Gym, Fitness Studio and Health Club Insurance

Fitness centers are popular destinations for those looking to get in shape, manage their stress, or take charge of their overall health. Owners and operators of gyms, fitness studios, health clubs or similar facilities are passionate about helping their members better their health. To best serve their members or clients, owners of fitness centers need to address the unique risks associated with their business and consider gym insurance.

Think of gym insurance as a tailored combination of business insurance and liability insurance. As a gym owner, choosing the right liability insurance is crucial, as it can protect against costly claims like a customer’s injury or a claim of negligence against your business, any of which can result in sky-high costs.

How Can Insurance Protect Your Fitness Center?
The condition of your gym, the trainers you hire, the types of equipment you provide and the fitness services available to your members can all contribute to your exposure to risks. What’s more, potential losses for your business extend well beyond broken exercise equipment or injury concerns and can even include damaging professional liability claims.

Even with regular inspections, safety protocols and qualified staff, workout-related accidents can and do happen. Here are some common fitness center risks and scenarios to think about:

• Exercise equipment—Your facility depends on functioning exercise equipment. When critical equipment breaks, fitness centers can experience business interruptions or even prolonged closures. Insurance could also cover equipment lost in a fire or damaged by water.
• Slips, trips and falls—Clients could easily trip over fitness equipment, bump into others during their workout or slip in the locker room or shower.
• Injuries or health issues—Clients may report problems ranging from a minor ankle sprain to a major heart attack during a workout in the facility. Some members could even claim that they caught the flu or coronavirus from contaminated equipment.
• Staff—Employees, such as dieticians, instructors or trainers, can be a source of serious professional liability. Any negligent act committed by your team could lead to claims against your business. Also, disgruntled clients could accuse staff of not providing the services they have paid for, such as losing weight.
• Crime—Because locker rooms are designed for privacy, the likelihood of assault, vandalism or theft is higher. In this day and age, thieves (including your employees) do not need direct access to cash to steal from you—sensitive information, facility tools and supplies are all fair game.
• Cybersecurity—As more fitness facilities move to online enrollment and class scheduling systems, cyber exposures will continue to increase. Fitness centers are a common target for cybercriminals as it’s likely your business processes a high volume of credit and debit card information from clients.
• Business closure—Some policies can cover your facility in the case of forced closure due to fire or water damage, or in today’s reality, a COVID-19 outbreak.

Berger Briggs Insurance can help you identify potential blind spots in your risk management and insurance to ensure your business and clients are fully protected when they walk in your doors.