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A dodgy downward-facing dog shouldn’t derail your yoga business. But if a client gets hurt under your instruction, you may end up out of pocket if they make a claim against you.
A good yoga insurance package will give you the mental freedom to focus on your practice, easing the financial stresses if something were to go wrong by covering associated legal fees and compensation costs.
What is yoga insurance?
Yoga is designed to bring inner peace, and physical strength, to its practitioners. As a yoga teacher, you play an important part in helping people realise that within themselves.
However, this doesn’t mean the art is without its accidents. With any physical activity there is the risk of injury, and yoga is no exception. But while this is all part and parcel of the profession, the last thing you want is to be stuck with a hefty bill because of a claim made against your business.
That’s where yoga insurance comes in. Yoga insurance is an umbrella term covering a range of different policies that can help protect your business from the financial strains of such situations.
At the heart centre of your yoga insurance package will be public liability insurance. This is for times when a third party – most importantly your clients – suffers an injury or property damage due to your business activities.
Complimenting public liability insurance is professional indemnity insurance. This form of insurance is for times when a client may accuse you of causing personal financial loss because of professional negligence on your part, such as giving them bad or improper advice – this could include instructions during a class that they say caused them an injury.
Meanwhile, if you have any employees that are not members of your family or based abroad, then you are legally required to take out employers’ liability insurance. This is for if an employee falls ill, or suffers an injury, due to their work.
There may also be yoga equipment you want to cover through tools and equipment insurance. You might even have business premises, such as a yoga studio, that you want to protect through business buildings and contents insurance. And if you sell any products at your studio, you should consider product liability insurance too.
You should also check if you need business car insurance, which will be required for proper protection on the roads if you are driving to multiple places of work.
Of course, you are just as at risk of injury as your clients. That’s why many yoga insurance packages also include personal accident cover. This can help with lost income and medical costs if you were to get hurt, be it at work or elsewhere.
Do I need yoga insurance?
To work in the yoga world, the only legal requirement when it comes to insurance is employers’ liability insurance – if you have any employees who are not based abroad or who are members of your family, you need a policy worth at least £5 million.
But a good mantra to keep in mind when it comes to any kind of business insurance is that, just because something isn’t required, doesn’t mean it isn’t strongly recommended.
This is especially true of public liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance.
There are a number of potential hazards in a yoga studio, from speaker wires to errant yoga mats to slippery floors after a particularly challenging session. Each of these could easily cause someone to trip and hurt themselves. And if that person is in your class, they could make a costly claim against you. This is where public liability insurance would come to the rescue.
A core part of being a yoga teacher is instructing your students on how to carry out each position. If a student injured themselves in the process, and decided you were at fault for failing to explain things properly, they might come after you with a claim. In this instance, you may be relieved to have taken out a professional indemnity policy.
Yoga insurance isn’t just about your employees and students, however. If, as a freelance teacher, your top-of-the-range yoga mat was stolen from your car, equipment insurance may help to replace it.
Or if you were to tear a muscle while out on a run before your class, ruling you out of work for a number of weeks, personal accident cover could compensate you for the income you have lost as a result.
» MORE: Do I need business insurance?
What does yoga insurance cover?
Below we detail what policies are typically included in yoga insurance, and what might not be covered in your package.
While what is included will vary from provider to provider, most yoga insurance packages tend to cover:
- public liability insurance
- professional indemnity insurance
- employers’ liability insurance
- equipment insurance
- personal accident insurance
Many of these policies also apply to other similar professions, such as personal trainers and fitness instructors.
What is usually not included in yoga insurance?
What is not included in your package is often simply down to what you choose to pay for, or not pay for.
Say you decided not to bother with professional indemnity insurance, and a student decides that the yoga plan you created for them has done them harm. If they make a claim against you, you could be left paying for any legal fees and compensation costs out of your own pocket.
You should also be aware that you won’t be able to make an equipment insurance claim for general wear and tear.
Your equipment insurance, or business buildings and contents insurance, may also be void if you haven’t followed the proper security measures, and try to make a claim related to stolen property.
How much does yoga insurance cost?
The cost of yoga insurance can be as flexible as you are. What this means is that the price of your premium will vary depending on the size and specifics of your business. This may include:
- how many policies you choose to take out
- the level of coverage you want from each policy
- the number of employees you have
- where your business is located
- how many years of experience you have as a yoga instructor
- whether you are self-employed or run a limited company
How to choose the best yoga insurance policy for you
What is needed by someone who runs a yoga studio is different from a freelance yoga teacher instructing classes online.
That is why it is best to take stock of the specifics of your business – such as whether you need equipment insurance, business buildings and contents insurance, or the right level of business car insurance – to make sure you don’t end up paying for policies you do not need.
» MORE: Compare business insurance
Yoga Instructor Insurance FAQs
The one form of insurance that is an absolute must-have for yoga instructors is employers’ liability insurance, but only if you have a UK-based employee who isn’t a family member.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider the following to make sure you are properly covered for most eventualities:
- public liability insurance
- professional indemnity insurance
- equipment insurance
- personal accident insurance
As with any business, it might always be safer to have insurance in place in case anything goes wrong.
Technically, no. You do not need liability insurance to teach yoga, from a legal point of view. Practically, however, it is strongly recommended.
As a yoga teacher, you are not only working with members of the public but with people doing exercise. This risk of injury means you may want to ensure you are protected if something goes wrong.
Do you need insurance to teach yoga online?
If you teach yoga online and don’t have any employees, you are not legally required to take out any business insurance.
Yet that doesn’t mean it isn’t advisable to look into public liability and professional indemnity insurance at the very least, to make sure you are covered in case a student makes a claim against you.
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