A Fitness Club Best Practice Must

While your customers sign a waiver absolving your business from blame for any injuries that they incur while in your facility, it’s not enough to prevent lawsuits. You may be familiar with the following incidents that occurred in health clubs:

• Sacramento Kings player, Francisco Garcia, broke his wrist hoisting dumbbells after the ball he was sitting on burst
• Stafon Johnson, a USC football player, required surgery after dropping a bench-press bar on his throat
• A woman sued a Chicago area health club after a treadmill malfunction threw her from the machine and severed her right foot

Rare as these situations are, they do occur. For protection, you need staunch insurance coverage from an agent who understands the business. Moses Insurance Group can provide you with an insurance program customized to the fitness industry. The right fitness insurance protection needs to be a best practice for your club.

Why is that so important?

According to the International Health, Racquet and Sports Club Association (IHRSA), your industry has experienced continuous growth over the last twenty years. One reason for this is the media. The fitness business is the beneficiary of hundreds of thousands of pages of free promotion every year. This is because the benefits of regular exercise are constantly touted in print, on TV and on the internet.
More recently, two other factors have impacted your business:

• Corporate involvement—31% of America’s larger corporations subsidize employee health club memberships according to IHRSA
• Health Insurance involvement— An increasing number of HMO’s reward their members for participating in regular exercise programs

All of this exposure means you’re probably seeing new members representing non-traditional markets such as seniors, children and sedentary people coming into your club. They want a facility that is safe for exercise. That’s where insurance comes in.

We will make sure your health and fitness club, the owners and your health club members are all fully protected.

We will help you to consider many important coverages, such as:

1) General Liability

• Comprehensive General Liability
• Premises Liability
• Special Events coverage outside the club is included for the entity and professional instructors or consultants Personal Injury Liability
• Coverage for contracted professionals for additional premium
• Employee Benefits Liability
• Coverage for tanning
• Liquor Liability coverage
• Abuse or Molestation coverage

2) Professional Liability

• Health and Fitness Professional Liability coverage
• Coverage for the entity and employed professionals including lifeguards, racket sports instructors, aerobic & fitness instructors

3) Property

• Blanket limits with large in-house capacity
• Special Causes of Loss coverage on buildings, contents, business income and extra expense
• Coverage including property of customers in your care, custody or control
• Coverage for outdoor pools and court surfaces
• Spoilage
• Signs (attached or unattached)
• Precious metals, including trophies
• Business income and extra expense
• Pollutant clean–up and removal

4) Umbrella/Excess Liability

• Ask about our available umbrella coverage limits!

5) Automobile

• Owned auto
• Hired and non-owned auto
• Hired car physical damage
• Rental Reimbursement for private passenger vehicles

6) Crime and Fidelity

• Theft, Disappearance and Destruction
• Forgery or Alteration
• Employee Dishonesty

We are an experienced health and fitness facility insurer. We will review your club, customer base and exposures to customize a comprehensive protection plan to your business.

Contact us today and discover how we can help protect you against potential losses like those at the beginning of this article. See how we can get you in an insurance “fitness” program that will protect and enhance your health club for many years to come.