Yoga Instructor Liability Insurance
- $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 limit options available
- Prices start as low as $194
- There is no requirement to join an association
- Instant online quote / pay / print proof of coverage docs and certificates
- Professional liability included
- Sex abuse / molestation included
What defines yoga?
Yoga is a set of specific body poses and breathing techniques that can improve flexibility, agility, and overall health. You can easily modify yoga exercises to fit the needs of different students. These exercises can include the mountain pose, plank pose, triangle pose, downward dog, tree pose, child’s pose, camel pose, and more.
The specified movements can target different areas of the body from the back, to the arms, the legs, neck, shoulders, feet, hands, joints, muscles, and even bones, according to a study. In addition, because of the wide variety of exercises that make up the yoga vocabulary, making adjustments that adhere to a student’s needs or goals is more than accessible.
If you don’t already, we recommend that all instructors have different class levels to incorporate the different levels of students. The variety of yoga exercises allow someone to be a student regardless of weight, age, or physical ability. If you can, take time with each student to assess where they fit best. What are their limits? Their strengths and weaknesses? Additionally, given that yoga activities target so many different areas of the body, many benefits come along with them.
Does yoga have health benefits?
Practicing yoga regularly may help improve both mental and physical health for any age. Benefits of yoga can include:
- Improving general wellness, sleep, flexibility and balance
- Relieving pain throughout the body, specifically in the lower back and neck
- Alleviating pain causing headaches
- Supporting heart health by improving circulation and blood flow
- Helping manage stress and anxiety
A complete yoga routine can ultimately improve balance, fix posture, strengthen joints and muscles, and keep your body refreshed. The combination of breathing with structured body movements creates a wholesome connection between the body and mind.
Now, it’s no secret that yoga is good for you. However, as the saying goes, accidents happen. With any physical action or exercise, injuries can occur.
Can you be injured while practicing yoga?
While yoga can provide numerous health benefits, there are also many very real risks. Risks are not merely limited to the overstretching of the neck, back, and legs, say. There are more serious risks linked to yoga. These risks can include:
- Injuries to soft tissue and bones
- Musculoskeletal pain
- Repetitive strain injuries
- Tendon tears
As an instructor, this can be particularly concerning. If you’re teaching a class for beginners, it is important to take movements slowly and encourage participants to be aware of how each movement makes them feel. An accident that occurs in your yoga class may or may not be your fault. Regardless, there is a high chance that you could be liable.
What are ways to prevent injuries and mitigate risk?
Supporting students taking movements at their own pace can help avoid injury, but there are other ways to help to prevent injuries while performing a yoga class. Consider assisting students in modifying poses to fit their bodies ‘ needs. Never push them too hard if they begin to feel resistance during a particular stretch.
If a student starts to experience pain, take care in helping the student dissemble the pose and rest instead. Yoga should not be painful for any student. It is necessary to ensure all participants feel comfortable during the duration of the class. Understanding preventative methods can equip you with what to look out for while students are present under your supervision.
While all these actions help prevent your own negligence, what about controlling the negligent actions of other patrons in your class?
Here are some good risk management measures to apply:
- Give each student plenty of space. Accidents are much more likely in a crowded workout room with swinging arms and extending legs. Don’t overbook your studio. Instead, offer more class times.
- Have your patrons sign a liability waiver that makes them more aware of their own possible negligence. While the validity of waivers may vary depending on the state, they typically can help reduce liability in a court of law.
- Briefly warn and advise new students of possible safety situations and what to do in the event of a class emergency.
- Check your studio space periodically for any safety hazards and provide warnings if necessary. While something such as a sharp, protruding object or bump in the floorboards may be obvious to you, someone else may not see it.
- Have posted advisory signs around the classroom that encourage patrons to clean up after themselves in the event of an accident or spill.
These are just a few examples you can follow to help mitigate your risk and your liability. However, regardless of how much effort you put into managing your risk, physical injuries and bodily harm, although unintentional, can lead to legal situations. As a result, a reliable yoga instructor liability insurance policy would provide you with a broader range of protection.
Recent yoga injuries and lawsuits in the news
Don’t believe it can happen to you? Check out the following lawsuits that occurred during yoga classes:
- Student Sues Yoga Instructor After Gruesome Injury and Aggressive Behavior
- Yoga Instructor Sued After Accidentally Breaking Student’s Thigh Bone During Stretch
- Yoga Instructor Sued By Student For Painful Stretching Positions
Instances like these are more common than you might think. While we know you’re working hard to keep your class safe and students fit, we recommend our yoga instructors insurance policy. It’s never a better time to have added protection!
Why do you need yoga insurance?
In the event of a class incident causing bodily harm to one of your students, how do you plan to protect yourself? We discussed some of the measures you can take as an instructor to prevent these things from happening, but what happens when they do anyway? Most yoga teachers do their due diligence as it relates to risk management but fail to recognize the importance of having insurance.
Benefits of yoga insurance
Yoga instructor insurance can help protect you and your business from lawsuits. Lawsuits, and associated costs, can be expensive even if you were not negligent. Having high-quality liability insurance coverage protects you from accidents and injuries that may occur while you are teaching a class. Designed to cover you in and outside of your studio, Sadler Sports offers an insurance policy that can minimize your risk. You’ll have the peace of mind to focus on what you do best, running your yoga class.
Having yoga teacher insurance with a strong general liability insurance policy can help protect you against:
- Substantial financial losses
- Compensatory damages in a lawsuit
- Medical expenses resulting from an in-class injury
- Work compensation for lost wages
Having a yoga teacher insurance plan that also includes a professional liability insurance policy in addition to general liability can help protect you from:
- Your personal negligence (whether legitimate or not)
- Misrepresentation
- Accusations of giving inaccurate information to a yoga student
Do I need professional liability insurance?
The nature of being an instructor involves, well, giving instructions. Whenever you give someone instructions in a class environment, your words become an authority. Whenever something occurs, whether good or bad, in class or outside of class, per
your instructions, you can become responsible. Having professional liability coverage can help offer protection in these instances. To clarify, professional liability insurance coverage can protect you from certain allegations other than property damage or bodily injury.
As a business owner, it is essential to give yourself every opportunity for success. There’s nothing more devastating to your business or your reputation than to have to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees and punitive damages. Similarly, if you work for a yoga business, being insured with a professional liability plan raises your level of credibility.
That’s why we offer a yoga insurance policy that gives you both general liability and professional liability. Our yoga instructor liability insurance can provide protection if a lawsuit arises from private lessons or class sessions. Get a yoga insurance policy tailored to your yoga class or business.
Get yoga instructor insurance that fits you!
Our customizable yoga instructor insurance plan is adjustable to fit the needs of your yoga studio or class. Reflect a degree of professionalism for your business that your patrons will recognize and appreciate. At Sadler, we are an insurance company that prides itself on providing best in industry coverage at incredible rates with savings of up to 38%. We know yoga can relieve stress, but so can having a personalized yoga instructor insurance policy that perfectly fits your needs. Reduce your liability and get a quote now.
Offer other instructor-related programs? Check out our personal trainer insurance page for a list of all the instruction activities we cover.