Sports and Fitness Insurance Ontario

Sports And Fitness Insurance 

Sports and fitness is a very large industry, that covers many different roles in society. Whether you're coaching a recreational soccer league, running a hockey rink that plays home to many leagues year-round, or if you've made a career out of helping people unlock their physical potential, sports and fitness is the industry you’re involved in. What everyone under this umbrella has in common is that they share a lifelong passion for getting themselves and others to develop a love of improving their health in fun ways. However, any physical activity comes with some inherent risks. Some of these risks could leave you facing a large financial penalty, whether through legal means or the need to replace something extremely valuable. Luckily, you can protect yourself with sports and fitness insurance. 

What Is Sports And Fitness Insurance? 

Sports and fitness insurance is a form of business insurance that financially protects anyone in the sports and fitness industry in Ontario from liability risks and provides reimbursement for their property and possessions from damage and theft. While you can minimize risk with certain actions, such as having personal trainers require questionnaires from their clients, it is impossible to prevent them entirely. To protect you in the case that you are unfortunate enough to encounter such a scenario, it is highly recommended that you have sports and fitness insurance if you are vulnerable to any of the dangers of the industry. 

Who Needs Sports And Fitness Insurance In Ontario? 

Anyone in Ontario who is involved in the sports and fitness industry and is at risk of facing financial consequences in the event of something going wrong could use the protection of sports and fitness insurance. The risk of situations where someone could be financially responsible for a loss is larger than one would think. 

The number of people who could use the protection of sports and fitness insurance includes: 

• Anyone who runs a sports league or association. 
• Fitness professionals, such as fitness instructors, personal trainers and yoga teachers. 
• Fitness studio and gym owners. 
• Health club owners. 
• Managers of arenas and other places where sports take place, such as basketball courts, golf courses and similar places. 
• People who run things that are sports and fitness adjacent, such as martial arts trainers and dance instructors. 
• Those involved in teaching sports, such as coaches. 

Please note that this is not a complete list of people who may require sports and fitness insurance coverage, and everyone is open to different risks. For example, if a participant in a football game gets very seriously injured, there are plenty of people who could be held responsible. The opposing player who delivered the hit could be held responsible if the hit was hard enough. The league might also be the party found at fault if they failed to provide equipment that was up to safety standards. Perhaps a trainer or coach did a poor job of teaching the players how to hit or receive a hit and could be found at fault as a result. This goes beyond liability, as you could own an expensive piece of equipment or technology and that could get stolen. The protection provided even extends to situations such as property damage that needs to be repaired. 

If you are not sure whether or not this type of protection is right for you, and to get the correct protection for your situation, it is recommended you speak with your Morison Insurance broker. 

What Does Sports And Fitness Insurance Cover? 

Sports and fitness insurance covers a wide range of potential situations related to the athletics industry in Ontario. Due to the vast variety of people who could potentially benefit from sports and fitness insurance, each policy must be specialized for the particular risks faced by someone in their position. Many of the most common types of coverage are general liability insurance, errors and omissions insurance, sports facility insurance, and more. Please note that your policy is not limited to just one of these and can be adjusted as your needs change. If you would like to know more about creating a sports and fitness insurance quote suited to your needs, please speak with your Morison Insurance broker. 

Commercial General Liability Coverage 

Commercial general liability insurance is designed to protect the policyholder from legal expenses and risks associated with being involved in the sports and fitness business. The most common situation this covers is being held responsible for a third-party bodily injury. While this could refer to situations such as a participant under your supervision or care injuring themselves while playing a sport you're running or using your workout equipment, it also refers to incidents involving slip and fall scenarios that take place on your property. In these cases, it will cover possible medical expenses and court costs. 

In addition, it will also cover court costs and legal fees in the event that someone accuses you of libel, slander, or other advertising injuries. It should be noted that your legal defence fees will be covered in any insured scenario, even if the claims against you are baseless. 

Sports Facility Insurance 

Sports facility insurance, also known as commercial property insurance, protects the owners of sports facilities from financial losses if their expensive property suffers damage. While a building such as an arena or gym can't trip and fall and won't suffer an ankle injury, if someone slashes it with their hockey stick, a building is still not indestructible. It could get damaged in a hailstorm, catch fire, or be damaged by vandals. This type of damage would reimburse the owner for an insured loss in the event that it happens. 

Errors And Omissions Insurance 

Errors and omissions insurance, also known as professional liability insurance, protects policyholders in Ontario in situations where they are seen as having made an error that has major consequences for a client, customer or guest. A situation covered by commercial general liability coverage, such as a personal trainer having a client incidentally get injured in a fluke accident that's nobody's fault, is bad and can be scary enough. However, having the client claim that their injury was caused by an error made by the personal trainer or coach is even scarier. While you surely understand the ins and outs of your industry, nobody goes through their entire career error-free, so it's best that you protect yourself with errors and omissions insurance just in case. 

Sports Equipment Insurance 

Also known as equipment breakdown insurance, sports equipment insurance protects your business's most valuable equipment. While a lost, stolen or damaged baseball bat, basketball, or dumbbell might not be a cause for alarm and can easily be paid for out of pocket, things such as a broken scoreboard, destroyed volleyball court, or enough equipment for an entire team can not be replaced so easily. For more information on what can and can't be covered with sports equipment insurance, it is recommended you speak with your Morison insurance broker. 

Commercial Auto & Fleet Insurance 

Commercial auto and fleet insurance provides company vehicles with the same type of dangers that your personal car insurance protects your vehicle from. This includes not only damage to the vehicle itself but also liability claims that result from the use of the vehicle, such as if the driver of the vehicle damages a third party's property. It should also be noted that despite providing similar protection as personal car insurance, a personal car insurance claim will not cover you in the event of your vehicle being used for commercial purposes. 

Business Interruption Insurance 

Business interruption insurance provides financial protection in the case that your business is forced to shut down temporarily due to issues outside of the owners' control. This could include situations such as civil closure, as well as damage to the building, making it not suitable to do business in. Depending on the situation, business interruption insurance can cover your income while you're closed, or cover the temporary added expenses of a short-term location. 

Commercial Cyber Insurance 

Commercial cyber insurance provides financial protection in the event that you are the target of cybercriminals. In today's increasingly digital age, no matter where in the sports and fitness industry you are, you almost certainly have personal information on your clients and/or customers stored in an online database somewhere. This could include sensitive details such as credit card information. If this information winds up in the wrong hands, your business could be in serious trouble. Commercial cyber insurance protects you if you need your data restored, have legal fees and/or need legal advice, and provides compensation for income loss and credit monitoring. 

Directors And Officers Insurance 

Directors and officers insurance protects board and council members financially. This works for anything from a large, privatized league to a small committee of volunteers. If those in charge of your organization are on the receiving end of allegations, it is likely they may face steep financial consequences. Directors and Officers insurance allows you to protect your most valuable members from wrongful acts and accusations. 

What Does Sports And Fitness Insurance Not Cover? 

Despite the fact that sports and fitness insurance cover plenty of situations, you or others in your organization may face the consequences of a situation beyond your control. However, there are some situations where sports and fitness insurance will not give you any protection. These include, but are not limited to: 

• Situations where harm is intentionally caused by the insured acting maliciously. 
• Natural wear and tear over time. 
• Equipment failing due to poor maintenance. 

Please note that there are other instances that sports and fitness insurance does not cover. To find out if you are covered in certain hypothetical situations or to get a quote, it’s best that you ask your Morison Insurance broker. 

Can Sports And Fitness Insurance Cover Individual Events? 

Sports and fitness insurance is capable of covering special events held by an insured party in Ontario. For example, if your sporting organization is hosting a party as part of a fundraiser, you can add party alcohol liability insurance, also known as PAL insurance, to your plan. This lets you cover the added risks of certain events, including the risks associated with alcohol. Another example would be hole-in-one insurance if you’re hosting a fundraiser at a golf course and are unable to pay out someone who won more than you were anticipating anyone would. If you already have sports and fitness insurance and would like to add coverage of a certain event to it, or you would like to gain sports and fitness insurance and include your event, it is best to speak to your Morison Insurance broker. 

How Much Does Sports And Fitness Insurance Cost? 

It is understandable to want to have an upfront price when you hope to protect yourself with sports and fitness insurance. Sadly, there is no set price for sports and fitness insurance. This is due to the fact that there are so many factors that could change your sports and fitness insurance quote, and different insurance companies will weigh varying factors in differing ways, meaning that you will almost always get different quotes from different companies. However, you can get a general idea based on the factors involved. Many of the factors involved are as follows: 

• Size of the organization (number of employees, square footage of properties owned, etc.) 
• Location(s) of the organization. 
• Number of vehicles controlled by the company, if any. 
• Size of the client and customer base. 
• Claims history of the insured party. 
• Level of coverage desired by the insured party. 
• Risks involved by the insured specific sector of the industry, such as the increased odds of personal injury to a client in a contact sports league. 
• Amount of special hands-on training, if any, done by the insured and their employees to mitigate risks. 

Please note that this is not a complete list of factors. If you would like to know more factors that might impact your sports and fitness insurance quote, it is best that you speak with your Morison Insurance broker, and they will be happy to tell you. 

How Can I Lower My Sports And Fitness Insurance Premium? 

There are many ways you can save on costs by lowering your sports and fitness insurance quote. They include the following: 

• Implementing workplace safety measures to minimize the risk of an injury. 
• Avoid making claims on small losses to keep your claims history clean. 
• Increase your deductible. 

Please note that these are not the only ways in which you can save on your sports and fitness insurance quote. If you would like to know more, it is best that you speak with your Morison Insurance broker. 

Where Can I Get Sports And Fitness Insurance? 

You can get sports and fitness insurance from Morison Insurance. Morison Insurance is a family-run, 5-star insurance broker with over 100 years of history in Ontario and treats its clients like an extension of that family. Call us at 1-800-463-8074 or fill out the online application below for a sports and fitness insurance quote, as well as other insurance coverage that you need.

This content is written by our Morison Insurance team. It is provided for general information only. Insurance needs differ from person to person, and this article is therefore not a substitute for professional advice about your individual insurance needs which can be obtained by speaking to one of our brokers.