Sports Insurance

Sports Insurance for personal trainers, instructors, coaches and individual players

Many sports coaches and personal trainers are aware of the benefits of a good sports insurance policy - it can help protect them from the financial impact of a public liability claim or professional indemnity claim if they’re ever sued, and some of the best sports insurance policies can also include Personal Injury Cover and and Loss of Earnings Cover to help with their medical bills and lost income if they get injured themselves.

However, individual players may be unaware that sports insurance may well be a worthwhile investment for them too. Not only could the right sports insurance policy offer players support with their medical expenses and cover for lost earnings if they’re injured while playing, but some of the best sports insurance policies for players also offer public liability cover, which can come in handy if another player is injured and the policyholder is held liable.

Is sports insurance a legal requirement for fitness instructors and PTs?

No, fitness instructors, personal trainers and sports coaches are under no legal obligation to take out sports insurance, although if they decide not to take out this type of policy and are then sued by one of their clients or a member of the public they would be obliged to cover the resulting compensation payments and legal fees themselves.

However, while sports insurance isn’t a legal requirement in the UK, it’s worth pointing out that it is sometimes a contractual obligation.

Many personal trainers and coaches are self-employed but make use of a gym or sports centre’s facilities for their sessions. In many cases these venues will insist that the coach or trainer has suitable sports insurance in place prior to working with clients. So if you’re a gymnastics coach, for example, and you fail to take out gymnastics insurance prior to coaching clients at a sports facility you could be in breach of contract because you don’t have the right insurance.

How much does sports insurance cost?

Sports insurance policies are usually tailored to your specific requirements, so that you can include or exclude things like personal injury cover, loss of earnings cover and sports equipment cover. And in many cases when you do add these add-ons to your policy you’ll be able to determine the amount of coverage you receive from each policy feature.

While this means your sports insurance policy will give you the coverage you need without having to pay for features you don’t need, it does make it difficult to predict how much your sports insurance is likely to cost.

With that in mind, the easiest way to find out just how cheap your sports insurance might be is to click through to one of the insurance providers above and adjust the policy to your requirements in order to compare their quotes.

Does sports insurance always include cover for sports equipment?

It’s always possible to add sports equipment cover to your sports insurance policy, but this policy feature isn’t necessarily included as standard. After all, some personal trainers and sports coaches use very little equipment, while others might use expensive sports equipment. For instance, a rugby coach or football taking out rugby insurance or football insurance might not require any equipment cover, whereas someone taking out windsurfing insurance, wakeboarding insurance or some other type of water sports insurance might be keen to ensure their water sports equipment is insured.

Does sports insurance cover me to take classes in the park or in my garden?

Yes, most sports coach insurance policies will cover you for coaching sessions, excercise classes or personal training sessions in a park or in your own garden, with one caveat.

Policyholders must do a risk assessment of the area in which they plan to hold the fitness class or training sessions prior to it beginning, in order to ensure there aren’t any issues with the terrain or dangerous objects in the area that could cause an injury to a participant.

Can I take out sports insurance if I teach extreme sports or winter sports?

Yes, most sports insurance specialists allow you to specify the particular sports or fitness activities you specialise in coaching or training others in, and that list can include numerous extreme sports or winter sports.

For instance, if you teach skiing and snowboarding you should be able to take out winter sports insurance by including skiing and snowboarding in the list of sports or activities you coach. Similarly, if you teach water skiing or paragliding you should be able to take out extreme sports insurance by listing those activities on your sports insurance policy.