Personal Trainer Insurance: Best Options, How Much It Costs

Whether you’re a freelance trainer, work in multiple gyms or teach virtual classes, personal trainer insurance can help protect you from client claims of bodily injury, property damage or professional mistakes. In general, personal trainers should have at least general liability insurance and professional liability insurance.

Here’s where to get personal trainer insurance and how to find the right business insurance for you.

Best options for personal trainer insurance

Big-name companies, like Nationwide and Progressive, can connect you with a provider that offers personal trainer insurance, or you can work with industry-specific providers like Insure Fitness Group. Certain fitness organizations also partner with insurance companies to offer customized policies for their members.

Here are some of the best personal trainer insurance providers:

Next Insurance: Best for personal trainers who need coverage fast

If you want to get a customized policy quickly, Next Insurance may be a good option.

Next offers specialized personal trainer insurance that typically includes coverage for general liability, professional liability, workers’ compensation and commercial property. Next prices their standard bundles at three levels based on the coverage limits you need.

With Next, you can get a quote and manage your entire insurance policy online, as well as add additional insureds and get certificates of insurance for no extra cost.

The National Academy of Sports Medicine, or NASM, also partners with Next to provide general liability and professional liability coverage starting at $11 per month. Read NerdWallet’s review of Next business insurance.

Hiscox: Best for fitness professionals who work abroad

Hiscox offers general and professional liability insurance for personal trainers. Hiscox’s policies can cover you against work done anywhere in the world — so if you host international yoga retreats or boot camps, this insurance company may be a good choice.

You can get a quote online from Hiscox. Some shoppers may be able to complete their purchase online, or you can call and talk to a licensed agent. Read NerdWallet’s review of Hiscox business insurance.

Insure Fitness Group: Best for personal training students

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If you’re looking for industry expertise, networking or additional resources, Insure Fitness Group may be a suitable provider for you.

Insure Fitness Group provides business insurance exclusively to personal trainers and other fitness professionals. The company’s customized personal training policy includes coverage for general liability, professional liability, products liability, rental damage and stolen equipment.

The cost of Insure Fitness Group’s policy is $179 per year, but only $59 per year for personal trainer students.

Like Next, Insure Fitness Group allows you to generate a quote, purchase your policy and manage your coverage online. Insure Fitness Group also offers its members discounts, exclusive content and other industry-specific perks.

ACE Liability Insurance: Best for ACE-certified trainers

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If you have (or are training to receive) a certification from the American Council on Exercise, you can participate in the exclusive ACE liability insurance program.

This program offers discounted rates on liability insurance policies to ACE-certified professionals through a partnership with Philadelphia Insurance Companies. When you get a quote or manage your policy, however, you’ll be doing so through the PHLY system and not through ACE.

ACE liability insurance provides coverage for general and professional liability, sexual abuse liability, products liability, medical payments and damages to premises. According to the ACE website, a one-year premium for this coverage starts at $172 and a two-year premium starts at $294.

» MORE: How to compare business insurance companies

What types of insurance do personal trainers need?

At a minimum, personal trainers should have general liability insurance and professional liability insurance. Two well-known personal trainer certification organizations — the American College of Sports Medicine, or ACSM,^[0]

ACSM and NASM also recommend that you get your own personal trainer insurance even if you have some coverage from an employer. An employer’s policy may only provide limited coverage, and it’s unlikely that you’ll be covered for any services you provide independently. Your contract with a client or gym may also require that you show a certificate of liability insurance before you start working.

General liability insurance for personal trainers

General liability insurance typically covers legal and settlement costs associated with claims of third-party bodily injury, third-party property damage and personal and advertising injury.

For example, if your client trips over a barbell on the floor during a training session and breaks their arm, your general liability policy would cover any resulting medical, legal or settlement costs. Similarly, if you’re demonstrating an exercise for a client and you drop a weight, smashing their laptop in the process, your policy would cover the costs to replace the computer.

Professional liability insurance for personal trainers

Professional liability insurance, sometimes referred to as errors and omissions insurance, usually protects you from claims of professional negligence, errors or oversights and breach of contract. This type of insurance covers legal and settlement costs associated with these claims.

If, for instance, you teach an exercise class and an attendee later claims that it was too rigorous and they’ve torn a muscle, your professional liability policy would cover you in the case of a lawsuit from that attendee.

Additional insurance options for personal trainers

If you run a larger training business — for instance, if you have your own gym or employ other fitness instructors — you may need some of the following additional insurance coverage.

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Many insurance providers also offer several types of insurance bundled into a business owner’s policy, or BOP. BOPs typically combine general liability insurance and commercial property insurance and usually include business interruption insurance.

How much does personal trainer insurance cost?

Personal trainers can get professional and general liability from the insurer Next starting at $132 per year, according to the NASM website. Insure Fitness Group offers bundled coverage for $179 per year.

Ultimately, the cost of your personal trainer insurance will vary based on factors such as:

• Coverage limits.

• Number of policies.

• Business location.

• Type of training your offer.

• Professional certifications you have.

• Number of employees you have.

• Previous history of claims.

In general, the more risks your business faces — and the more coverage you need — the higher your premiums will be. For example, a personal trainer who works from home will likely have lower business insurance costs than one who rents space in a gym and has an employee.

How to get personal trainer insurance

As you start shopping for business insurance, keep these three steps in mind:

1. Determine what type of policies and how much coverage you need

Think about how your business operates on a daily basis. Evaluating your risks can help you decide which types of personal training insurance you need and whether you should consider additional policies on top of general liability and professional liability coverage.

2. Get multiple quotes

Once you’re ready to start looking at different insurance policies, you can work with a broker, use an online marketplace or contact insurance providers directly. Unless you have more complex insurance needs — say, you’re running a gym with multiple trainers — you may prefer either of the latter options. Using a marketplace or getting quotes from providers directly can be more hands-on and faster than working with a broker.

3. Compare providers and purchase a policy

NerdWallet recommends getting quotes from multiple insurance providers before making a decision. As you compare your options, consider:

• How much the policy costs.

• What coverage is included.

• What kind of customer service the provider offers.

• Reviews and complaints about the provider.

If you need to add an additional insured or generate a certificate of liability insurance, it will be helpful to understand how that process works with your provider ahead of time so that you can complete those tasks quickly after buying your policy.