Last Updated: March 26, 2024
As a yoga instructor, you’ve put in countless hours to perfect your poses and create a welcoming, calm class environment. Yet an accident can happen in seconds, piercing through the peaceful air and putting you on a rocky road of claims, bills, and legal fees.
At Insurance Canopy, we’ve seen a single claim nearly bankrupt a yoga business. So today, let’s take a deep breath, stretch our insurance muscles, and relax while we show you how to protect your practice.
We’re going to help you learn more about:
Breaking Down the Basics of Liability Insurance for Yoga Teachers
Insurance is like the protector pose—it’s a bit complicated, but it’s about strengthening and protecting you.
Yoga insurance helps to provide protection and peace of mind in a profession that, while centered on health and wellness, comes with its own set of risks.
What Is Yoga Teaching Insurance?
Yoga teaching insurance is designed to cover you for injuries or damages caused by you teaching yoga, working with students, or running your own yoga business.
Our policy offers what’s called liability coverage. This means it helps to cover you for incidents that happen to people other than yourself (aka “third parties”).
It also helps to safeguard against potential lawsuits and financial risks, offers peace of mind, and meets most insurance requirements.
Common Yoga Liability Insurance Requirements
If you plan on working at a new studio or renting a space for your classes, you may be asked to show a Certificate of Insurance (COI). It’s common for employment contracts and rental agreements to require you to have general and professional liability insurance, and add someone as an additional insured.
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance primarily protects you from liability claims for bodily injury or property damage arising out of your work. It may also provide coverage for personal and advertising injury claims.
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability insurance, often referred to as Errors & Omissions Insurance (E&O Insurance), can protect you from claims that a professional service you provided resulted in physical or financial harm to a client.
Additional Insureds
An additional insured (AI) is another person, business, or entity that could be held responsible for accidents you caused.
For example, a student gets hurt during a hot yoga class so they try to sue both you and the studio the accident happened in. If the studio is named on your policy as an Additional Insured, the protection afforded to you from Insurance Canopy would also extend to them.
Additional insureds can be an employer, landlord, studio manager, gym owner, event manager, city, and more, but it cannot be a friend, family member, employee, coworker, or another teacher.
How Much Does Yoga Liability Insurance Cost?
The cost of yoga liability insurance typically ranges between $100–$200 per year, but our policy starts at $129 per year.
You can also opt for monthly payments as low as $12.50 per month. Additional costs may apply when adding optional coverages or additional insureds to your plan.
One thing we do to keep your costs low is offer nationwide coverage. This means you can work in all 50 states for the same price! You can also work in more than one location for the same low cost.
We also cover full-time, part-time, and student teachers on our plan, so the price of your policy won’t go up based on the hours you work or the number of students you have. We believe you deserve quality coverage at all stages of your career, which is why we cover student teachers under our plan.
As you move to the next step of teaching, your policy can move with you at no extra charge!
Types of Yoga Insurance Coverage to Consider
While general and professional liability make up the base of most yoga insurance policies, it’s important to know what other types of coverage may be included or optional with your plan.
Having multiple types of coverage can help better cover you for the various risks associated with the profession. Each type of coverage offers protection against different potential liabilities:
- General Liability: For injuries or accidents that take place in the space where yoga is taught.
- Professional Liability: For injuries or damages caused by your professional services and yoga classes.
- Damage to Rented Premises: For damages to a rented space used for teaching yoga.
- Medical Expense Limit: To cover the cost of medical bills for someone who was injured by your services or business.
- Stolen Equipment Coverage: This optional coverage can help you replace the items you use to teach classes and run your business in the case of theft, such as mats, blocks, and filming equipment used for online and virtual classes.
- Identity Theft Coverage: This optional coverage can cover the cost of lawsuits, damages, and restitution that result from a cyber attack on your business where personal and private information is stolen.
- Diet & Nutrition Coverage: This optional coverage helps to cover you for dietary services you may offer, like recommending supplements or creating custom meal plans.
Each type of insurance coverage addresses common yoga claims that could lead to financial loss or legal action against you. By having comprehensive coverage, you can teach with greater peace of mind knowing that you’re protected from a variety of potential risks.
What Does Yoga Insurance Cover?
From pulled muscles to broken mirrors, yoga insurance helps to cover you for a wide variety of claims you might face in your day-to-day practice.
A liability policy may protect you if one of the following types of incidents occurs:
- A student trips and falls in a class because there wasn’t ample enough room for everyone, and decides to sue you.
- You accidentally dislocate a student’s shoulder while helping them stretch and they demand you pay their medical bills.
- A student’s resistance band slips out of their grasp and shatters a mirror on the wall, and the studio is making you pay to replace it.
What Does Yoga Insurance Not Cover?
It’s important to know what limits your insurance has to keep you from voiding your coverage and helping you find what other risks you may need to get coverage for.
Some examples of what a liability policy may not cover you for could be one of the following incidents:
- You get hurt while teaching a class and need help paying for your medical bills. This would require a “first party” policy, like health insurance, or coverage through a workers’ compensation program.
- You occasionally substitute teach at a stand-up paddle (SUP) board yoga class. Someone falls off their board, and it hits the side of the boat causing damage. Many policies don’t cover SUP yoga classes.
- You are renting a new studio and a pipe bursts one night, flooding the space. Liability insurance would not cover this type of claim, but commercial property insurance may.
Common Risks Involved with Teaching Yoga
Teaching yoga, like any physical activity, involves certain risks. Some of the most common risks you face include:
- Physical Injuries to Students: Perhaps the most obvious risk, yoga involves physical movement, and there’s always a chance that a student might strain a muscle, slip, or experience other injuries during a class. This can happen even with proper instruction and precautions.
- Injuries From Adjustments: When you assist students in achieving the correct posture or deeper stretch, there’s a risk of causing injury, especially if the student has pre-existing conditions or limitations that you are unaware of.
- Overexertion or Incorrect Practice: Students might overexert themselves trying to achieve certain poses, or they may practice them incorrectly outside of class, leading to injuries. You could be held liable if a student believes your instruction or guidance caused their injuries
- Health Risks: Yoga might not be suitable for everyone, especially those with certain health conditions. If a student with a health issue participates in your class without you knowing about their condition, they could aggravate it or cause further injury.
- Liability for Damages: If a class is conducted in a rented space or studio, any accidental damage to the property during the yoga session could be your financial responsibility.
- Legal and Financial Risks: This includes risks such as breach of contract (like not fulfilling agreed-upon class schedules), defamation, or other legal issues that can arise in the course of running a yoga business.
If you’re wondering whether or not your students could sue you, the answer is yes, they can. Once you accept money for your instruction by teaching a class, you’re running a business, and you’re exposed to the risks that come with it.
What Risks Do Yoga Instructors Face When Teaching From Home?
A common misconception among yoga instructors is that as long as they teach at home they’re covered if something goes wrong during a class. Similar misconceptions also come into play when getting technical about auto insurance when it comes to business-related claims.
For example, did you know that you are not always protected by your auto insurance if you are using your car for business purposes (i.e., transporting/storing equipment, or driving to a class or client)?
When it comes to your business operations, it’s likely your home and auto policies won’t cover you. Most home and auto insurance policies exclude business operations, even if you are a sole proprietor.
Before teaching a class in your home or using your car for business operations:
- Check your current home and auto policies for their exclusions
- Make sure you’re covered by yoga teacher insurance
How Can I Prevent Common Yoga Injuries?
The most common injuries that yoga teachers should look out for:
- Lower back injuries
- Wrist strains
- Repeated stress injuries
- Neck injuries
These injuries could be the result of performing the most common yoga poses. Maybe your student is straining their hamstrings while doing an easy forward fold. Or maybe they push themselves a little too much trying to perfect their pose.
Unfortunately, even the most skilled yoga teachers can’t guarantee no one will get hurt during their class. With more people practicing each year, yoga injuries are on the rise.
By carrying yoga teacher insurance, you can protect yourself from these common and unusual situations.
Navigating Yoga Insurance Claims
While we hope you never have to file a claim, yoga teacher insurance can help when things go wrong. Injuries resulting in lawsuits can happen to any yoga teacher at any time.
It doesn’t take a drastic mishap on your part to cause an injury that triggers a lawsuit. Even some of the most respected yoga teachers around have experienced expensive lawsuits against them.
Let’s look at some common claims yoga teachers face and how you might be able to prevent them:
- Lack of Proper Training: Some yoga teachers face claims suggesting their training was insufficient, leading to unsafe or ineffective yoga classes. Having comprehensive training, becoming a certified yoga teacher, and engaging in continuing education can keep you up-to-date with the latest training styles and safety measures.
- Improper Direction and Supervision: You can be sued for failing to provide clear instructions, suitable modifications for different abilities, or adequate supervision, resulting in students misunderstanding poses or getting injured. Don’t overcrowd your classes or ignore screening students for possible medical conditions and accommodations.
- Faulty Equipment and Hazards: Injuries caused by defective yoga equipment (like mats or straps) or hazardous conditions in the yoga studio can lead to claims against instructors. Regular inspection and maintenance of equipment and facilities are crucial to keeping your space safe.
- Slips and Falls in the Studio: Slips, trips, and falls in the studio might not be directly related to the yoga practice itself, but they can happen. It’s important to have a well-lit environment that is free from tripping hazards and provides ample room for students to move around.
How to File a Yoga Insurance Claim
Filing a claim can feel stressful, but our team works hard to try to make the process easier for you. If you need to file a claim you can do so online from your customer dashboard at any time. Here’s what you need to do:
- Gather all necessary information and paperwork
- If possible, have a police report ready outlining a theft or incident
- Log in to your online account
- Locate the “Manage Policies” section and click on “File A Claim”
- Fill out the necessary info and submit your claim.
Our team will reach out within 24–48 hours to confirm we have received your claim and are sending it, along with all your policy information, to the carrier.
You will then be assigned a claims adjuster within 1–2 business days. Your adjuster will be able to answer specific questions about your claim and help you through the rest of the process.
Choosing the Best Liability Insurance for Yoga Teachers
Choosing the best liability insurance involves several key steps to ensure you get coverage that meets your specific needs.
- Understand the Coverage: Familiarize yourself with different types of insurance coverages such as General Liability, Professional Liability, and others. Make sure the policy you choose covers all relevant aspects of your yoga teaching practice.
- Compare Coverage Limits: Common coverage amounts are $1 million to $2 million per occurrence with a $3 million to $4 million aggregate limit. Choose a policy that offers the limits that best suit your needs.
- Check for Additional Coverage: Some policies offer optional additional coverage like stolen equipment coverage or identity theft protection. Evaluate these extras to see if they’re beneficial for you.
- Review Policy Details: Pay attention to what’s included and what’s excluded in the policy. Check if the policy covers both in-person and online classes, and see if any style of yoga or extra services you offer would be excluded from the coverage.
- Consider the Cost: Compare prices, but don’t just go for the cheapest option. Balance cost with the coverage provided. Remember, cheap and inadequate coverage can end up costing more in the long run.
- Read Reviews and Testimonials: Look at what other yoga teachers say about their experiences with different insurance providers—especially when it comes to customer service!
- Check for Yoga-Specific Insurance: Some companies specialize in yoga teacher insurance and may offer coverage better tailored to the unique risks you face.
- Ask Your Peers and Mentors: Talk to other yoga teachers or mentors you trust and see what insurance they use and why.
- Call and Ask: If you’re unsure of who to buy a policy from, consider calling the insurance companies and talking to a licensed agent. They can typically help you evaluate what coverage you need and if they are a good fit for you.
Benefits of Insurance Canopy’s Liability Insurance for Yoga Instructors
Insurance Canopy is committed to providing the high-quality yoga coverage you deserve with the following benefits:
- Meets or exceeds yoga insurance requirements
- Covers you for common claims
- Provides optional additional coverage, like protection for stolen gear
- Takes 10 minutes or less to buy online
- Is affordable—you can be insured for as low as 36 cents a day
- Offers payment options on both yearly and monthly bases
- Covers you in multiple locations
- Allows you to add unlimited additional insureds
- Has a nearly 5-star customer service rating
- Gives you access to an instant Certificate of Insurance (COI)
Insurance Canopy’s Yoga Insurance Coverage Details
You can customize your yoga liability insurance policy from Insurance Canopy with the following options:
General Liability Limits
The most your policy will pay in a 12 month policy period for bodily injury and property damage claims that you become legally obligated to pay due to your business and professional services.
$3,000,000
The maximum amount your policy will pay in a 12-month period for bodily injury and property damage claims that result from the products you use to perform your services. However, it does not cover your products that are sold or distributed.
$3,000,000
The amount that your policy will pay for claims arising out of one or more of the following offenses:
– False Arrest, detention or imprisonment
– Malicious prosecution
– Wrongful Eviction or Wrongful Entry
– Oral or written publications that slander or libels a person or organization
– Oral or written publication or material that violates a person’s right of privacy
– The use of another’s advertising idea in your advertisement
Included
The maximum the insurance carrier will pay for a bodily injury or property damage claim that you become legally obligated to pay due to your business and professional services.
$2,000,000
Applies to damage by fire to premises rented to the insured and to damage regardless of cause to premises (including contents) occupied by the insured for 7 days or less.
$300,000
A general liability coverage that reimburses others, without regard to the insured’s liability, for medical or funeral expenses incurred by such persons as a result of bodily injury (BI) or death sustained by accident under the conditions specified in the policy.
$5,000
Optional Additional Coverage
Inland marine insurance covers tangible property that is movable or transportable in nature (e.g. supplies, equipment, or inventory) but excludes coverage for structures and items that are part of the structure.
$2,000
An additional cost will be added for this coverage. See the application for additional coverage details for Cyber Liability Insurance.
$100,000
Coverage for additional services you offer clients, such as diet guidelines, meal plans, or the sale/recommendation of health supplements. These services are not covered by professional liability and require Diet & Nutrition Coverage.
Included
(when added)
Deductible
$100
Peace of Mind With Dependable Liability Insurance
At Insurance Canopy, we pride ourselves on openness and clarity throughout the insurance buying process. Our goal is to be your trusted insurance partner for years to come as you continue to grow your business.
Don’t leave yourself vulnerable to the risks associated with your yoga instruction. Safeguard your business by purchasing your policy from Insurance Canopy today.
