- Has any claim been made or lawsuit brought against you due to any actual or alleged wrongful act or mistake?
- Have you or any of your employees been the recipient of any allegations of professional negligence in writing or verbally?
- Are you or any of your employees aware of any facts, circumstances or situations which may reasonably give rise to a claim?
- Has there been or is there now pending against you any suit(s), proceeding(s), claims(s), fact(s), or situation(s) that would have been covered by this insurance?
- Have you ever had any license suspended or cancelled?
- Have you had any insurance company either decline to issue or cancel any errors and omissions insurance?
- Have you ever been charged with or convicted of a dishonest or fraudulent act?
- Have you ever been found guilty of any violation of Federal or Provincial insurance or securities law or regulation?
Q. What is the difference between professional liability insurance and general liability insurance?
Our "claims made" professional liability covers you for the rendering or failure to render professional services, general liability is extended to cover claims for bodily injury, personal injury and property damage to others for which you are legally liable. General Liability insurance provides protection for Therapists for non professional liability exposures associated with serving clients. For example, the liability for clients falling and being injured on whilst under your care or instruction and it also extends to include such coverage as libel, slander, wrongful eviction and defamation.
Q. Can you provide commercial general liability insurance on an occurrence form?
Our policy is designed to meet the needs of individuals, however we also able to provide Commercial General Liability on a separate policy on an Occurrence basis. This will not only provides coverage for premises, products and completed operations, it will also provide employers liability, contractual liability, cross liability, tenants legal liability, non-owned auto and legal liability for damage to hired automobiles (SEF94).
Q. Do you cover products liability for products that I might sell?
Yes, your are covered upto $100,000 of products liability insurance automatically including Remedies which means natural supplements, herbal remedies, creams , gels , powders, essential oils, spritzers, tinctures, homeopathic or flower remdies or bottles, jars or dispensers, however we do not provide coverage for prescription medicines.
Q. Can I renew my professional liability coverage over the phone?
No we cannot accept renewals over the phone. Each year you are required to update your renewal application. You then have the option of faxing/emailing or mailing us your professional liability renewal form.
Q. Why do I need to purchase separate coverage for my studio.?
The Fitness Trainer insurance policy purchased through this program is for professional liability and personal liability coverage ONLY i.e., it protects the insured when negligent acts and/or omissions result in bodily injury and/or property damage to a third party. The policy DOES NOT provide coverage for property/equipment owned by the insured unless a separate policy is purchased for your premises or property.
Q. How do I do I insure or protect against injury to myself?
Insurance can be purchased separately under our Benefits and Disablity policy including Out of Province /Country Medical. (Currently Ontario residents only).
Q. What happens to my professional liability insurance if I move to another province or work outside of Canada?
Our policy provides liability insurance coverage Canada-Wide. We can cover you for special circumstances outside of Canada if you are traveling with a Canadian Sports Team or Delegation or temporary work outside of Canada for a number of other reasons.
Q. Are there any services that are charged a surcharge?
Under Option 1
Certificates of insurance $50 plus tax
Under Option 2
Iffollowing activities are undertaken an additional premium loading is charged as follows:
Weight Training (Personal Fitness) - 50%
Student Status - 30%
Working With Children Under the Age of 16 - 30%
Teaching or Instruction- please contact us for your specific needs.
Certificates of insurance $50 plus tax
Q. How does my association get approved?
If your association is currently not approved, please have them contact us and provide specific about details about education and training.
Q. What happens if my therapy does not appear on the approved list? How do I get it approved?
If an individual activity does not appear in the list above and requires coverage, please provide full details of training, accreditation and course syllabus details. (Such activity will have to specifically agreed and approved by Insurers prior to cover being bound.)
Q. Do I really need to
purchase my own professional liability coverage? My employer covers me or do
they?
THINK AGAIN! Take some time to read the following and act appropriately!
You should know that your employer’s legal representation and insurance coverage are in place to protect your employer from liability, and to protect the best interests of your employer first and foremost, regardless of whether those interests are in conflict with yours. A private professional liability insurance policy protects you; it covers you in the case of an error or negligent act and ensures that you have personalized legal assistance and protection from liability exposure.
When you
are an employee of a firm, e.g. a gym, school board, hospital, non-profit, your employer is
responsible for your actions. However, should the limits of your employer’s insurance be
insufficient to meet the settlement of a claim in which you are a codefendant, your personal
assets could be at risk. Private professional liability insurance protects your personal assets,
provides for your legal defence and ensures that there are adequate funds available for
settlements and compensation.
There are other instances in which your employer’s insurance may not cover you. For example:
• a complaint made to your college or professional association
• complaints and investigations by Children’s Aid, police, regulatory bodies
• in the event you are charged with a crime related to your work
Every service professional should be aware that their employer’s liability insurance may not provide them with adequate protection should they ever need it.
All Fitness Professionals and Instructors should consider obtaining private insurance coverage.
Q. Am I Covered under my Club’s Insurance and how do I determine if I need my own insurance ?
Fitness Professionals and Instructors often work as employees within the
confines of a health club where there is probably coverage already provided by the health club’s
insurance policy. But what if the personal trainers act outside of
the operations of the fitness facility where they are employed. Are they
covered?
The answer is NO! Therefore All Fitness Professionals
and Instructors should consider obtaining their own insurance
coverage.
Q. How long does it take to get a
quote?
Rates are published in our application. However, we recognize that members want to buy their insurance quickly and simply. That is why our insurance policy is backed up by exceptional service levels featuring:
Complete applications with payment are processed within 48 hours with the exception for those with claims.
We can fast-track service for new urgent submissions for an additioal charge of $25.00 otherwise confirmation of Insurance is provided generally within 48 business hours of binding.
Q. How do I know if I am eligible for coverage under this program?
If you answer YES to any of the questions below, you will NOT be automatically eligible for coverage. This however does not mean that you are precluded from applying for coverage. Instead, you must complete the application and send it to Holman Insurance Brokers and include such things as a copy of the statement of claim and other details regarding the claim. The underwriting process may take 3-5 business days and acceptance is not guaranteed. A premium surcharge may also apply if you answer YES to any of the following questions:
Q. Am I an Employee or an Independent
Contractor?
What defines whether a Fitness Professional,
Instructor or Trainer or is an employee of a club or working on their own
is not only who collects the money, but how much control do you have over your decisions as
to what, where, when and how you teach a course. An employee is a person in
the service of an employer, where the employer has the right to control and direct the
employee in how the work is to be performed. The method of remuneration has little or no
bearing in this decision.
On the other hand,
an independent
contractor is generally a person who is
contracted to do a piece of work according to his/her own methods, where the employer has
little or no control as to what you teach, how you teach it and so on. Independent contractors
are generally not covered by a club’s commercial insurance policy. Sometimes a club will set up
programs that are administered by an Independent Contractor such as swimming, martial arts or an
entire aerobic program. The firm or individual working under the independent contractor are
looked upon as subcontractors and again are also not
covered under the club’s insurance.
This is getting to be an extremely grey area with club owners as to
whether their own club policy covers instructors or not. Most Fitness Professionals are becoming more like independent contractors and need to
purchase their own liability insurance. With rising costs, it is much more attractive to save
thousands of dollars a year and make independant contractors carry their own insurance, plus it
takes the "Risk / Onus" off the owner(s) of a studio as
well.
Therefore All Fitness Professionals,
Instructors and Trainers should consider obtaining their own insurance
coverage.
Q. Do I really need to carry Professional and General Liability insurance if I have an employment contract?
All Fitness Professionals should review their employment contracts and fully understand each and every clause in the contract. There is no such thing as a standard employment contract, every contract can be different. Pay particular attention to clauses which contain phrases such as "HoldHarmless" or "Waiver of Subrogation". These clauses could transfer the liablity from your employer / client to the individual Fitness Professional.
Again, All Fitness
Professionals, Instructors and Trainers should consider obtaining their own insurance
coverage.
Q. What is a claims-made policy?
A "claims made" policy protects the policyholder against claims or incidents that are reported while the policy is in force, or during an "extended reporting period". The negligent act, error or omission must have also occurred during the specific time frame set by the policy.
Q. What is the difference between a claims-made policy and an occurrence policy?
An Occurrence policy protects you against incidents that occur while the policy is in force, regardless of when the claim is reported. A Claims Made policy protect you against claims that are made or reported during the policy period regardless of when the claim actually happened.
Q. What happens if I retire, die or cease to do business?
Remember professional liability policies are written on a "claims made basis". Once you lapse or cancel your policy you will no longer have coverage for work that has been performed in the past. To solve this problem we can provide ‘run-off’ or extended reporting coverage. If you take out this cover, if any claims come in after you have retired, they will be covered if they arise from your business activity while you had coverage in effect. This cover would ensure that any late claims are still covered while the extended reporting coverage is in effect. You must contact us (or your Estate) to arrange this cover, and a charge will apply.
Q. What should I do if I think I might need to claim?
You should notify us immediately, even if you only think you might need to make a claim. We are here to help and quick action could mitigate costs or even prevent a claim. Equally, if you have a routine query on which you would like our opinion, we are always happy to help. See tab on left "How to report a Claim".
Q. Why do I have to provide copies of qualifications in the event of a loss even if I provided these at time I applied for insurance?
This is a standard procedure in the event of a claim. If you have already provided these and your qualifications do not require recurrent training you will not need to, however if your qualifications require recurrent training or updating we will require evidence that your are currently qualified to provide the therapy. The onus is on the insured to provide these.
Q. Is this insurance subject to HST.
This insurance is not subject to HST, but is still subject to Ontario 8% PST and Quebec 9% QST. All other provinces no tax applies.
Q. What is required for trainees under this program?
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All trainees under your instruction complete a Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire once per year;
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All trainees under your instruction required to complete a PARmed-X have done so and ALL doctor’s recommendations are followed
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When biking, all trainees under your instruction wear helmets and, if biking between dusk and dawn, wear reflective clothing, have their bicycle equipped with lights and have the lights turned on.