Personal Trainer Insurance: Best Options, Costs and Coverage
Personal trainers should have general and professional liability insurance. They may also benefit from other coverage.
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Contributing Writer Personal trainer insurance can cover you if a client claims bodily injury, property damage or a professional mistake. In general, personal trainers should have at least general liability insurance and professional liability insurance.
Here’s where to get personal trainer insurance and how to find the right business insurance for you.
Best options for personal trainer insurance
NerdWallet's editorial team chooses the best business insurance based on factors like:
- How many complaints policyholders make to state insurance regulators.
- Insurance companies’s financial strength, which indicates their ability to pay claims.
- How easy it is to get a quote and buy a policy online.
We reviewed our top picks for those that tailor policies for personal trainers or offer features they may value, like temporary coverage. We also looked at industry-specific providers and organizations, though we haven’t rated these options.
Here are some top companies that serve fitness professionals.
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Philadelphia Insurance
Philadelphia Insurance stands out for its partnership with the American Council on Exercise. If you have (or are training to receive) an ACE certification, you can join its liability insurance program.
Philadelphia’s package with ACE has a broad range of coverage. It includes not only general and professional liability, but also sexual abuse liability, products liability, medical payments and damages to premises. Philadelphia doesn’t offer workers’ comp, though. Read more on the Philadelphia website.
The Hartford
If you need a suite of insurance policies, take a look at The Hartford. Beyond liability, the insurer offers workers’ comp, commercial auto, data breach, business property insurance and more.
You can’t buy a policy online from The Hartford. But if your needs are complex, it can make sense to speak with an agent. Once you buy a policy, you can list additional insureds and download your proof of insurance online. Read our review of The Hartford business insurance.
Ergo Next
If you need coverage quickly, Ergo Next may be a good option. You can buy a personal trainer policy and manage it entirely online. That includes listing additional insureds and getting certificates of insurance. Those services are technically free, though Ergo Next charges a generic monthly fee it says covers such costs.
Ergo Next offers pre-packaged personal trainer insurance with general and professional liability, workers’ compensation and commercial property coverage. They have three bundles with different liability and workers’ comp occurrence limits. That limit remains the same for commercial property ($25,000), though.
The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) also partners with Ergo Next. You’ll get a 6% discount if you have an NASM certification. Read our review of Ergo Next business insurance.
Thimble
Thimble is an insurance agent. Since it doesn't underwrite insurance policies, we don't give it a star rating.
For a flexible policy that follows you wherever you train, consider Thimble. You can buy policies by the hour, day or year online, and quotes are fast to get. It offers combined general and professional liability policies tailored to fitness professionals, and you can add on other coverage too.
Thimble is an agency, not a provider itself, so your policy will come from one of its partners. Each has an “excellent” financial rating or better from credit rating agency A.M. Best, meaning they have a good ability to pay claims. You can still go to the Thimble website to access your certificate of insurance or list additional insureds. Read our review of Thimble business insurance.
Other specialized insurers
These providers combine insurance with other benefits for personal trainers, like fitness-related discounts. NerdWallet has not rated these options. We’d recommend comparing their costs and coverage to traditional insurers to find the right fit.
Insure Fitness Group
If you’re looking for industry expertise, networking or additional resources, Insure Fitness Group may be a suitable provider. Insure Fitness Group also offers its members discounts, exclusive content and other industry-specific perks.
The company’s customized personal training policy includes general liability, professional liability and identity theft insurance.
You can get a quote, purchase your policy and manage your coverage online. Read more on the Insure Fitness Group website.
NACAMS Insurance
The same parent company of Insure Fitness Group (Arthur J. Gallagher) also owns The National Association of Natural and Alternative Medicines. Their offerings are understandably similar, even if the audiences for the two groups differ.
NACAMS sells liability packages that include identity theft coverage. The packages come with professional and general liability and cost the same flat rate per year for every member.
When you buy the insurance you become a NACAMS member, which comes with some perks. Benefits include access to discounted dental and life insurance, telehealth benefits and rental car discounts. Read more on the NACAMS website.
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Do I need personal training insurance?
At a minimum, personal trainers should have general liability insurance and professional liability insurance, according to National Academy of Sports Medicine.
NASM recommends that you get your own personal trainer insurance even if you have some coverage from an employer. An employer’s policy may provide limited coverage, and you won’t be covered for any independent services you provide.
Your contract with a client or gym may also require that you show a certificate of liability insurance before you start working. A gym may ask you to include them as an additional insured on your policy as well.
What types of insurance do personal trainers need?
Liability insurance is a must for personal trainers. You can likely find one policy to cover what you need as a sole proprietor. If you have employees, expensive equipment or rent a space, you will likely need more coverage.
General liability insurance for personal trainers
General liability insurance covers legal and settlement costs for claims of bodily injury and property damage by clients or others. It also covers advertising injury, which typically involves claims of libel or slander.
Say your client trips over a barbell on the floor during a training session and breaks their arm. Your general liability policy would cover any resulting medical, legal or settlement costs.
Or, you’re demonstrating an exercise for a client and drop a weight, smashing their laptop. A general liability policy would cover the costs to replace the computer.
Professional liability insurance for personal trainers
General liability covers injuries that could happen at any business. Professional liability insurance protects you from claims of professional negligence, errors or oversights and other mistakes that led to harm.
This coverage is sometimes called errors and omissions insurance. Given the physical nature of training clients, a professional liability policy is a must.
Say, for instance, you teach a beginner exercise class. An attendee claims it was too rigorous, and they’ve torn a muscle. Your professional liability policy would pay to support your defense in the lawsuit from that attendee, plus any judgments against you.
Workers’ compensation insurance
Workers’ comp covers medical expenses and missed income for employees that are injured or get sick while at work. Most U.S. states require employers to have workers' comp for their employees.
But there’s no requirement that you have to have employees to get workers’ comp. Even if you’re a sole proprietor, getting this coverage can make sense for a physically demanding job like being a personal trainer.
For instance, say you trip over a yoga ball and injure your knee. You can’t lead your regular classes as a result. Workers’ comp would cover not only your medical expenses and physical therapy, but also a portion of your lost income.
Additional insurance options for personal trainers
If you run a larger business — for instance, you have group training courses or employ other fitness instructors — you may need some of the following additional insurance coverage.
| Type of insurance | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Business property or buildings that are damaged by certain accidents, weather events or other hazards. If you rent a space for training, your landlord may require you to have this policy. If a water pipe bursts in your training space and damages the floor, your business property insurance would cover the cost to replace it. | |
| Vehicles that you use for business purposes, such as driving to meet clients for training sessions. Covers accident-related expenses including from injuries, death or property damage. If you’re leaving a client’s house and back your car into their garage, this policy would pay to repair the garage door and your car. | |
| Financial losses caused by data breaches, hacking, ransomware and other cyberattacks. If you store health information about your clients, or financial information like credit card numbers, cybersecurity insurance is a good idea. It can help you cover the costs of informing your customers and recovering stolen data after a hack. Data breach coverage can often be added to a general liability insurance policy, so you may not need to buy this on its own. | |
| Covers lawsuits and claims related to products you use or sell in your line of work. If you sell supplements or provide equipment, for example, it may be a good idea to buy this coverage. If a client sued over the supplements sickening them or the equipment breaking and causing injury, product liability could pay. | |
| Sexual abuse liability | Pays court costs if a client sues you for sexual misconduct. Clients can misinterpret actions or words, so this coverage can be beneficial even if you’re innocent. Say you give advice about a client’s form and they take it as an inappropriate comment on their body and sue. This coverage would help pay for your defense. |
Many insurance providers also offer several types of insurance in a single business owner’s policy. BOPs typically combine general liability insurance, commercial property insurance and business interruption insurance. They’re a cost-effective choice if you need property insurance on top of liability coverage.
How much does personal trainer insurance cost?
Personal trainers pay a median of $600 per year for general liability insurance, according to data provided to NerdWallet by online brokerage Coverdash. The median cost of professional liability insurance is $900 per year.
Ultimately, the cost of your personal trainer insurance will vary based on factors such as:
- Coverage limits.
- Number of policies.
- Business location.
- Type of training your offer.
- Professional certifications you have.
- Number of employees you have.
- Previous history of claims.
In general, the more risks your business faces — and the more coverage you need — the higher your premiums will be. For example, a personal trainer who works from home will likely have lower business insurance costs than one who rents space in a gym and has an employee.
How to get personal trainer insurance
To get the best deal for the coverage you need, NerdWallet recommends comparing multiple insurance quotes for similar policies. As you start shopping for business insurance, keep these three steps in mind:
1. Gather your essential information
You’ll need to provide business and personal details to any insurer you compare policies with. This includes the location you work from, your Social Security Number and income details. If you have employees, you’ll need your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) and payroll information.
2. Determine what type of policies and how much coverage you need
Think about how your business operates on a daily basis and identify the policies you need. Evaluating your risks can help you decide whether you should consider additional policies on top of general liability and professional liability coverage.
3. Get multiple quotes
Once you’re ready to start looking at different insurance policies, you can work with a broker, contact insurance providers directly or use an online marketplace.
If you need insurance quickly and your needs are simple, one of the latter two options should suffice. Using a marketplace or getting quotes from providers directly usually enables you to get insured and download proof same-day.
If you have more complex insurance needs — say, you employ multiple trainers — an agent or broker can provide tailored advice. Brokers typically charge a fee, and using them or an agent will take more time than going online for quotes.
4. Compare providers and purchase a policy
NerdWallet recommends getting quotes from multiple insurance providers before making a decision. As you compare your options, consider:
- How much the policy costs.
- Whether it covers the specific kind of training you do.
- Liability limits, or the max each policy will pay out for claims.
- What kind of customer service the provider offers. Check with independent studies like the J.D. Power Small Commercial Insurance Survey.
- Independent expert reviews, or aggregated reviews on the Better Business Bureau and TrustPilot.
- Complaints about the provider from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
If you need to add an additional insured or generate a certificate of liability insurance, it will be helpful to understand how that process works with your provider ahead of time so that you can complete those tasks quickly after buying your policy.
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- 1. National Academy of Sports Medicine. A Handy Guide for Personal Trainer Insurance. Accessed Apr 8, 2026.
Methodology
Business insurance ratings methodology
NerdWallet rewards business insurance companies for reliability and good service. We calculate star ratings based on scores in about a dozen categories. These include:
- Each company's financial strength.
- How many complaints customers made relative to its market share.
- How easy it is to get coverage.
- How accessible customer service is.
Learn more about how we rate small-business insurance companies.
Our editorial team routinely fact-checks and updates these data points. We also adjust our scoring on an ongoing basis. This helps our star ratings reflect changing industry norms. For instance, in 2026, we began evaluating how easy insurers make it to add an additional insured.
Our ratings are a guide. But insurance policy details and prices can vary widely. We encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes.NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.
Insurer complaints methodology
One key factor in our star ratings is how many complaints insurance companies get. Here's how we arrive at that score.
Disappointed customers can file a complaint with their state's insurance department. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) collects, analyzes and groups complaints by business line and insurance company every year. A business line is a specific type of coverage, like workers’ comp.
Then, the NAIC calculates a complaint ratio for each company. It divides the company's share of complaints by its share of total premiums for each line of business. It then adds these ratio values to their official complaint index.
- A complaint ratio of 1 means a company received about the expected number of complaints relative to its size.
- A ratio of 2 means it received twice as many complaints as expected.
- A ratio of 0 means it received half as many complaints as expected.
NerdWallet obtains the raw NAIC data every year. We aggregate results at the company level and fact-check these results. Then we calculate a three-year average of each insurer's complaint ratio and convert it to a score for our star ratings.
Business insurance star ratings consider complaints about two lines of business: commercial liability and commercial property. We analyze complaint data on commercial auto and workers' comp policies too. But we don't currently incorporate these into our ratings since they're less universal.
