Personal Trainer Insurance: 4 Things Most Personal Trainers Miss

I’m sure you’d agree that the information about personal trainer insurance is very confusing and makes you want to avoid the topic of insurance altogether.

By the end of this post, you will know why having insurance is one of the most important factors to being successful in the personal trainer and fitness industries.

This list of 4 often-overlooked items will put you on the right path to protecting either yourself as a personal trainer or your online or offline fitness business.

1. Don't Miss the Two Categories of Insurance That Apply to All Personal Trainers

As a licensed life and health agent, when I think of the words "personal trainer insurance" I immediately think of protection for the trainer and not the insurance required to be a personal trainer.

However, I have found that 90% of the information online is only about the insurance that is required or recommended to be a personal trainer and not about how they can protect themselves.

It’s important to be able to distinguish between these two categories of insurance. Here is what to look for:

Insurance for Yourself:

• Insurance for yourself will only fall into two general categories - Life and Health insurance.
• The products will not mention anything about you as a personal trainer but more about you as an individual. 
• A vast majority of the policies can be purchased online without the need of an agent. 
• Other than having good or average health, there are usually no other requirements to get coverage.

Insurance for your Personal Training Business:

• Insurance for your fitness business will fall into more of a property and casualty area of the insurance industry.
• You will see some products require you to be a certified personal trainer before they issue you a policy.
• Most of the time you will need to speak with an agent to get the best and most tailored results for your specific needs.
• How long you have been in business, and other factors will affect what types of coverages you can be approved for.

As you can see, these are two different types of insurance. Both are needed, and are equally as important for being successful in a personal trainer career field.

2. Don't Miss the 3 Specific Types of Insurance You Personally Need

a) Life Insurance

It’s paramount that you have life insurance.

If you don’t know, there are only two types of life insurance: "Term Life" and "Whole Life." However, for probably 90% of the population and especially a personal trainer you are going to want Term Life Insurance.

But don’t take just my word for it.

Over 41 personal finance experts gave their opinion about Term Life Vs Whole Life, and a winner has been chosen.

I wrote a substantial post on why you should buy term life insurance online. It really is the best way to purchase your insurance.

The majority of personal trainers are either self-employed or small business owners that have decided to go into business on their own for some reason.

It could be for more time with your family or to make your own schedule. However, the importance of life insurance is still the same.

If you were to pass away while building your business, it’s best not to leave your family in any debt or in a worsened financial situation.

Here are the steps you need to take:

To Purchase Online Only:

Go directly to sites like simplyinsurance.co, havenlife.com, ladderlife.com (CA Only) and policygenius.com.

They all have products or access to products that offer you the ability to buy insurance online immediately.

To Purchase Through An Agent:

If you prefer the traditional route of buying life insurance and want to deal with an agent, places like insuranceblogbychris.com, term4sale.com and, quotacy.com are the best sites to check.

Keep in mind that if you go this route, an agent will call you so don’t be alarmed.

Now:

If you are unsure of the amount of coverage you should have, I always recommend purchasing, at the least, 20 times your annual income if you can afford it.

This will make sure that your family can cover your final expenses and make sure that they will be taken care of in the near future.

Life insurance is indeed essential when it comes to everyday living, but even more important for anyone who is self-employed or a small business owner.

b) Disability Insurance

Having disability insurance allows you to replace some of your income when you are sick or injured and can’t work.

Disability insurance is one of the best forms of protection against loss.

According to the Council For Disability Awareness, disability happens more often than we think. Over 1/4 of today's 20-year-olds will become disabled before they retire.

About 12% of the American population is disabled, and more than 50% of those disabled are in their working years (18-64). In December of 2012, there were over 2.5 million disabled workers in their 20s, 30s, and 40s receiving SSDI benefits.

With those above facts, everyone really should have some form of disability insurance.

And since you're always lifting, pulling, squatting, and moving your muscles in ways that the average person probably never will, YOU especially need to protect yourself from accidents.

In doing so, you will make sure that both your personal and business life will be able to keep running if you are injured.

Disability insurance can cover things like:

• Rent or Mortgage
• Car Note
• Utilities
• Cash Flow
• Gym Equipment
• Gym Memberships​

There is no limit to what you can do with the funds from a Disability Insurance Policy. However, there is a limit to how long you can survive without receiving income due to an accident.

How to get covered:

Go to sites like policygenius.com or statefarm.com to get a quote and apply online.

Each site will have a different type of disability product available, so choose the option that works best for you.

And guess what:

These policies also are pretty inexpensive. I have $100,000 in coverage for $36.00/month.

Remember, insurance companies do not give discounts on their rates. Places that supposedly offer special discounts aren’t being honest.

For example, all American insurance companies are regulated by their state and won’t be giving any discounts.

c) Health Insurance

Health insurance is going to be a major factor of your success.

You don’t want to go into a financial downturn or be too sick to keep your business going all because you have no health insurance.

According to the NerdWallet Health Division, medical bills are the leading cause of personal bankruptcies.

Doesn’t that just blow your mind?

That means that not having health insurance is almost a sure way to find yourself in a financial bind.

The easiest way to get covered is through your current employer if you still work a full-time job. But if you’re self-employed, you’ll have to search for a great deal on health insurance.

For example, if you’re an American personal trainer, a great place to find health insurance is through the Health Insurance Exchange. To get coverage through the exchange, go to https://www.healthcare.gov and follow the steps shown.

And for those who are not American, look for something similar that applies to your country.

Note: When it comes to becoming a success and maintaining that success, these 3 products (life, disability, and health insurance) will continue to be an essential part of your life. Don’t waste any time; if you don’t have these coverages, get them today.

3. Don't Miss the 3 Types of Insurance That Are Crucial For Your Online Fitness Business 

Lawsuits. They're the last things you're looking for, so get the proper insurance!

Being an online personal trainer is becoming the best option for most personal trainers. I’m not surprised by this since everything you can think of is transitioning its way to an online platform.

However, you still need insurance for this business.

I advise getting more insurance and several types of insurance if you plan to have an online fitness business because you open yourself up to more scrutiny and have a much higher likelihood to be sued because you are working with more people.

Hear me out:

Most people are going online for volume. If you can put your training course online, create a system or purchase one that makes things automated.

All you have to do is keep your workouts and content fresh, do some great marketing, and you can have an unlimited amount of customers. If you obtained ten new clients a month, by the end of the year, you are helping out 120 people.

But at the same time, you can see how easily the wrong information, misinformation, or even a mistake could take you out if you don’t get covered.

Along with establishing some form of corporation, either an LLC or S. Corp, you want to have 360 degrees of coverage and here’s how:

a) General Liability Insurance

General Liability Insurance offers an overall general protection for when people other than your employees get hurt or have their property damaged on your premises.

This insurance usually will cover things like:

• A visiting client trips over a power cord and breaks their wrist (covered).
• You tweet about how annoying it was to work with a customer. They sue you for defamation (covered).
• You spill a drink on a customers’ laptop. They sue for the cost of replacing it (covered).

b) Professional Liability Insurance

This insurance is also known as Errors & Omissions Insurance and is coverage that every insurance agent must own.

It's a business insurance policy that covers you if a client says you:

• Showed them an improper technique in your personal training videos.
• Mismanaged a project or missed a deadline.
• Were negligent in delivering your professional services.
• Provided shoddy, incomplete, or incorrect work.
• Lied about how a product or service would work.

So anytime there’s a client lawsuit essentially saying “You messed up,” your Professional Liability coverage will protect you.

c) Third-Party Cyber Liability Insurance

One area that should be vital for an online personal trainer is the protection of their clients' information. This is where Third-Party Cyber Liability Insurance comes in.

This coverage protects you in the event your client’s data is compromised, not your own. 

When that happens, and a client sues you, third-party coverage can pay for:

• Attorneys to defend your company.
• Settlement costs (to resolve the lawsuit amicably).
• Court-ordered damages (if you’re found liable).
• Miscellaneous court costs.

With there being so much information stored in the cloud and on servers, it’s important to make sure that you are protected if a data breach happens.

Trust me, it’s going to be great having 100 clients paying every month; however, if their data is hacked and you don’t have a plan, you can lose everything.

There is an excellent post by Techinsurance titled When To Buy IT Consultant Insurance which I think is a great read if you are still not sure if this solution is for you (I am not affiliated with Techinsurance in any way, however, after doing a solid amount of research they seem to be the best source to help you obtain this type of coverage).

Just be sure to Choose the Fitness Instructor Option. In all honesty, you need this coverage even if your fitness business is offline.

4. Don't Miss the Trust Factor You Gain with the Right Insurance

When you are building a business, especially when you are just starting, one of the most important pieces of being successful will be social proof.

Social proof is something on your website or business card that shows other people have already trusted you for whatever service you offer.

You can learn more about social proof by reading this post by Neil Patel. It will play a major role in how quickly prospective clients grow to trust you.

However, it’s going to be hard for people to believe in you when you have no proof that anyone else believes in you...

One thing that will get people to trust you more and build your social proof is showing people that not only will you get them in shape, but you also take responsibility for their safety and well-being.

I always find it odd to see an overweight basketball or football coach, or a hairdresser whose hair is never done, or a barber who never gets a haircut.

It’s hard to believe these people are offering services that they themselves aren’t using. And it's even harder to support them.

So here is what you do:

Get insured both personally and professionally, and use the methods shown above to get covered.

Use words like “Certified” and “Insured” on your website and business cards. Dedicate a section to insurance in your “About” section or give it its own page. On this page, explain why insurance is a major factor in health and fitness. Talk about the insurance coverages you have on yourself.

If you follow those simple steps, people will respect your openness and honesty and more people will reach out to you for services.

Don't Worry - You Haven’t Dropped the Ball

It’s easy to miss any of these things when it comes to personal trainer insurance, so don’t feel like you have dropped the ball if you are missing any or all of the above coverages.

Insurance is one of the easiest things to forget, evade, and avoid, so be sure not to procrastinate and see the whole process through when you start looking for coverage.

If you ever find yourself needing this coverage, you are going to be glad you read this post and decided to get covered.

Feel ready to tackle insurance? Share this with other PTs, and discuss your insurance tips and questions in the comments!