How to Get the Best Personal Trainer Insurance in Canada (2024)
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With over a third of Canadian adults making fitness-related resolutions every near year, it is as good a time as any to become a personal trainer. Your work can mean changing peoples’ lives, but it also carries with it a unique set of risks. To make sure you are protected from any liabilities either you or your customer might be exposed to, it's best to make sure you have yourself covered with a good personal trainer insurance policy.
We’ll take a look at what personal trainer insurance is, who needs it, how much it costs and how to apply.
What is personal trainer insurance?
Personal trainer insurance refers to business insurance that protects personal trainers and fitness professionals from lawsuits or claims launched against them and their businesses. While personal trainers are there to get their clients into better shape, sometimes accidents occur, and you may find yourself facing liability for damages or injuries. After all, any business dealing with people's health is particularly exposed to having claims filed against it.
Whether it's providing nutritional counselling, teaching yoga, training older clients, or providing courses online, the risks of your practice will depend on the kind of work you do. Getting comprehensive coverage from a normal business insurance policy can be tricky, so it's best to seek out specific policies geared toward the fitness and wellness industries.
Expert advice
It should be noted that personal trainer insurance policies may not cover the training of minors or professional athletes. If you need this type of coverage be sure to understand what is and is not available through your policy and insurer.
How can I get personal trainer insurance?
Before buying personal trainer insurance for your business, shop around and compare policies from different insurance companies. You can get started right here with HelloSafe.
Better protection for your business today
Here is how to get started:
- Determine the type of coverage you need - As a personal trainer, insurance will protect you against claims of negligence or injury. Add-ons can also cover your equipment and property.
- Research insurance companies - Consider choosing an insurance company familiar with your industry.
- Get quotes and compare quotes: Pay attention to coverage limits and exclusions. The lowest upfront price isn’t always the best or cheapest coverage.
Good to know
Unsure where to start? After comparing insurance quotes, ask other personal trainers and fitness professionals for recommendations.
Why do I need personal trainer insurance?
Any form of physical activity conducted in the context of a business exchange has its own set of risks and liabilities. Equipment can get damaged, people can get injured, so it's best to make sure you have a policy to protect yourself from this kind of risk. The benefits are twofold – you not only make sure you are insulated from financial loss, whether from legal proceedings or a loss of income due to an inability to work, but you may also find yourself securing more work because of your policy. Clients want to see they are working with someone serious, and nothing says serious like an insurance policy.
The list of professions that should get personal trainer insurance is not limited to but includes the following:
- Aerobics Instructors
- Cardio Trainers
- Dance Teachers / Instructors
- Fitness Exercise Instructors
- Freelance Personal Trainers
- Gym Owners
- Health and Lifestyle Coaches
- Online Instructors
- Pilates Instructors
- Yoga Teachers
- Zumba Instructors
What does personal trainer insurance cover?
Personal Trainer insurance usually covers a breadth of risks you might encounter over the course of your work. While every insurance policy is different, most packages will typically include these three forms of coverage, with many add-ons available upon request:
| Insurance Type | About |
|---|---|
| Commercial general liability insurance | Often referred to as CGL, this form of coverage protects you against risks such as property damage that might occur in your studio or third-party bodily injury that might occur during one of your sessions. It will also typically shield you against legal expenses and medical fees if legal proceedings occur, regardless of the lawsuit's outcome. |
| Product liability insurance | This coverage protects you against claims that a product you use, sell, manufacture or distribute has caused property damage or has resulted in bodily injury. The kind of damages encompassed by this insurance are typically the product of manufacturing, design and marketing defects like incorrect or incomplete safety warnings and labelling. This can include supplements, equipment or tech you sell to your customers. |
| Professional liability insurance | Often abbreviated as PLI and also known as Errors and omissions insurance, depending on the insurance broker, this form of coverage from negligence, misconduct or failure to provide a service as advertised. If clients feel they have not gotten the service they paid for – for instance if a particular kind of exercise ends up making an injury worse – they have the possibility of initiating legal proceedings. PLI will typically provide coverage for damages, legal fees or certain kinds of monetary judgments awarded by a court. |
Beyond these standard types of coverage, personal trainers may also require coverage against other types of risks. We explore those below.
What personal trainer insurance add-ons are available?
Most personal trainer insurance providers will have a substantial offering of add-ons that suit peoples’ particular niche in the fitness & wellness industry. They include but are not limited to the following:
| Business insurance add-ons | About |
|---|---|
| Commercial property insurance | This form of insurance protects the property in which you work as well as the equipment and inventory should a theft, fire or other kinds of specified event on your policy occur. This will sometimes include coverage for the loss of earnings you might sustain as a result of the interruption of your business services. |
| Employers liability insurance | This coverage protects you against employees (typically other trainers but the policy specifications can be broadened) initiating legal proceedings against your business |
| Loss of earnings cover | This coverage, while sometimes included in commercial property insurance, also exists in a stand-alone format with many insurance brokers. It provides protection against a loss of earnings should theft, damages to property or legal proceedings inhibit your ability to work as normal. It will typically cover your expenses until you can get back to business as usual. |
| Cyber insurance | Since the pandemic, the provision of fitness and wellness services over digital platforms has exploded. This often necessitates the handling of sensitive client data, such as medical and/or financial details. Cyber insurance protects you from cybercrime, making sure you are covered should you suffer a breach and covering legal fees and notification costs should they arise. |
How much is personal trainer insurance?
Prices can vary, but personal trainers should be prepared to pay at least a couple hundred dollars per year in premiums. Zensurance, for example, offers premiums starting at $330 dollars for a package encompassing Commercial General Liability and Professional Liability Insurance, with a combined policy limit of $2 million. Meanwhile, a leading Quebec-based insurance broker estimates a total of $850 for year-long coverage if you are the sole operator.
Here's a quote our team pulled for Jay, a personal trainer in Ontario. Here's doesn't have employees and trains clients and other people's facilities.
| Coverage type | Amount |
|---|---|
| Professional Liability Coverage | $2,000,000 |
| Professional Liability Deductible | No Deductible |
| General Liability Coverage | $2,000,000 |
| Contents Insurance Coverage | $50,000 |
| Privacy And Security Breach Expense | $25,000 |
| Annual price with taxes | $477.49 |
If you are a gym owner with employees, expect to pay in excess of $1,000 per year, depending on the value of the equipment you are using and the experience/certifications of your employees. Francesca is a trainer in British Columbia who owns her own gym and has two employees. Here is her quote.
| Coverage type | Amount |
|---|---|
| Professional Liability Coverage | $2,000,000 |
| Professional Liability Deductible | No Deductible |
| General Liability Coverage | $2,000,000 |
| Contents Insurance Coverage | $50,000 |
| Annual price with taxes | $1,295.11 |
Like any insurance policy, the cost will depend upon the kind of work you are doing, the particular set of risks associated with it, and the kind of coverage you want. Your certifications, past insurance claims, annual revenues and the number of employees will probably also be taken into account.
The only way to know how much you'll pay is by getting a quote of your own.
Better protection for your business today
What is the cheapest kind of personal trainer insurance?
The cheapest form of personal trainer insurance will usually consist of the most limited form of coverage and the lowest policy limit ceilings. While some advertised premiums go as low as $129 dollars, most start at around $300 dollars. For example, Zensurance quotes $330 dollars as its starting premium rate. Like any form of insurance, prices will be determined by a number of different variables, including the specific set of risks you face while carrying out your work, whether you have filed insurance claims before, and the level of certification you carry just to name a few. It should go without saying that the cheapest form of insurance does not mean the best, and you expose both yourself and your business to more risk by purchasing a more limited insurance policy.
What discounts are available?
Like most insurance policies, discounts are usually available if you are claims-free or already have an existing insurance policy with your broker. Additionally, if you are running a gym and insuring multiple different trainers, prices in some cases will drop proportionally in relation to the number of people on the insurance policy. Most insurance companies will also have a range of conditions that help customers save additional money that is particular to the form of insurance they provide.
Here are some tips for saving:
- Pay the year upfront: One leading insurer quoted our team $43.69 monthly for a personal trainer with no employees and $2 million for Professional and General Liability coverage. That's $525.79. The price paid upfront? $477.49. That's 15% off.
- Go claims-free: Insurers may reward you for not making claims.
- Bundle policies: Considering cyber insurance or another type of coverage? Need commercial property insurance for your gym? Ask your insurer about bundling the policies.
Occurrence policies vs. Claims-made policies claims made policies – what is the difference and why does it matter?
In Canada, there is a distinction between two different kinds of insurance coverage and the way they handle claims – claims-made policies and occurrence policies. Because occurrence-based policies typically include a longer period of coverage, they can be more expensive. It is best to talk to an insurance broker to see which form of protection is best for you, but more details on the difference between the two kinds of policies can be found below.
| Policy type | About |
|---|---|
| Claims-made policy | This form of insurance means that whichever policy is active when a claim is made against you will cover your losses. Pending on the kind, the incident resulting in said legal proceedings can have occurred before you had the policy provided legal proceedings were launched underneath its protections, although this is not always the case and will be stipulated when you sign your contract. |
| Occurrence based policy | This kind of insurance policy stipulates that even if its protections have expired at the time of the beginning of legal proceedings, you should be able to make a claim for it to cover your legal fees if it was active during the time of the specified incident that resulted in injury or damage to property. This remains the case even if the policy has expired. |
Ready to purchase insurance for your personal fitness business? Get free, instant quotes now:
