Pilates instructor insurance — you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers.
Spoilers: Yes, you need insurance to teach Pilates. More accurately, you need liability insurance.
Get the specifics about what kinds of liability insurance you really need, why it’s necessary, how much it costs, and more here.
Why Pilates Instructors Need Liability Insurance
Liability insurance is necessary for anyone who sells products or services to others. It helps pay for injuries, property damage, and other harm you unintentionally cause others due to your professional services or instruction.
You need liability insurance because accidents can happen, no matter how experienced you are, how good your cueing techniques are, or how perfect your studio space is. Plus, even one accident can lead to a financially devastating claim or lawsuit.
What Types of Insurance Do Pilates Instructors Need?
Pilates instructors need at least general liability insurance and professional liability insurance. Additional coverages you should have include products-completed operations, personal and advertising injury, damage to premises rented to you, and medical expenses.
To explain what each type of insurance is and why you need it, we’ve grouped the most relevant coverages for Pilates instructors into three tiers:
- Essential coverages
- Strongly recommended coverages
- Situational coverages or nice-to-haves
1. Essential Insurance Coverages for Pilates Instructors
There are two main types of insurance Pilates instructors need:
General and professional liability are the minimum coverages all Pilates instructors need. They protect you from the most common risks Pilates instructors face, including the costs of bodily injury and property damage claims. Most studios require you to have these coverages, too.
General Liability
This insurance applies to bodily injury and property damage you unintentionally cause others. These incidents typically happen during your session or in the physical studio. A few examples include:
- A client loses their balance and falls off a Reformer, injuring themselves
- A client hits a mirror with their stainless steel water bottle and cracks the mirror
- You accidentally step on a client’s smartphone during class, and the screen cracks
Professional Liability
This coverage is also known as Errors & Omissions, or E&O Insurance. It applies to injuries and damage caused by your negligence, mistakes in your professional advice or instructions, or lack of proper instruction.
These damages may be real or perceived, and they often happen after a training session or while a client is working on their own. But, the client still blames you or your services for causing them. Scenarios professional liability insurance may cover include:
- A client says you taught them an exercise incorrectly, which caused them to tear a muscle
- A client claims you overworked them in class, and the fatigue caused them to lose their balance and fall down their stairs later that day
- A new student claims you failed to offer appropriate modifications for an exercise, and sues you after sustaining an injury while performing that exercise
Note: While no laws state Pilates instructors must have liability insurance to work, these are the minimum coverages needed to protect yourself in case of accidents or lawsuits.
Without insurance, even one claim can quickly become financially devastating. If you teach uninsured, you risk your livelihood every time a student walks in. At Insurance Canopy, we exist to ensure fitness professionals can get affordable coverage to protect their livelihoods.
2. Strongly Recommended Insurance Coverages for Pilates Instructors
These are insurance coverages Pilates instructors should have to supplement basic general and professional liability insurance. Some of these coverage types are included as part of an insurance company’s general liability policy, but it depends on the company.
Personal and Advertising Injury Insurance
This coverage applies to harm or damage that is not physical, like claims of defamation, invasion of privacy, and copyright infringement. For example, sharing a client’s progress video on social media without their consent could lead to an invasion of privacy claim.
Products-Completed Operations Coverage
Coverage that applies to physical injury or property damage caused by products you use, recommend, or sell (like resistance bands, Reformer springs, or toning rings). This is especially important if you sell Pilates equipment or use your own gear to teach.
Damage to Premises Rented Coverage
Coverage for damage to a space you rent for work. For example, you rent time in a shared studio space for your own private clients or a special event, or film online content in a rented space.
Medical Expense Coverage
Medical expense coverage applies to smaller medical bills of someone injured in or around your class, regardless of fault. It provides quick payment for minor injuries, like a sprained wrist, to clients to help avoid lawsuits.
3. Optional Added Coverages for Pilates Instructors
These coverages aren’t essential for everyone, but they help fill coverage gaps based on your needs and circumstances. Insurance Canopy offers all these coverage types as optional add-ons to Pilates and fitness instructor insurance policies.
Also known as inland marine insurance, this coverage helps repair or replace equipment you own and use for work in case it’s broken or stolen. This includes bands, springs, even laptops or tablets if you do virtual instruction.
Cyber coverage helps with the consequences of data breaches and other cybercrimes, like the cost of recovering and restoring client data. This is good to have if you store client information or process payments digitally.
Diet & Nutrition Coverage
This coverage is for nutrition-related services you may provide in addition to Pilates instruction. Nutrition advice is often excluded from other coverage types, like general and professional liability. So, if you provide any nutrition services, you’ll likely need this additional coverage.
This coverage is for defense costs if you’re wrongly accused of sexual harassment or improper conduct. Most general and professional liability policies typically exclude these types of claims.
If you do a lot of hands-on adjustments or physical alignment cues that could be misinterpreted, you may want to add this coverage to your policy.
Additional insureds are individuals or entities you name on your policy, so your insurance coverage will extend to them if they’re named in a lawsuit with you or because of your work. Studio owners, landlords, and other employers often ask to be listed as additional insureds.
How Much Does Pilates Instructor Insurance Cost?
Liability insurance is less expensive than you might think! Pilates instructor insurance with Insurance Canopy costs just $15/month or $159/year. And, for that $15/month, you get:
- General and professional liability coverage
- Personal and advertising injury as a part of general liability coverage
- Products completed operations coverage
- Damage to premises rented to you coverage
- Medical expenses coverage
You can customize your policy with optional add-on coverages like cyber liability and equipment coverage. Add-ons range from $1.33/month to $14.46/month, depending on the level and type of coverage.
Common Misconceptions About Pilates Liability Insurance
Myth: I don’t need liability insurance because I work at a gym.
Reality: If you work in a gym, studio, or other facility as a Pilates instructor, you’re not automatically covered under the company’s liability policy. Plus, every location’s policy is different, while your policy goes with you no matter where you teach.
You’re more likely to be covered by a studio if you’re an official employee (you get a W-2 at tax time) instead of an independent contractor. Still, it’s crucial to check with your employer before assuming they cover you.
Myth: Professional liability and general liability are the same thing.
Reality: Professional and general liability insurance are similar, but not the same. Having one without the other as a Pilates instructor can leave you with gaps in your coverage. Learn more about the difference between general and professional liability for fitness instructors.
Myth: My clients all sign waivers, so I don’t need insurance.
Reality: If waivers could stop accidents, claims, and lawsuits altogether, insurance companies would be out of business! (And I’d be asking where you got that magic document.)
Waivers are an extra layer of protection, but clients can still file claims and lawsuits. Think of Pilates liability waivers as your first line of defense and liability insurance as your safety net.
Real Coverage for Real Instructors: Why Pilates Teachers Trust Insurance Canopy
Insurance Canopy provides Pilates instructors with affordable, customizable, and highly-rated liability insurance. Our comprehensive coverage and low cost combine to make us the best value on the market.
We also provide a quick and easy online purchasing process, so you can get covered today, with instant proof of insurance.
You help your clients strengthen their core. We’re here to help strengthen your business.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pilates Instructor Insurance
Is Equipment Insurance Necessary for Pilates Instructors?
It depends. If you teach using your own bands, Reformers, or other equipment, then equipment insurance is essential to help protect your investments. But if you only use equipment owned and maintained by your gym, then it’s not necessary.
Plus, equipment insurance only covers items that you own and use for teaching. It does not cover permanently-installed equipment or items you don’t own.
Does Insurance Cover Online Pilates Classes?
Yes. Insurance Canopy Pilates policies cover you wherever you teach, whether that’s in one studio, multiple gyms, at home, at a client’s home, or online!
Do I Need Insurance if I Only Teach Part-Time?
Yes. You need liability insurance whether you teach two hours per week or 40, because accidents are a risk 24/7/365.
What’s the Difference Between Pilates Studio and Pilates Instructor Insurance?
Pilates studio insurance is for those who own or operate their own facility. It’s designed to insure businesses that may have physical locations and staff. Pilates instructor insurance is specifically designed to cover the individual teacher.
