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
• An 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. Harbor Insurance 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?

Health Club Business Trends

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 provide one of the most comprehensive health and fitness insurance programs available today.  With six coverages and two endorsements, our insured health and fitness clubs, their owners and their health club members are fully protected.

Health and Fitness Insurance Program

The program offered by Harbor Insurance includes the following six coverages:

1) General Liability

• Comprehensive General Liability – Limits to $1,000,000 each occurrence/$3,000,000 aggregate
• Premises Liability
• Special Events coverage outside the club is included for the entity and professional instructors or consultants Personal Injury Liability
• Coverage extended to contracted professionals for additional premium
• Employee Benefits Liability
• Coverage for tanning available
• Liquor Liability coverage available
• Abuse or Molestation coverage available

2) Professional Liability

• Health and Fitness Professional Liability coverage form – limits available up to $1,000,000 per professional incident and $3,000,000 aggregate
• Coverage extended to 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 extended to include 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

• Limits up to $15,000,000 available

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 - $10,000
• Forgery or Alteration
• Employee Dishonesty

Two Endorsements

The following two endorsements can also be included in your insurance protection:

1) Bell Endorsement

•Includes Business Travel Accident Benefit, Donation Assurance, Emergency Real Estate Consulting Fee, Identity Theft Expense, Image Restoration and Counseling, Key Individual Replacement Expenses, Kidnap Expense, Terrorism Travel Reimbursement, Workplace Violence Counseling. Limits for each Conference Cancellation, Fundraising Event Blackout, Political Unrest, Temporary Meeting Space Reimbursement and Travel Delay Reimbursement

2) Crisis Management Enhancement Endorsement

• Crisis management emergency response expenses incurred because of an incident giving rise to a “crisis”

Harbor Insurance

Harbor Insurance is veteran health and fitness facility insurer. We will review your club, customer base and exposures to customize this comprehensive program 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.