How Yoga Studio Insurance Can Protect Your Business
Mind, body and soul. While your yoga business seeks to ALIGN your students with a higher state of consciousness through physical movement, presence, awareness training and self-regulation, a simple twist too far can disrupt everything you’ve worked so hard to accomplish. Yoga studio insurance can help protect you from the risks that come with providing health and wellness instruction as well as other risks and liabilities that all businesses face.
Examples of Practices Covered by Yoga Studio Insurance
Whether your yoga studio provides sessions in:
- Ashtanga yoga
- Anusara yoga
- Bikram yoga
- Hatha yoga
- Iyengar yoga
- Jivamukti yoga
- Kundalini yoga
- Prenatal yoga
- Restorative yoga
- Vinyasa yoga
- Yin yoga
Or other yoga disciplines, getting connected with the coverage that makes sense for your yoga studio is vital.
Risk Management for Yoga Studios
As a studio owner, the following suggestions may help reduce the risk of injury and legal liability at your yoga studio:
- Ensure that all exterior and interior walkways are clear of obstructions, tripping and slipping hazards – if you lease your yoga studio, be clear on who is responsible for clearing ice and snow in the winter
- Check building codes before making any upgrades or renovations
- Install proper lighting and ventilation systems
- Post signage that clearly states rules and acceptable behaviour
- Ensure emergency exits are clearly marked with instructions posted throughout your yoga studio
- Confirm that all yoga instructors in your studio have the necessary certifications including first aid and CPR and that they have their own yoga insurance policy if they are contractors
- Train yoga instructors on provincially approved workplace safety, harassment and emergency protocols
- Have employment practices in place that prohibit unprofessional behaviour, including speaking ill of students or competitors
- Have a lawyer draft student waivers, ensure all students sign a waiver and that they are securely stored
- Have all students undergo medical screening assessments to confirm their ability to participate in classes
- Train students in safety procedures and basic movements before they participate in any sessions
- Ensure that yoga classes are properly structured and movements progress safely
- Train yoga instructors on how to monitor students during yoga sessions for signs of over-stretching and over-exertion
- Ensure that all sessions begin and end with proper warm-up and cool-down
- Make drinking water available throughout your yoga studio
- Inspect and clean equipment regularly
- Train staff on maintenance and storage of equipment
- Ensure Red Cross-approved first aid kits are present throughout your yoga studio and that staff are properly trained on how to use them
- Have your yoga fitness instructor confirms that students’ clothing allows for free movement and complies with your yoga studio’s policies
- Ensure that washrooms, change rooms and showers are cleaned on schedule
Yoga Studio Insurance – What’s Covered
These are the yoga studio insurance coverages that can be customized to specifically meet your yoga studio’s unique needs:
Errors & Omissions (E&O) / Professional Liability Insurance – Provides legal coverage for costs including lawyer’s fees, defence costs, out-of-court settlement costs and awards for damages in case your yoga studio is sued because of an injury resulting from instruction at your yoga studio.
Commercial General Liability Insurance – This insurance policy also provides legal coverage for injuries but for those injuries unrelated to yoga practice such as slip-and-fall and other bodily injury. It can also cover claims of property damage to rented or third party property, libel/slander and claims of false advertising.
Property Insurance – In case of a fire, windstorm, flooding, sewage backup and other perils, property insurance policy covers the costs to repair or replace the building and contents of your yoga studio including mats, weights, balance balls and other exercise equipment as well as office equipment, furniture, computers, office supplies and other business assets. You may also want to include:
- Business Interruption coverage that replaces lost income after an insured peril; and/or
- Extra Expense protection to cover the costs of setting up a temporary yoga studio.
Employment Practices Liability (EPL) Insurance – Provides legal coverage in case of lawsuits brought by current or former employees alleging that harassment or discrimination took place at your yoga studio.
ALIGN Your Yoga Studio With the Flexible Coverage it Needs
With the commercial insurance specialists at ALIGNED advocating on your behalf, you get exactly the coverage your yoga studio needs to make sure it’s fully protected – and no more. When you choose ALIGNED, you get an advocate who specializes in insurance coverage for businesses working with Canada’s top insurance companies to get you comprehensive yoga studio insurance policy at affordable rates. Contact an ALIGNED advocate to get a free quote on yoga studio insurance in minutes or get started right now by using our free online tool.
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