Your Complete Guide to Yoga Insurance
What is Yoga Insurance?
Despite a yoga instructor’s best efforts to teach safe yoga practices, injuries do happen. Students sometimes push themselves beyond their limits, fail to communicate medical conditions, or practice postures incorrectly.
With more than 5,000 yoga-related emergency room visits each year and possibly even more doctor’s visits, injuries happen more often than we’re aware of. Lawsuits are expensive and yoga insurance protects you against claims regarding unexpected yoga accidents and occurrences that come along with teaching even if you’re not at fault.
Along with professional and general liability coverage, additional benefits vary depending on the provider but some of the best yoga insurance offers can include stolen equipment coverage, a professional website, rental damage, and identity protection.
While these situations don’t arise often, they can be financially devastating without the backing of a solid insurance plan.
Yoga insurance is different from sports and personal liability insurance policies, many of which don’t actually cover yoga. Even yoga-specific policies may have exclusions, it’s important to find an insurance policy like beYogi's plan that will cover the different styles of yoga along with other modalities.
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Who Needs Yoga Insurance?
All yoga studios, yoga teachers, and yoga students should carry yoga insurance.
With thousands of students each month, studio owners must protect themselves against unfortunate injury claims.
While most studios do carry insurance, yoga teachers shouldn’t assume that it means they’re covered. Many studios require teachers to carry their own individual policies.
Teachers who don’t have their own policies may not be aware of the legal ins-and-outs of their studio’s policy. It’s a teacher’s responsibility to stay on the side of caution and carry their own yoga insurance.
Should a teacher substitute or lead workshops at other studios, a good yoga insurance policy will follow them wherever they teach.
Teacher trainees should also have yoga insurance. As they go through training and build confidence teaching friends, yoga liability insurance has trainees covered whether they’re in the studio, a workshop, or at home.
Peace of mind is yours for the taking, yogi
Reasons to Have Yoga Insurance
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 7,369 yoga-related injuries in 2010. These included visits to emergency rooms, doctor’s offices, and clinics for over stretching and straining of the spine, legs, knees, neck, and shoulders.
Yoga injuries are more serious than many teachers are aware of. Along with tendinous tears, yoga-induced damage is a real thing.
Frightening hip injuries, overstretched ligaments, and clots do happen. And with millions of yoga students practicing yearly, there are an increasing number of injuries.
While a student’s practice is in their own hands, they may still try to hold their teacher responsible. A negligence lawsuit can be financially devastating, especially if a teacher’s sole income is from yoga.
Lawyer fees alone can range from $200 to $500 or more per hour—even if the teacher isn’t at fault or wins the case. The minimal cost of insurance (generally around $200 a year) is worth peace of mind.
Stolen equipment and rental damage are two compelling reasons to carry insurance, which could become a financial burden should the worst happen.
How Yoga Liability Insurance Benefits You
Comprehensive yoga liability insurance covers you in all the ways a yoga teacher (or teacher trainee) could possibly need to be covered. beYogi covers you with industry-preferred coverage limits and standards.
beYogi insurance includes:
- Professional liability coverage: $2 million per occurrence, $3 million per year
- General liability coverage: $2 million per occurrence, $3 million per year
- Product liability: $2 million per occurrence, per year
- Rental damage insurance: $100,000
- Identity protection plan: $25,000
- Stolen equipment coverage: up to $1,000 with a $250 deductible
- PLUS a free professional website
- PLUS free teacher resources and yoga pose directory
What Type of Yoga Insurance is Right for You?
First and foremost, you’ll need a policy that covers the type of yoga you teach. Don’t assume that ‘yoga insurance’ covers your yoga. New styles pop up all the time and some float in a gray area between yoga and medicine, like Acu-Yoga and Naam Yoga Therapy.
Secondly, choose a plan with at least $2 million in liability coverage per occurrence. This may sound like a lot, but million dollar lawsuits are becoming the norm.
If you’re a yoga teacher as well as a massage therapist, cosmetologist, or pilates instructor, for example, one plan can protect you in all modalities. This becomes especially important if you blend various practices with yoga.
beYogi insurance covers 350 styles of yoga, massage, pilates, and other wellness practices.
While you may be practicing at one studio for now, you never know what the future holds! Opportunities may arise to teach a workshop, in private client’s homes, or at retreats and festivals. beYogi insurance will follow you no matter where you teach.
Make the most of your money and look for a plan with added benefits. Yoga liability insurance is good for more than just the liability: beYogi’s plan covers lost or stolen equipment and offers bonus resources such as a free business website and professional resources for yoga teachers.
You will also want to consider what happens after your insurance policy expires. With Occurrence Form Coverage, any claim that is filed after your policy has expired will be covered, as long as the incident in question happened while your policy was still active. Many other insurance companies have a Claims-Made policy that will not cover you if a claim is filed after your policy expires. beYogi offers an Occurrence Form policy to all of its policy holders, so you can have peace of mind that you will be covered in the event that an incident does arise.
beYogi covers 350+ styles and services
Full-Time and Part-Time Yoga Instructors
Are you one of the many yoga instructors that teach yoga part-time? beYogi’s policy is great for you too!
beYogi’s full-time policy is either the same cost or cheaper than other companies’ part-time policies, but beYogi does not limit the amount of yoga you can practice or teach in a week. But if you teach 10 or fewer hours each week, we also offer a part-time policy that provides all the same benefits at lower cost.
Some policies can restrict how many hours you can work a week, and if you go over the allotted hours, your insurance is voided—leaving you uncovered. However, by purchasing beYogi’s professional insurance policy, you can teach whenever and wherever you want!
Whether you are a full-time or part-time instructor, the $179 policy that beYogi offers is a great investment. Especially if an opportunity comes up to teach a couple extra hours a week at your favorite studio, having a policy that covers you even if you go over your limit is beneficial.
If you're a full-time yoga instructor, and know you'll be on the mat for years to come, we also offer a two-year policy that'll provide additional savings as you cover your career. Two full years of beYogi's coverage and member benefits, all for one low price.
Compare Your Yoga Insurance Options
Although teaching yoga is a noble and much-needed profession, it’s not the most lucrative. The last thing a yoga teacher needs is an expensive insurance policy, which can cost up to several hundred dollars a year.
Swipe to see full comparison
NOTE: The information in this comparison has been gathered from the websites of each organization and other third-party sources. No guarantee or assurance is made by beYogi as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. This information was confirmed on 2/14/18.
Offering even more benefits than our competitors (like identity protection, stolen equipment coverage, and a free professional website) and covering $2 million per occurrence and $3 million annually, beYogi offers the best-priced insurance.
Annual rates for teachers are $179—that’s less than 44 cents a day—and $25 annually for teacher trainees, coming out to a mere six cents a day. In comparison to million dollar lawsuits, insurance isn’t so expensive after all.
More Benefits, More Coverage for Less
Yoga Teacher Insurance Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to all of your questions about yoga liability insurance—whether you’re asking yourself what all of this insurance jargon really means or wondering if you’re covered by our program. Simply click on one of the tabs below to get started!
Can I add my employees or spouse to my yoga insurance policy?
Can I teach yoga without liability insurance?
What do the phrases "per occurence" and "individual annual aggregate" mean?
Is yoga liability insurance paid monthly or by the year?
What happens if I lose my confirmation of coverage?
Am I covered if I teach yoga classes online?
Once I get my yoga liability insurance, how do I promote my yoga practice?
What is your privacy policy?
Does my yoga insurance cover me if I travel out of state?
Is there a limit on class size?
What's included in the identity protection plan?
How do I contact beYogi to get yoga liability insurance?
Is there a minimum or a maximum number of hours I have to teach yoga for liability insurance coverage?
Can my policy be listed under my business' name?
What should I do if I have a claim?
Do I really need professional liability insurance to teach yoga? Wouldn’t general liability insurance be sufficient?
Am I still covered after I've stopped teaching?
When does my coverage take effect?
Does my policy from beYogi cover damages to the building I am teaching in during a class?
What is an additional insured?
Is my yoga insurance tax deductible for my business?
What if my style of discipline is not listed on your site?
Does my policy cover medical expenses?
As a yoga teacher, you never want to encounter a situation where a student gets injured in your class. But even when you are careful and the proper safeguards are in place, there is a huge range of unpredictable circumstances. Accidents or situations can still occur that result in injury. Even due to a student’s prior injury, pre-existing condition, or unknown sensitivity to certain postures.
You’re passionate and serious about what you do. Your yoga practice deserves the same level of protection that liability insurance offers businesses in other industries, whether you are teach in a school or studio, a park, someone’s home, or anywhere else.
Our industry-leading yoga insurance for teachers doesn’t just stop at professional and general liability insurance. We are one of the only companies to include in your coverage price great additional benefits ($300+ value) including product liability coverage, rental damage coverage, identity protection, and stolen equipment coverage. You’ll also receive a free business website and discounts from some of our great yoga product partners. beYogi also offers greater peace of mind knowing you are covered by industry-preferred Occurrence Form coverage versus Claims Form coverage.
Protect your yoga career today
Glossary of Yoga Insurance Terms
It can be difficult to interpret insurance jargon, so we’ve broken down some of the most important terms:
- Additional Insured: a person or entity added to the certificate of insurance who is protected from the named insured’s negligence; this is typically an employer or landlord.
- Aggregate Limit: the maximum amount of coverage available to a policyholder during the policy term; this limit is dependent on a period of time rather than an individual claim.
- Broker: an independent insurance firm or contractor who searches the marketplace in the interest of buyers, rather than insurance companies.
- Claims-Made: a form of insurance that only covers policyholders for claims filed while the policy is active; if an incident occurs during the policy term but is not reported until after the policy expires, it will not be covered.
- Deductible: the amount of money (loss) that a policyholder has to pay before their insurance takes effect.
- General Liability Insurance: insurance that protects the policyholder in the event that a client trips, falls and suffers an injury while on their property; this coverage applies to claims resulting from personal injury, bodily injury or damage to others’ property, and is often called “trip and fall” insurance.
- Identity Theft Protection: coverage that reimburses the insured for expenses arising from identity fraud.
- Individual Aggregate Limit: the total amount of coverage available to an individual policyholder during the policy year; this limit only applies to one person and is not impacted by claims filed against others.
- Occurrence Form: a policy form that covers the insured for any claims filed during or after the policy term, as long as the actual incident in question occurred while the policy was active.
- Product Liability Insurance: insurance that provides protection against lawsuits claiming negligence, misconduct or incompetence on the policyholder’s behalf; also called malpractice insurance.
- Professional Liability Insurance: insurance that provides protection against lawsuits claiming negligence, misconduct or incompetence on the policyholder’s behalf; also called malpractice insurance.
- Shared Aggregate Limit: the maximum amount of coverage available to all individuals insured under the same shared-limit program or master policy; this amount decreases every time a claim is paid on behalf of an individual policyholder.
- Qualifying Event: an incident that triggers coverage for an insured individual.
- Rental Damage Insurance: coverage that protects the insured from accidental damages to property rented by the insured; this applies to any space that a professional rents or leases for their practice, from the dry wall in.
- Stolen Equipment Insurance: coverage designed to protect the policyholder from equipment theft or damage due to fire, water, etc.; covers the cost of replacing the stolen or damaged piece of equipment used in one’s business, but does not cover damages due to wear and tear or misuse.
- Underwriter: the insurer, or financial service provider, who evaluates the risks of insuring an individual or asset, determines the policy rates and sets the limits of coverage.
Applying for Yoga Insurance
Our online application process is simple and takes less than five minutes.
We’ll ask you for your contact information, profession, and which coverage you’d like to receive. We don’t normally require any certifications or pre-requisites (only in special cases).
We make the process quick and simple—no waiting weeks to receive an over-priced insurance quote. You may want to opt for the additional insured option. This will protect a person or business entity, should the name of the insured be found negligent. It’s not meant to protect other practitioners, but covers your business, employer, or vendor.
Starting a new yoga job tomorrow? beYogi has you covered. You’ll receive instant coverage and proof of insurance as soon as you pay.
Peace of mind is yours for the taking, yogi
Tips for a Safe Practice
While yoga insurance is a necessity, you’ll ideally never need to use it. The goal is for all students to safely enjoy yoga.
Keep these guidelines in mind:
- Know about your student’s injuries and state of health. They may not realize that conditions like asthma, high or low blood pressure, hernia, or vertigo will require posture modifications or alternatives, so it’s a good idea to explicitly ask before class if anyone experiences these imbalances.
- Always ask about pregnancies. Assuming yoga is gentle and safe, some women aren’t aware that yoga must be modified during pregnancy. Certain postures and breathing techniques pose a risk to the baby. If you’re not trained in prenatal yoga, send the mother to someone who is.
- Always provide modifications or alternatives for intermediate and advanced postures as well as inversions. Remind students that everyone’s body is different, meaning that the same posture may not work for or look the same for everyone.
- Get permission from your students before assisting. Simply ask “may I help you?” before jumping in to adjust their posture.
- Remind students that pain is the body’s way of warning that something isn’t right. Rather than pushing through pain, they should gently exit the posture and rest in Child’s pose or Savasana.