We’ve written recently about the importance of insurance for personal trainers. It is unfortunate, but given today’s litigious society, a simple accident can result in a multi-million dollar lawsuit. As a personal trainer, that type of lawsuit will not only likely cause you to lose your business, but it may also result in personal bankruptcy as well. All it takes is an unlucky accident and your business could turn into the biggest nightmare of your life.
So how can you go about selecting the right type of insurance for your business? Below are several key steps in the process. Contact us today if you’d like some help along the way!
1) Identify your areas of liability. Many trainers are shocked to learn how much exposure they have to various forms of liability risk. If an accident occurs during a workout session, you are at risk. This is true whether you made a mistake, or even if the client simply tripped and fell! If you provide nutritional advice and it leads to illness or other complications, you could be liable. If a client claims that they have been harassed physically or emotionally, you are at risk. The list goes on, and it is important to take the time to think through each of these scenarios so that you’ve identified all significant sources of risk. This is a vital first step, and if you’d like help, please contact us today!
2) Select the appropriate coverage levels. Once you have identified the various forms of insurance that will be needed in order to insure yourself and your business against various scenarios, the next step is to figure out how much coverage is necessary. The lower the levels of your insurance, the cheaper your premiums will be. But if your insurance protection isn’t sufficient to cover the full amount of your liability, you could find yourself filing for bankruptcy, even if you had insurance. We recommend that every trainer should carry at least $1,000,000 of protection which is why we have designed our program accordingly.
3) Carefully examine the terms and conditions. Before signing on the dotted line of any insurance policy, it is important that you understand the details. What events trigger payouts? Are there exclusions or “gaps” in your coverage that won’t be covered? If you don’t take the time to understand your policy before you sign it, you may be in for a nasty surprise should an incident occur.
4) Ensure that you’re working with a reputable, experienced, and ethical provider. Finally, it’s important to work with an insurer that you can trust. After all, you are counting on this organization to protect you in your time of need—and should an incident occur, the last thing you want to worry about is whether or not your insurer will hold up their end of the deal.
If you’d like help selecting the appropriate insurance for your personal training business, we want to help. Please contact us today to learn more!
