Maintaining a comprehensive studio and gym insurance policy is essential. All it takes to ruin your business is for one student to get hurt in your class. Without gym liability insurance coverage, you could be forced to pay thousands from your own pocket for claims.
We’ll break down the different types of gym insurance policies that you’ll be able to purchase and explain how they work. Then, we’ll show you some gym insurance costs, so you have an idea of how much to invest.
Carriers offer tailored gym insurance and fitness center insurance that fits your needs as a gym owner or fitness studio owner. Protection begins with a standard liability insurance policy.
Liability insurance, included in fitness studio and small gym insurance, protects you from third-party claims that could cost millions. If your gym or studio is responsible for something that happened to a third-party, liability insurance will see to it that you don’t spend a single penny for wrapping things up.
Also read: Sports Facility Insurance: Cost & Quotes From $11
There are several different types of liability insurance that you should be aware of. Each is designed to cover different types of claims that your business could face.
It is estimated that 459,978 people were injured while exercising or using exercise equipment in 2012. Public liability insurance is easily the most common type of insurance that gyms will need. This type of coverage protects your gym from personal injury claims or property damage claims clients, guests, vendors, and other third parties file. Here are some examples for you to understand how public liability insurance works in practice:
One of your clients is using equipment without supervision. This client got injured while using the equipment. If this client files a claim and demands your business to pay for his pain and suffering, public liability insurance will take care of the expenses such as compensation, attorney fees, and other legal expenses
An equipment of your business damaged the phone of a client. If the client demands reimbursement for his broken property, public liability insurance will pay on your behalf
The protection public liability insurance provides for your business is very limited. There are other costly exposures aside from personal injury claims and property damage claims. With that said, if you want to have more protection, consider getting general liability insurance instead.
General liability insurance for gyms and fitness studios will also take care of personal injury claims and property damage claims just like public liability insurance. However, as its name implies, this insurance policy also takes care of other liabilities associated with your business operations.
There are optional policies in general liability insurance your business can enjoy at an additional price. These optional policies are:
Advertising injury coverage
Rented premises liability coverage
Advertising injury coverage is an optional policy in general liability insurance that will cover attorney fees, other legal costs, and compensatory payments when a third party sues your business for reputational or advertising harm. The language of advertising injury coverage includes the following perils:
Slander
Libel
False advertising
Copyright infringement
You’ll find rented premises liability coverage useful if you’re renting a commercial space for your gym or fitness studio. If fire damages the rented commercial space, general liability insurance will reimburse the property owner on your behalf.
Professional liability insurance will cover costs if your business caused economic or financial loss to a client by committing acts constituting errors and omissions. The language of this liability insurance includes the following perils:
Negligence
Inaccurate advice
Misrepresentation
Violation of good faith and fair dealing
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Carriers don’t only offer liability insurance for gyms and fitness studios. Other useful insurance policies available are:
Commercial property insurance
Workers compensation insurance
Abuse and molestation insurance
Commercial property insurance sees to it that you won’t incur significant financial losses if something happens to the gym and fitness studio. These are the primary functions of commercial property insurance:
If your gym and fitness studio is destroyed by fire or extreme weather, commercial property insurance will reimburse your losses up to the value of the destroyed commercial property stated in its terms
If your gym and fitness studio only incurred damage due to fire, extreme weather, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils, commercial property insurance will reimburse losses up to the value of the damages
In addition, commercial property insurance for fitness studios and gyms feature the following inclusions:
Business equipment coverage
Stocks and contents coverage
Your gym and fitness studio have valuable equipment such as treadmills, stationary bicycles, dumbbell sets, barbell sets, cable crossover machines, power towers, weight benches, and more. When these become lost or damaged due to fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils, business equipment coverage will reimburse your losses.
Your fitness studio and gym might be selling items such as drinks, milk proteins, gym apparel, etc. The job of stocks and contents coverage is to cover your losses if these items get lost or damaged due to extreme weather, fire, vandalism, and other covered perils.
You need workers' compensation insurance if there are one or more employees working to provide customers with gym training services or fitness sessions.
It’s your job to pay for treatment, hospitalization, rehab, and lost income compensation if an employee becomes injured or sick because of work. The job of workers' compensation insurance is to ensure that you don’t use personal funds or business funds when doing so.
Workers' compensation insurance will pay for the employee's treatment, hospitalization, rehab, and lost income compensation on your behalf. Speaking of lost income compensation, the employee will receive a weekly allowance equal to two-thirds or 67% of the average weekly wage. This means that if the employee is earning $1200 per week, he or she will receive $804 as compensation for lost income.
Will worker's compensation take care of things if an employee dies? The answer to this is yes. Workers' compensation insurance also provides death benefits. Specific death benefits workers comp provides are payment for funeral costs and allowance to dependents equal to two-thirds of the deceased’s average weekly wage.
A client might claim to have been abused and molested by an employee of your gym and fitness studio. Claims for abuse and molestation are expensive, typically ranging from $130,000 - $600,000 for damages. Protect yourself from the costs with abuse and molestation insurance. Abuse and molestation insurance will cover defense costs and compensatory payments if a client decides to file a claim after experiencing any form of sexual harassment an employee committed.
On average, gym liability insurance cost $55 per month or $660 per year for a $1 million general liability coverage. To give you more idea about what to expect to pay for your gym insurance, we’ve put together a table with the average premiums charged by some of the top gym, fitness, and health club insurance providers on the market.
Cost per Month | Cost per Year | Best for | |
---|---|---|---|
CoverWallet | $47 | $564 | Fitness and studio insurance quotes comparison online |
Thimble | $51 | $612 | Short-term gym insurance and fitness business insurance |
NEXT | $55 | $660 | Fitness insurance with a 10% discount |
Different factors determine how much you’ll pay for gym insurance policy, including:
The size of your gym
What type of equipment is at your gym
The city your gym is located in
How many members you have
Whether or not your gym offers childcare
Whether or not your gym offers personal training
To get your personalized gym and fitness studio insurance quote, simply click the ‘Get Quotes’ button below, enter some information about your gym, and you’ll receive customized quotes from reputable small business insurance companies.
Personal training insurance or personal training studio insurance is more affordable than insuring an entire gym. Since you’ll be working one-on-one with clients or teaching group fitness classes, the risk of claims is significantly reduced compared to a large gym with hundreds of members coming in and out every day.
The average cost of a $1,000,000/$2,000,000 general liability insurance policy for personal trainers is $12 per month or $144 per year. Here are the average rates charged by popular personal training insurance providers.
Cost per Month | Cost per Year | Cost per Month |
---|---|---|
CoverWallet | $6 | $72 |
Thimble | $8 | $96 |
NEXT | $11 | $132 |
In the table above, we looked at the average rates of gym and fitness center insurance. Those figures assume that you’re operating a standard gym with a few dumbbells, treadmills, and some cable machines.
What about if you own a specialty gym like boxing gyms, MMA gyms, or climbing gyms?. Below, we’ll go over the average rates of liability insurance for these specialty gyms.
If you own a boxing gym, then you’ll have to pay extra as there's a higher risk of injuries. The same goes for martial arts gym insurance and MMA gym insurance as well. The average cost for martial arts studio, MMA, and boxing gym insurance is $87 per month or $1,044 per year for a $1m general liability insurance policy. As always, your rates depend on the size of your studio, the number of members, location, and other risk assessment factors.
Crossfit is a popular exercise style that incorporates aspects of powerlifting, high-intensity aerobics, plyometrics, and even acrobatics. Popular crossfit exercises often involve dangerous exercises like climbing 30-foot-tall ropes or jumping onto high boxes. While trainers may do their best to decrease the overall risk factor associated with crossfit training, there’s always a high possibility of bodily injury claims.
That said, the average crossfit gym insurance cost is about $58.5 per month or $702 per year for a $1 million general liability coverage.
Climbing gyms are designed to give members the experience of rock climbing without having to take a trip to the closest mountain cliff. They typically feature large climbing walls, hard-to-maneuver obstacles, and may include additional training equipment. Unfortunately, while safety precautions are usually taken seriously, there’s often a possibility of equipment malfunction or dangerous slip-and-fall accidents that can result in broken bones or even death.
The average climbing gym insurance cost is $72 per month or $864 per year for a $1 million general liability coverage.
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Cancel a policy anytime
Has an online quotes comparison platform you can use to see the offers and pricing of different insurance companies
Manage your policies online via the MyCoverWallet app
Has comprehensive commercial property insurance for gym facilities
Not an insurance company but an insurance broker
Doesn’t offer tailored fitness club insurance
CoverWallet has four insurance plans for fitness centers and gyms- basic, standard, pro, and pro plus.
The basic plan only allows you to get general liability insurance with products and completed operations coverage. This one is the cheapest option. However, it will only provide protection for personal injury claims and property damage. Coverage for products and completed operations is also included.
Get the standard plan if you want to insure your gym and fitness studio’s physical assets. In this plan, CoverWallet allows you to get general liability insurance and commercial property insurance.
The pro plan comes in the form of a business owner’s policy with workers compensation insurance. Purchase this one if your fitness studio and gym is growing.
If you’re not sure about the protection that basic, standard, or pro plan provides, go for CoverWallet’s custom plan. The custom plan allows you to choose which insurance for fitness classes and gyms to get and won’t stop you from getting as much protection as possible.
Best for: Fitness studio and gym insurance quotes comparison online
Average cost: $47 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Choose to only get covered for hours, weeks, days, or months
Allows you to have zero deductibles on your insurance policies
Get an ACORD certificate of insurance
Transactions can only be made via the Thimble website or app
Thimble offers tailored gym insurance and fitness insurance for businesses. The gym insurance this company underwrites comes in the form of a business owner’s policy that combines general liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and business interruption insurance into one insurance product. For more protection, Thimble allows you to add equipment breakdown insurance and non-owned/hired auto insurance.
Thimble’s fitness insurance, on the other hand, is a tailored coverage for personal trainers, crossfit instructors, yoga instructors, tai chi instructors, zumba instructors, and other related professionals. Policies included are general liability insurance, professional liability insurance, equipment breakdown coverage, and commercial property insurance.
Best for: Short-term gym insurance and fitness business insurance
Average cost: $51 per month
Our rating: 9/10
Bundle policies and get a 10% discount
Helps customers save up to 30% on their insurance premiums
Fast to process claims
Some customers report that NEXT increased their rates without giving a heads up
Doesn’t offer insurance for gym owners
NEXT's fitness insurance is available for 12+ types of professions in the fitness industry. Inclusions are professional liability insurance and general liability insurance with optional tools and equipment coverage. If you have assistants, NEXT will allow you to add workers compensation insurance. Work with NEXT because it gives a 10% discount when buying more than one policy, instant live certificate of insurance, and streamlined claims filing process.
Best for: Fitness insurance with a 10% discount
Average cost: $55 per month
Our rating: 8/10
Before we end this discussion, let’s answer some frequently asked questions about fitness industry insurance rates and coverage types. So hopefully, if there are questions we didn’t answer before, we hope that you’ll find an answer below!
Personal training business insurance is an insurance policy for personal trainers. This primarily includes general liability and professional liability insurance but can be added with commercial auto insurance and commercial property insurance. On the other hand, gym business insurance is a tailored coverage for different kinds of gyms and automatically includes general liability insurance, professional liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and workers compensation insurance.
It depends on whether you’re an employee of the gym or a self-employed fitness instructor contracted by the gym. If you work for a gym, then you should be covered under your gym’s insurance policy.
On the other hand, if you’re hired to instruct classes at a gym as an independent instructor, then you’ll need to purchase gym instructor insurance to cover your classes. On a further note, the gym will request you to get insurance so that it can be added as an additional insured.
If you run a gym that’s open 24 hours, then you may pay slightly higher rates for your insurance coverage. This is due to the fact that the gym is open for business for a greater amount of time, thus increasing the overall risk. Additionally, there may not be enough staff to watch over members late at night, increasing the risk even further.
If you own a business teaching online fitness classes, it’s good to purchase online fitness insurance. This will protect you against personal injury claims from students who follow your instruction and professional liability claims from disgruntled students who weren’t willing to put in the work and didn’t get the results they wanted.
If you train clients at your home gym, then you’ll want to purchase a home gym business insurance policy. This will protect you from claims made by your clients after they got injured in your home gym. Personal gym insurance may seem like overkill to some, but it’s usually quite affordable and can save you a lot of headaches from disgruntled or injured clients.
If you’re ready to get your free studio and gym insurance quote, then click the ‘Get Quotes’ button on this page! After following the process and entering some basic information about your business, you’ll receive a generous amount of competitive customized fitness studio and gym insurance quotes online from top carriers. Then, you’ll be able to compare and contrast rates and coverage options from the best gym and fitness studio insurance companies to figure out which option is the best.
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John Murphy Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
Worst insurance comapny I have ever dealt with. A commercial vehicle represented by GUARD t boned my wife and daughters family vehicle in the middle of the day. Driver was cited and insurance claim insued. Fast forward 4 months and refusal of full amount of claim is still happening. Driver was found guilty, repairs started on my vehicle and when it comes to the final bill and diminished value we cannot get any help. I am out a family car, have an injured and traumatized wife and children, and now have to get legal and BBB involved for a company to do the RIGHT thing. Scott Lewis, Kevin Ware, Heather White, and Ryan P, lied about communcation on my claim, demonstrated Bias by overpromising and under delivering . They refused to pay the full amount owed and have associates untrained in vehicle condition assessment and reconditioning. Also, not one GUARD insurance representative has contacted my wife (the injured party) in 4 months to follow up on medical treatment. STAY AWAY IF YOU ARE SHOPPING INSURANCE!
Kasey Arey Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
This company gives you a price that was in place for a year and when you have to use it there is fine print were they can go back and charge you more. Would not recommend them to any one. Crooks
Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
Had general liability and workers comp with amguard. Paid high premiums and yet still got audited every year and had to pay more. Was able to prove less risk the first two audits and disputed price down but none the less had to pay more just so I could renew coverage. Third time the audit ( based on what I paid my premium on ) was ridiculous and tried to prove that there was no increase in risk from what I paid for my premium. However they would not believe it and required I paid full audit amount in order to have redline removed. Basically you do what they say and pay whatever outlandish bill they come up with or they will make sure you can’t run your business anymore. ????
Felicia Broadus Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
Avoid these SCAM ARTISTS! They don’t pay claims!!! Save yourself the trouble and money!
Felicia Broadus Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
They are the worst, my truck was hit in January 23 and the claim adjuster has not been out to this very day! They have every excuse in the book as to why. They have not been to the collision shop. PLEASE AVOID THESE SCAM ARTIST!