Accidents can occur on the job — whether you’re directly or indirectly working with a client. These incidents can lead to lawsuits, which typically result in significant legal and settlement fees. It’s important to carry professional liability insurance for your training business to cover the costs affiliated with these types of accidents. Insurance for personal trainers usually encompasses two separate forms of protection:

• Professional Liability Insurance: Protect against claims from clients that result from directly providing services to them. For example, you tell a client to do an exercise, which results in an injury.
• General Liability Insurance: Protects against claims resulting from an incident related to you but where you were not directly involved. For example, during a training session with a client, they slip and fall on a wet floor.

It’s essential to have both. This provides your business with the best protection against legal claims. In this article, we offer five reasons why you, as a personal trainer, should have personal liability insurance ready.

Your gym’s insurance protects the gym. Your insurance protects you. 

You may work at a gym or contract with one. Gyms provide you with a place to host your clients, the equipment you need for your job, and leads for new business. It’s growing more common for gyms to require their trainers to have personal liability insurance, as this is the best way to keep both you and the gym out of trouble.

However, even if your gym doesn’t require you to own personal liability insurance, you still should have it. Your gym may have coverage for itself, but this insurance won’t necessarily protect you. The gym’s insurance likely pays legal fees and settlement costs if an individual is suing the gym. But that doesn’t mean you’re protected if someone sues you.

Protect your business from accidents 

Dealing with a lawsuit can ruin your business. Suddenly, legal fees are draining your bank account, and the stress of dealing with these costs and issues may affect how you work with remaining clients. But, if you purchased insurance, your insurance company generally deals with the costs of the lawsuit.

They may even take on the whole lawsuit on your behalf, causing minimal disruptions to you and your career. A reputable insurance provider can also help save time by expediting your claim to take care of issues faster.

Make your business look professional

With the internet, a lot more individuals are trying to provide personal training services as a hobby. The fact you have insurance can be a differentiating factor that shows clients that you’re a professional and that personal training isn’t a “side hustle,” but a full-time career.

An insurance policy also indicates that you’re prepared for the worst-case scenarios and understand how to manage your risks as a business owner. This ultimately makes you stand out and helps build trust between you and potential and current clients.

Safeguard your career from frivolous claims 

“I simply won’t make any mistakes as a personal trainer. I don’t need insurance.”

Even if this was true, it doesn’t stop individuals from making legal claims even when you didn’t do anything wrong. If a client believes you were negligent or, for some reason, contributed to their pain or suffering, they can still file a lawsuit against you, and you’d have to handle the associated legal fees.

Personal liability insurance protects you from these claims, as well. As mentioned, a good insurance policy covers your legal costs and help expedite your claim to take care of your issue faster.

Sleep well knowing that you’re protected 

An essential aspect of purchasing any insurance policy is the peace of mind it provides. With insurance, you know that if anything happens with a client that results in a lawsuit, the cost for legal services won’t generally be from your wallet, but the insurance company’s. Without personal liability insurance, even empty threats of a lawsuit from a one-off, angry client could keep you up at night.

Professional liability insurance is an integral part of your training business. You should purchase both professional and general liability insurance to ensure that all your bases are covered. Although insurance isn’t free, you’ll be more than glad you bought it when the time comes.

WRITTEN BY: Adrian Zee
Adrian Zee is a freelance writer and a student at Osgoode Hall Law School. Previously, he studied management and writing at Western University and worked in the data & analytics industry.