Insurance?
I own an in-home (my home) personal training studio where I do about half personal/small group training and half circuit training classes. I occasionally employ 1-3 other trainers. I also teach boot camps at park district parks in our area and hire other trainers to teach boot camps through my business as well. Does anyone know what kind of coverage I need? I am worried that I don’t have adequate coverage now!
Definitely call your fitness insurance company. Since the studio is in your home, you should also call your homeowners insurance company–failure to do this could have really nasty consequences if anyone ever sues you (and remember even if you get sued for a totally laughable non-reason, you still need to defend the lawsuit!).
I’m unclear on whether the others who work as trainers in your studio are employees or independent contractors. If they are independent contractors, you should have a written policy in place requiring them to carry their own fitness insurance AND name you (and your business name, if you have a DBA, LLC, etc.) as “additional insureds” on the policy.
Be aware that even if the other trainers are independent contractors for federal taxation purposes, your state may consider them employees. For example, Massachusetts and Washington both consider part-time teachers at yoga studios (who are federally recognized as independent contractors) to be “employees” for state purposes (which might include carrying workers’ comp insurance, for example). To sort this out, I highly recommend contacting your state’s small business office (it might be a division of the secretary of state, or the department of commerce) to find out what the laws in your state are.
Good luck.
Elizabeth