Why do pilates teachers need liability insurance?
As a Pilates instructor, your role involves guiding and instructing students through Pilates practices, leading them to follow your every move and direction. Additionally, you often have physical contact with both students and third-party property, whether it's the venue where you teach or your students' homes.
Required by venues
Venues where you teach typically require you to have public liability insurance before allowing you to hire their space.
Causing an injury
Pilates, being a physically demanding activity, poses the risk of students attributing their injuries to your instruction.
Accusations of failing duty of care
Accusations of failing in your duty of care are possible scenarios, especially if you momentarily step out of a class or divert your attention, resulting in harm to a student.
Claims of overstepping the boundaries
Over time, as you build relationships with students, increased involvement in their lives may lead to misinterpretations and claims of overstepping boundaries.
Public liability insurance for Pilates teachers
Public liability insurance shields pilates instructors from claims of injuries or property damage.
Public liability provides legal defence if claims are made against you and pay compensation if due.
What does pilates teacher public liability insurance cover?
Public liability insurance is valuable when faced with injury claims and compensation demands.
If someone makes a claim against you for causing an accidental injury or property damage or loss, public liability will provide legal defence and pay compensation if you become liable.
Cover includes:
- accidental injury or death
- accidental property damage
For example:
- The floor during a session becomes slippery and causes an injury. A student could be asking you to cover their medical bills.
- The pilates equipment used in the class malfunctions and compensation is being asked of you because you were responsible for the client’s safety.
Pilates teacher professional indemnity insurance
Professional indemnity insurance is designed to deal with any claims arising from your profession. This could be causing an injury resulting from incorrect advice or failing your duty of care.
If you are given a notice of a legal claim against you, your policy will trigger access to legal defence and take care of the situation. If you are found liable for any damages, the policy will cover the amount up to the policy limit.
What does professional indemnity insurance for pilates teachers cover?
Professional indemnity insurance protects pilates instructors from claims or accusations of wrongdoing from their professional advice.
Cover includes:
- Failing your duty of care
- Making a mistake
- Acting negligently
- Giving the wrong advice or recommendation
For example, you may be facing financial demands from a client because:
- You make a mistake during a pilates class which leads to the injury of a student
- You’re accused of negligence or misconduct by one of your students
- Your student injures themselves while using skills they learned from you
What professional indemnity limit do pilates teachers need?
The professional indemnity limit you need will reflect your particular business activities. When choosing a limit, consider several factors: how often you teach, how many students are in your pilates class, and possible financial impacts if your advice goes wrong.
Switching your professional indemnity insurance
In the UK, most professional indemnity insurance works on a “claims-made basis”; this essentially means two things:
- You must have an active policy at the time a claim is made, and
- The policy period on your active policy must cover the time when the work was performed
You can no longer make claims against the previous policy when you cancel or switch your professional indemnity policy.
If you change provider, ensure your past work is covered, called “retroactive cover”.
Should I keep professional indemnity insurance if I retire as a pilates instructor?
It’s wise to keep your professional indemnity if you retire from pilates teaching. Claims against professional misconduct can surface months or years after you delivered the work.
If a past client sues you for damages and you have cancelled your professional indemnity, you will not be covered.
How long you keep your cover in place is up to you; consider the type of coaching you did and the likelihood that a client might bring a claim against you.
With Suited, you don’t have to pay full price if you no longer work as a pilates teacher. You can hibernate your policy, allowing you to stay insured for past work at a much-reduced cost. You can leave your policy in hibernation as long as you like.
Other insurance pilates instructors might need
Other insurance needed will depend on your circumstances: Could you afford a legal dispute? What would you do if a client doesn’t want to pay? Do you rely on expensive electronic equipment? How would you deal with a tax issue? Do you have employees or subcontractors?
Commercial legal expenses insurance
Most commercial legal expenses insurance will protect you against various tax and legal issues you may encounter due to your profession, which are not picked up by professional indemnity or public liability.
At Suited, we combined £100,000 of commercial legal expenses insurance with helplines and other tools to better assist you in dealing with these issues, and it’s part of your subscription.
Commercial Legal Expenses provides qualified advice and assistance with:
- Legal and tax matters concerning your business
- Criminal prosecution
- Compliance & regulation issues
- Unpaid invoices (over £200)
For example:
- HMRC investigates your tax affairs
- You need legal help chasing a significant unpaid invoice
- You wish to take a business partner or supplier over a breach of contract
- You required guidance on compliance or regulatory issues for your business.
Personal accident insurance for pilates teachers
Pilates is a calm physical exercise; luckily, severe accidents are rare. However, if you worry about this aspect, personal accident cover is a small peace of mind that is very inexpensive.
It provides a quick cash injection if you suffer a severe accident and hopefully helps you overcome the worst while considering your future options.
Shopping for pilates teacher liability insurance
Whether or not you decide to use Suited pilates teacher insurance to protect your business, it’s worth keeping the following in mind:
Price isn’t everything
Some providers offer rock-bottom prices, but after-sales service could be lacklustre. Check how easy it is to get in contact with your insurance provider. At Suited, we offer several options and answer quickly.
The reputation of the insurer is important
Insurance needs to be there when you need it most. The payout reputation of an insurer is essential. Suited uses financially sound insurers with an A+ rating.
Many providers charge fees to amend or cancel
Low initial prices often hide additional charges to pay monthly, amend or cancel your policy. At Suited, we charge no extra fees, and you can cancel anytime with no more to pay.
Some policy wordings are restrictive or have a high excess
Some providers will offer attractive prices, but it is at the expense of cover given. Suited professional indemnity and public liability have £0 excess.
