can be the difference between a business surviving an unanticipated, problematic event and, well, simply, not surviving it. With any gym likely to have a constant flow of clients heading in and out of its doors, and packed with crucial equipment, there are too many potential hazards here to risk going without insurance.
Here’s what a comprehensive gym insurance package will cover you for…
Public liability insurance
Curiously, public liability is not a legally required form of cover, despite being one of the most regularly required when it comes to claims. Public liability insurance will cover you for any injuries sustained by people who are not your employees, either on your premises or as a result of your work.
Therefore, even when it comes to a compact gym with select clientele or a room used for low-impact exercise, there remain a good number of people who can be injured – even by slipping and falling on their way out.
Products liability insurance
If you manufacture or supply goods, then there’s the chance that your product could also cause illness or injury. Even something as simple as a t-shirt promoting your brand could cause skin irritation, while any supplements that you stock could be detrimental to health for a variety of reasons.
Also, if you sell any equipment, from a resistance band to branded dumbbells, there’s the chance that they could cause injury. Your product might not actually be to blame, but that doesn’t stop someone from trying to blame that product – and you – in the meantime.
Employer’s liability insurance
This is an essential one. From the moment you become an employer, your employer’s liability insurance
must cover you for at least £5 million and come from an authorised insurer (like us). If you’re in the process of hiring your first member of staff, this figure can sound incredible – and suggest equally eye-opening policy costs – but it doesn’t work out that way at all.
While EL insurance will help you pay compensation to any employee who becomes ill or injured due to work they do for you, this cover is also a legal requirement and could cost you as much as £2,500 every day you go without it.
Malpractice cover
You might think this must be only for doctors, or those who practice law, but it applies to many other professions, too – the fitness industry included. Much like a lawyer could advise a client to go in a certain direction or a doctor could prescribe a certain treatment or medicine (which doesn’t work out), a PT or gym owner could guide a client in the same sort of way.
Here, malpractice cover works similarly to public liability insurance but protects your business in a much broader way. If a client did take you to court, following negative or injurious results of your well-intentioned advice, your cover would kick in, and you wouldn’t have to worry about forking out legal fees.
Equipment cover
This includes fixtures, fittings and stock cover, too. While your
other levels of cover insure you against damage to actual
other people, you are also protected against damage they cause to your property.
While you should be sure to check warranties and have your equipment serviced as often as you are required to do so, having this cover for accidental damage will help you out with unexpected costs elsewhere. It also covers you for theft, vandalism, and damage caused by burst pipes or fire.
With the average cost of
something like a replacement treadmill motor coming in at over £350, this is a type of cover that can prove invaluable over time.
Legal expenses insurance
If you’ve already got public liability and malpractice cover, why do you need this one, too? Legal expenses insurance works a little differently. You purchase this to
fund the costs of legal advice and/or the cost of bringing or defending a court case.
This works in two ways – either before and after the case is taken to court. For instance, if a case in the future is to be fought or defended, this form of insurance covers the court costs. However, if a case is lost, and the defendant is ordered to compensate those on the other side, this policy helps to cover the costs.
A comprehensive policy that works
With a Fitness Gold
gym insurance policy, all the above covers come as standard in one easy-to-manage package. Of course, we do tailor our products to your needs, so you won’t need to purchase cover you don’t need.
For instance, if you don’t currently employ any other staff and you run your gym independently, you won’t need employer’s liability cover. However, the moment you employ a member of staff, even if it’s a freelance or temporary employee, you’ll instantly need this level of cover.
On top of all the above, we also provide automatic cover for loss of income, damage to fixed glass on your property, goods in transit – cover applicable for transportation of equipment to and from your locations – and loss of money after theft. Optional cover includes protecting items that you regularly move from – or keep out of – the gym, working away from home, full buildings cover (should you own the property) and damage to your gym caused by terrorism.
Finally, it must be added that you can get all of this, and keep all your documents secure, by simply visiting us online and getting a quote. From
here, our expert team will do the rest and provide the very best policy for protecting you, your property, your valuables and your invaluable clients with one simple policy.
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