General & professional liability
Most trainers carry a package that pairs general liability with professional liability (sometimes called training or instruction liability) for claims tied to the coaching itself.
Personal trainer insurance
The gym wants to be named as additional insured. Now what?
Gyms and studios increasingly ask independent trainers for proof of insurance and to be added as an additional insured before you can take clients on the floor. Redoubt helps you figure out whether you need your own policy and get the facility named correctly.
Does the gym’s policy cover you?
The facility’s insurance usually protects the facility.
A common point in fitness-industry guidance is that a gym or studio carries liability coverage primarily to protect the business itself — the building, equipment, and the company. That coverage does not necessarily extend to an independent trainer, and it generally will not follow you to a different location.
That is why onboarding paperwork so often asks you to carry your own policy and name the gym as an additional insured. The request is routine; the confusion is usually about what it actually means for you.
Protects the facility
The gym’s own liability policy is built around the business, not the independent contractors training inside it.
Does not travel with you
Train at two gyms and an outdoor bootcamp? One facility’s coverage will not cover what happens at the others.
Your policy stays with you
Your own trainer policy follows your work and can name each facility that asks to be added.
Coverage considerations
What a trainer policy usually involves
Every coaching business is a little different. These are the pieces that most often come up for independent trainers and instructors.
Additional insured endorsement
This is the endorsement that actually adds the gym or studio to your policy, which is usually what the facility’s onboarding paperwork is asking for.
Online training
Remote and hybrid coaching is common now. Whether your program treats online clients the same as in-person ones is worth confirming, not assuming.
Workers compensation
If you bring on other coaches or employees, workers comp may apply. The answer depends on whether they are employees and on your payroll.
Hired & non-owned auto (HNOA)
If driving between facilities and clients is a real part of the work, HNOA can be worth reviewing alongside the liability package.
Getting to an answer
What Redoubt needs to review your situation
The fastest path is to send the gym’s exact insurance wording along with a few details about how and where you train. With the real requirement in hand, we can explain what it means and work toward a policy and certificate that satisfy it.
Answer a few questions, then text us your results with the gym’s clause attached.
Gym insurance intake
Step 1 of 520%
Where do you train clients?
Frequently asked questions
Personal trainer insurance FAQ
Isn’t the gym’s insurance enough?+
Often it is not. Fitness-industry guidance commonly notes that a gym or studio carries liability insurance mainly to protect the facility itself, not necessarily the independent trainers working there. If a claim involves your coaching, the facility’s policy may not respond on your behalf. That is usually why onboarding asks you to carry your own coverage and name the gym.
Do I need my own policy if I train at multiple locations?+
A facility’s coverage generally does not follow you to a different gym. If you work across several locations, your own policy is what stays with you and can name each facility as needed. Sharing your full list of locations helps make sure the coverage and certificates line up.
Can the gym be added as additional insured?+
Usually yes. Naming the gym or studio as an additional insured is a common, routine request, typically handled with an endorsement on your liability policy. The key is matching the facility’s exact legal name, address, and any required wording on the certificate.
Do I need insurance if I only train part-time or online?+
Many part-time and online-only trainers still carry coverage, because the requirement often comes from a facility agreement or platform rather than from how many hours you work. Online coaching can also raise its own questions, so it is worth confirming how your program treats remote clients.
Does specialized work change anything?+
It can. Straightforward general fitness training is usually easy to place. Youth athletes, rehab or post-injury work, and other specialized or higher-risk programming may get more underwriting attention. Telling us up front keeps the quote accurate.