Many people assume that professional liability insurance is only for professionals like doctors, lawyers, engineers, and architects, and not for those in the fitness, education, or food and beverage industry. Fitness professionals and personal trainers are in a vocation that involves bodily risks that can end up being costly for them.
However, not all personal gym instructors, yoga instructors, and other fitness professionals in NJ purchase professional liability insurance, because they think they may never need it. Fitness professionals are not dissimilar to healthcare professionals in the sense that a person’s physical fitness and health conditions depend on them. If you are a fitness professional, here are four reasons why you need professional liability insurance.
Faulty equipment
If you own a gym, there is every possibility that one of your customers might get injured using the equipment in it. It could be due to wrongful understanding of the product or due to a flaw in the equipment itself. Faulty equipment can result in serious injuries to a person, which is bad for your New Jersey fitness center’s reputation and also your reputation as a personal instructor or trainer. When a person is injured within your premises, you are liable for it. If your customer files a personal injury lawsuit against you, only your professional liability insurance can help you pay the compensation that you are liable to pay.
Professional liability
Even personal fitness trainers and instructors can make errors. A wrong assessment of an individual’s personal fitness needs and wrongful instruction on exercising, without considering the health condition of the clients can result in serious injuries and other health problems for your client. Fitness professionals should gather the necessary information about clients before offering them fitness advice. Otherwise, they could be held liable for causing client injuries due to negligence.
Accidents within the premises
When you run a gym or a fitness center, you will be held liable for any accidents that happen within your premises. In case the injury is severe and it is proved that your negligence was the cause of that accident, you will have to pay a hefty compensation to the injured party. Without insurance, you will end up putting your assets at risk. This means that any equipment you have in your New Jersey gym can be confiscated and sold off to pay the injured party.
Protect your personal assets
Purchasing professional liability insurance is a must even if you are a fitness instructor, yoga professional, or even a Pilates instructor. If you are facing a lawsuit for personal injury and if you do not have professional liability insurance, you could end up losing your personal assets too.
