If you’re a personal trainer, you’re accustomed to facing challenges head on. But you can’t account for every potential issue. Accidents in the gym, stolen equipment and lawsuits are just a few of the problems that your personal trainer business might face.

Think of personal trainer insurance as a core group of coverage types for a wide variety of predicaments.

What Is Personal Trainer Insurance?

Personal trainer insurance is a small business insurance policy that contains several coverage types to address the specific risks that can affect fitness professionals, such as accidents, property damage to others, cyberattacks and lawsuits.

For example, if your client sues you because your advice in a class results in an injury, the professional liability portion of your business insurance policy can cover your legal fees, judgments and settlements.

Who Needs Personal Trainer Insurance?

Personal trainer coverage is beneficial for a variety of professionals in the health and fitness industry, including:

• Fitness instructors
• Health and wellness coaches
• Personal trainers
• Pilates instructors
• Yoga instructors

What Does Personal Trainer Insurance Cover?

Personal trainer insurance combines different types of small business insurance that cover your business for a range of issues like stolen equipment, accidental injuries and property damage to others, lawsuits and damage to your business property.

A business owners policy (BOP) can serve as a solid base for personal trainer insurance. It bundles together three essential coverage types and it’s generally cheaper than buying each separately.

Here is the coverage you can find in a BOP:

Business Liability Insurance

Business liability insurance, also called general liability insurance, covers accidental property damage and injuries to others. For example, if a client slips on a wet floor at your gym, your general liability insurance will cover their medical bills and your legal costs if you’re sued because of the accident.

Commercial Property Insurance

Commercial property insurance covers the location of your personal trainer business and your equipment, such as exercise machines, weights and computers.

For instance, if a severe storm shatters a window at your fitness studio, this coverage pays to replace the window and any other items that may have been damaged, such as TVs on the wall.

Business Interruption Insurance

If you have to temporarily close your personal trainer business due to a problem covered by your policy, such as a fire, business interruption insurance replaces your lost income. This coverage is also called “business income insurance” and covers lost income due to problems like wind damage, theft, money lost due to damaged equipment and temporarily moving to a new location.

Types of Business Insurance Personal Trainers Need

A personal training business may need coverage types in addition to a BOP for other problems, such as car accidents, cyberattacks and workplace injuries.

Commercial Auto Insurance

Commercial auto insurance covers cars, vans and trucks you use for your business, such as transporting equipment to a client’s home. Your personal auto insurance won’t cover business use of a vehicle.

Here are the coverage types you’ll typically find in a commercial auto insurance policy:

• Bodily injury liability insurance. This covers accidental bodily injuries to others if you or your employees cause a car accident.
• Property damage liability insurance. This covers accidental property damage to others caused by you or your employees. For instance, if you accidentally damage your client’s car while parking.
• Collision insurance. This pays for repairs or replacement of your work vehicle if you or your employees get into a car crash.
• Comprehensive insurance. This pays to replace or repair your work vehicle for problems such as theft, vandalism, hail, fire, falling objects and collisions with animals.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance (UM/UIM). This pays you and your passengers medical expenses if you’re hit by a driver who doesn’t have car insurance or someone who doesn’t have enough car insurance. In some states, you can also add UM to pay for damage to your vehicle from an uninsured driver.
• Medical expenses coverage and personal injury protection (PIP): These cover you and your passengers’ medical expenses no matter who is at fault for a car crash.

Commercial Umbrella Insurance

If you need an extra layer of protection on top of your general liability insurance, consider a commercial umbrella insurance policy. For example, if your business gets sued for $750,000 and your general liability limits are $500,000, umbrella insurance would cover the $250,000 shortfall.

Cyber Liability Insurance

If your fitness business experiences a cyberattack or data breach that results in the exposure of your customers’ private information (such as credit card numbers), this insurance covers costs like investigative services, identity recovery and data recovery. Cyber liability insurance also covers your legal costs, settlements and judgments related to a cyber incident.

Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability insurance covers professional mistakes you make in your business. For example, if you get sued by a client for bad advice that led to personal harm, professional liability insurance would cover your legal costs.

Professional liability insurance is also known as errors and omissions insurance.

Product Liability Insurance

This coverage pays for your medical expenses and legal costs if you sell a product to a client that results in an injury, illness, death or damage to someone else’s property. If you’re selling items like exercise equipment or health products, product liability insurance is a must-buy.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

You are required to have workers’ compensation insurance in most states if your personal trainer business has any employees (even just one). It covers medical expenses, disability benefits and lost wages if an employee becomes injured or ill due to work-related tasks.

What’s Not Covered by Personal Trainer Insurance?

Personal trainer insurance doesn’t cover every type of issue. Typical exclusions include:

• Earthquakes and floods (you can purchase earthquakes and flood insurance if they are a concern)
• Radioactive fallout
• Infectious diseases
• Intentional and fraudulent acts you commit
• Wrongful termination (you can purchase employee practice liability insurance for this coverage)

Examples of Personal Trainer Insurance Claims

Here are examples of claims that personal trainers may encounter and the relevant coverage:

What Is the Average Cost of Personal Trainer Insurance?

Professional liability insurance for personal trainers costs an average of $35 per month, according to Insureon. Your own insurance costs will vary depending on factors such as:

• Services offered, such as boot camp, boxing or weight training
• Business equipment and property
• Location of the business
• Income of your  business
• Types of business insurance purchased
• Coverage limits and deductibles you chose

How to Get Personal Trainer Insurance

Here’s how to find personal trainer insurance to fit your needs.

Collect All of Your Documents

Before you start shopping for a business insurance policy, it’s best to gather all of the information that will be needed. This will streamline the application process:

• Your contact information
• Description of your business activities
• Number of workers
• Your business address, including whether you own or rent the property
• Proof how long you have been in business
• Projected annual business revenue for the current year

Select Coverage Types

When deciding on the insurance coverage that suits your needs, a business owners policy is an excellent starting point. A BOP combines three vital coverage types—general liability insurance, business interruption insurance and commercial property insurance—into a single package. This streamlines your insurance and often proves more cost-effective than purchasing these policies individually.

You can further tailor your coverage to fit your specific personal trainer business. For example, if you use a business vehicle for workshops and client visits, you can add commercial auto insurance to your BOP.

Compare Quotes

Prices and coverage details can vary by insurance company. That’s why comparing quotes from multiple insurance providers is a smart approach to finding the best policy. You can sometimes request business insurance quotes online (depending on the company), or contact an independent insurance agent.

Where Can I Get Personal Trainer Insurance?

Small business insurance companies sell common types of insurance so you can customize a personal trainer insurance policy. You can start with a BOP and add more coverage as necessary.

Companies that sell small business insurance include:

• Acuity
• Allianz
• Allstate
• American Family Insurance
• AmTrust Financial
• Auto-Owners Insurance
• Chubb
• Cincinnati Insurance
• Clear Blue Insurance
• CNA
• Erie Insurance
• Farmers Insurance
• Frankenmuth Insurance
• The Hanover
• The Hartford
• Liberty Mutual
• Nationwide
• State Farm
• Travelers
• Utica First Insurance
• Westfield Insurance

Personal Trainer Insurance Frequently Asked Questions