At Lockton Affinity, we strive to provide our customers an exceptional insurance experience through complete coverage, personal service and risk management resources. Like insurance coverage, risk management tips for fitness professionals are designed to help keep you, your career and your clients safe.

Risk Management Tips for Fitness Professionals

You likely have your clients’ best interests at heart. Unfortunately, today’s society is very litigious. Your longest standing client or most frequent attendee can decide to sue you, even if you’ve done nothing wrong. Help keep your career and clients safe with these tips:

Always explain what is happening—Ensure your clients understand your scope of services and that the client is a fit for what you have to offer. Having these discussions helps all parties in the event an accident or injury does occur.

Have clients sign waivers—By signing the waiver, clients agree that they understand the potential risk that may occur if they take part in the activity. While a waiver is a great start, it does not keep clients from suing you if they believe you were negligent in your practices and caused them harm.

Get a first-aid certificate—You simply never know when someone might experience a life-threatening emergency and it pays to be prepared. Even someone who appears fit may have a health condition that can lead to a heart attack or cardiac arrest before, during or after exercising with you. Many fitness facilities and certifications require them, so it’s a good idea to keep yours up-to-date.

Listen to what clients have to say—It can be easy to make assumptions, especially if you have a heavy workload and are pressed for time. However, it’s important to make sure you’re hearing and working to address each clients’ concerns or complaints and be mindful of their limitations.

Be a strategic fitness professional—Consider buying your own professional liability insurance. Though many employers offer Professional Liability Insurance, most fitness professionals find it beneficial to have their own policies to ensure they are fully covered in the event of a claim.

Find more risk management tips for fitness professionals at LocktonPersonalTrainingInsurance.com .