Personal Trainer Insurance

Public Liability Insurance for Personal Trainers

If you’re a personal trainer who uses a lot of fitness equipment with your PT clients your risk of a public liability claim will likely be higher, since there’s a greater risk that someone might suffer a trip or a fall if there’s a lot of equipment. 

But even PTs who use little-to-no equipment with their fitness clients could face a public liability claim if a member of the public suffers some other kind of accident and the trainer is held liable. 

That’s why it would be a wise idea to look into public liability insurance for personal trainers if you work as a PT, as this type of policy could protect your business from legal fees and compensation payouts if you’re ever sued. 

Compare public liability insurance for personal trainers now 

If I visit my PT clients in their own homes for their training sessions then presumably that means there’s no risk of a public liability claim? 

This type of policy is designed to protect your personal training business from the risk of a liability claim by a member of the public, rather than a claim for an incident that happens in public. Accidents can occur in your client’s own home, and if the accident happens because of your work or your equipment then you can still face a public liability claim even though it didn’t occur in a public venue. 

Is public liability insurance legally required for fitness coaches and personal trainers? 

No, you’re under no legal obligation to take out personal trainer insurance, since public liability insurance isn’t mandated by law. 

This type of insurance might be a contractual obligation though, even though it isn’t a legal one – particularly if you use a gym, sports centre or community centre for your PT sessions. 

Many of these venues will insist that you have suitable public liability insurance in place before you hold any classes there, so it’s worth double checking this if you’re thinking of forgoing this type of insurance. 

What coverage level will a gym or community centre insist on? 

With most public liability insurance providers you’ll have four coverage levels to choose between: 

• £1 Million Public Liability Insurance
• £2 million of coverage 
• £5 million of coverage 
• £10M Public Liability Insurance

Gyms, fitness suites and community centres will have different rules around what level of coverage they require you to have, but the most common requirement is for £2 million or £5 million of coverage. 

How much does public liability insurance cost for a personal trainer? 

In most cases, this type of policy will only cost a few hundred pounds, but the exact premium you’ll pay will depend on a range of risk factors that are specific to you and your personal training business. 

For instance, your location, the size of your PT business, the types of clients you specialise in training, the types of equipment you use during your PT sessions, and whether or not your personal training business has claimed on your public liability insurance in the past five years will all influence the cost of your policy. 

What types of risks does personal trainer liability insurance protect me against? 

The three most common risks that your personal trainer liability insurance will protect you against are: 

• A physical injury to a member of the public 
• Damage to a member of the public’s valuables or personal belongings 
• Damage to a building or vehicle 

Who counts as a “member of the public”? 

As the name suggests, public liability insurance is intended to protect you against the risk of a liability claim from a member of the public, but the definition of a member of the public is a bit broader than you might think. 

For instance, although your own training clients are classified as members of the public by this insurance, so too are postal workers, couriers and delivery drivers.  

If you’re a self-employed personal trainer who hires a room in a gym or community centre for your PT sessions then other visitors to those buildings, and staff working in those buildings, will also fall under this insurance, even though they aren’t connected to your PT business in any way. 

On the other hand, if you have a business partner or employ staff in your personal training business they specifically won’t be covered by this type of insurance, because the fact that they work with or for you means they aren’t members of the public. 

What does personal training liability insurance usually exclude from coverage? 

In addition to the policy features, each public liability insurance policy will stipulate its range of exclusions, which are incidents that specifically won’t be covered by that policy. Some of the most common exclusions are: 

• Deliberate damage to property, vehicles or valuables 
• Injuries to members of the public that were caused deliberately 
• Injuries to you or your staff members 

What happens if I’m sued by a member of my own staff? 

If your PT business employs staff you’ll have a legal obligation to take out employers’ liability insurance, and it will be this policy that will cover you if you ever face a claim from a member of staff. 

If a personal training client is injured because I give them bad advice will this be covered by my personal trainer public liability insurance? 

No, public liability insurance for personal trainers is only intended to cover you if someone is injured or their property is damaged during an accident that was unexpected and unforeseen. 

On the other hand, if an injury specifically occurred due to poor advice you gave your client you would need a separate professional indemnity insurance policy to cover that claim. 

Do I have to pay an excess when I claim on my personal trainer liability insurance policy? 

Yes, the vast majority of personal trainer liability insurance policies will impose an insurance excess, which is the amount you’ll have to pay yourself before the insurer will pay out for the balance. 

The insurance excess can vary from one PT liability insurance policy to the next, so it’s worth double-checking this before you sign on that dotted line.