Are you searching for gymnastics insurance to protect your business from financial losses due to accidents and injuries?
The best insurance for clubs, gyms, coaches and instructors is liability insurance. This type of insurance protects your business against claims that can arise while teaching or supervising gymnastics. Typically, these types of claims arise from negligence, injuries or accidents.
If you’re a parent that’s interested in enrolling your child into gymnastics then personal injury insurance would be best. This insurance would cover any potential accidents or injuries sustained while training or competing.
Why is Gymnastics Insurance Important?
Gymnastics insurance is important for gym owners to help mitigate risk and to protect against financial and legal liability. Gymnastics is an extremely physically demanding sport with a high risk of injury.
Research from the British Journal of Sports Medicine indicates that the overall injury rate for gymnasts is approximately 1 to 2 injuries per 1000 hours of training. With such a high incident for injury, having proper insurance coverage will provide both athletes and business owners the peace of mind needed to operate the gym with less worry about the financial impact of potential accidents.
If you’re a parent or an athlete yourself then gymnastics insurance can help cover medical expenses for things such as hospital stays, surgeries and physical therapy.
Besides risk mitigation, gym owners and coaches can face legal claims if an athlete is injured within the gym premises. Having liability insurance will protect you against claims of negligence and can also cover the cost of legal defense plus the settlement costs. If you’re a business owner, this is crucial for sustaining operations in your gymnastics facility. Without this type of insurance, there’s a strong possibility that you can be too financially damaged to continue operating your gym.
Another reason why gymnastics insurance is important for your business is asset protection. This covers damage to your facility and equipment from accidents, natural disasters and vandalism. It will ensure that you won’t have to pay out-of-pocket expenses to get your physical assets repaired or replaced.
Types of Gymnastic Insurance Coverage
There are different types of coverage needed for gym owners and managers compared to gymnastic participants. Let’s first review the type of gymnastic insurance that business owners require to operate their facility.
General liability
General liability insurance is absolutely essential for your gymnastics business. It covers third-party claims of bodily injury, property damage and personal injury such as libel and slander. Basically, it protects you from having to pay costly settlements out-of-pocket from claims of negligence, athlete injuries or property damage that occur at your gymnastics facility.
Bodily injury covers claims if a gymnast, parent or visitor gets injured at the gym due alleged negligence. It will help cover medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering claims. In gymnastics, bodily injury can occur from maneuvers such as tumbling, working on different apparatuses and performing aerial stunts. The chance of injury is very high and can result in massive medical costs.
Property damage pays for third party property that is damaged due to the gym’s operations such as damaging hotel rooms during a competition trip. For example, if your gymnastics team is training at a hotel and during tumbling exercises a large mirror accidentally breaks, you’re covered.
Premises liability helps protect against injury claims of slip and fall accidents or other hazardous conditions at your facility. You should consider opting in for at least $1 million in premises liability limits to account for any potential catastrophic injuries. This coverage is crucial for letting you operate while being insulated from the high costs of an on-premises injury lawsuit.
Professional liability
Professional liability insurance is also known as coaching liability or instructor liability insurance. If you’re a gymnastics coach or instructor, it will protect against claims of negligence or failure to perform your duties as a gymnastics instructor.
Some common claims it can protect you against include improper instruction of training techniques that lead to injury or failure to properly supervise a gymnast during practice or an event. Also, if a parent of a gymnast sues you for professional negligence, it will cover the insured’s legal defense costs and also pay any settlement up to the policy limits.
Policy limits of $1 million or higher are recommended based on the potential for permanent disabilities or lifelong injuries stemming from professional negligence claims.
By carrying professional liability coverage, gymnastics coaches, staff and facility owners are protected against allegations of coaching malpractice which can run into hundreds of thousands or even millions in legal fees and settlements.
Event insurance
Event insurance can provide the same sort of general liability coverage when hosting competitions, exhibitions or special events. It can cover third-party bodily injury, property damage and advertising injury claims. Also, it can help you recoup expenses and revenue if the event is postponed or canceled.
Most event venues also require proof of adequate event liability insurance before allowing a competition to take place on their premises. By purchasing this specialized coverage you can be properly insured against injuries, property damage, cancellation losses and other increased risks compared to their daily operations.
Choosing the Right Gymnastic Insurance Policy
The first step when choosing the right gymnastic insurance policy is to evaluate the scope of operations of your business. There’s several factors to consider that can directly impact the type and extent of your coverage.
Scope of Operations
The first step when choosing the right gymnastic insurance policy is to evaluate the scope of operations of your business. There’s several factors to consider that can directly impact the type and extent of your coverage.
The physical size of your gymnastics facility can impact insurance needs. Larger facilities may have more equipment and will require more extensive property insurance. Also, the number of locations requires that all sites are covered. This may require separate policies if your insurance provider cannot incorporate it into a centralized policy.
Secondly, the number of participants at your gymnastics facility can also affect the liability risk. More participants usually increase the potential for accidents and injuries, which may require higher liability coverage limits.
Finally, your staff and the types of classes being offered at your facility can change the insurance costs. Well-trained, certified coaches might reduce the risk of accidents, potentially lowering insurance costs but different classes such as artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampolining can increase the costs.
Gymnastics insurance costs
The cost of gymnastics insurance varies widely based on coverage types and specific needs, but typical policies might range from $350 for basic general liability to around $500 for minimum accident insurance, with additional costs for professional liability, property insurance, and workers’ compensation, all of which depend significantly on the scale and scope of the gymnastics facility operations.
Please consult with an expert insurance agent to get an accurate quote based on your specific needs.
Eligible Operations Covered by Gymnastics Insurance
Gymnastics and cheerleading insurance eligible operations are usually tied to the facility itself. If you’re also interested in verifying in special events are covered, work with an insurance agent to make sure you are covered for specific events that your gymnastics school or facility is involved in.
Among the operations that are typically covered by gymnastics are:
- Competitive gymnastics
- Recreational gymnastics
- Rhythmic gymnastics
- Cheerleading
- Tumbling
- Pre-school gymnastics
- Trampolines
- Sports acrobatics
- Group gymnastics
- Mobile gymnastics
Gymnastics Insurance Providers
Make sure to work with your insurance agent to get quotes from multiple insurers that specialize in sports insurance such as dance, cheerleading and gymnastics to find the right coverage balance and affordable premiums.
Here’s a list of three providers you can directly contact:
Remember to consult with your insurance broker to find personalized advice and help you find the best policy for your needs. Also, consult with your other gym owner peers to learn from their experiences who’ve dealt with similar insurance decisions.