Liability insurance for sports coaches
Having adequate liability insurance can help protect you as a sports coach against potential lawsuits brought against you by players, clients, parents and members of the public when there’s an accident or injury or if you’re accused of negligence.
Our guide to sports coaches liability insurance
Why do sports coaches need insurance?
Sports coaches face a number of risks in their business activities. As a sports coach you work with clients and students who push themselves physically, and they rely on you to increase their performance. Personal goals and competitive nature can take over and your charges might get injured or possibly injure someone else as a result of your instructions. That kind of situation could very easily turn against you.
Where there is competition, there's an audience and members of the public can get too close to the action. If something happens - a broken windscreen on an expensive car by a rugby ball or a tennis ball in someone’s face causing an eye injury - you could be expected to compensate for the damage.
If you work with young people who’re underaged, then you’re dealing with their parents. Most parents are very protective of their children and will not hesitate to pursue a lawsuit against you if they believe you’re at fault.
What does sports coach insurance cover?
As a sport coach you need to protect yourself against accusations of wrongdoing, negligence or accidentally causing physical or property damage. There are two covers that are most suitable for this profession.
Both are legal covers that work on the principle of providing you with legal defence if you’re accused of any of the above. At the first sign of trouble you notify your insurance provider who will review the situation and advise you on the next steps. Where appropriate you’ll be appointed with a legal team who will deal with the situation on your behalf. The legal team’s job is to protect you and your business. If you’re found liable, both insurance covers include compensation payout up to the limits you’ve selected.
Public liability insurance for sports coaches
We mentioned accidents that might lead to an injury of your own clients, members of the public or property damage as a result of your business activities. This is what public liability cover is for. No matter how organised and safety conscious you’re, unfortunate incidents happen.
Sports coaches often find themselves in situations where there are lots of people around them (e.g., gyms, parks, sports events). This makes it easy for someone to slip and fall without realising who’s responsible for their injuries—so it’s important to make sure you have appropriate insurance before something goes wrong.
If you’re caught in a litigious situation, your legal costs, other professional expenses, and payments for any financial compensation required by victims will be taken care of by the insurance cover. With Suited you won’t be alone. Suited public liability is backed by a top UK law firm specialising in public liability claims.
For more details on Suited public liability insurance, please read our detailed guide.
Professional indemnity insurance for sports coaches
Sports coaches often stop at public liability cover and don’t consider situations where their professionalism might be called into question. Negligence, breach of contract, failure in duty of care are all examples of other risks you need to protect yourself against.
Professional indemnity insurance for sports coaches is generally very affordable and can be tailored to meet your specific business needs. The first step in protecting yourself from potential legal action is to understand why you need professional indemnity cover in the first place. As mentioned above, there are several reasons why someone might take legal action against you as a sports coach:
- You make a mistake while training one of your clients which lead to their injury later on while following your instructions
- You’re accused of negligence or misconduct by your student’s parents
- You fail to report misconduct on behalf of one of your clients which has led to an accident with a member of the public or another of your clients
- Your client injures another person while using skills they learned from you
Suited professional indemnity cover is further enhanced with legal expenses cover that provides extra legal protection for situations not typically covered by professional indemnity or public liability insurance. Examples are unpaid invoices or tax disputes. This cover is automatically included with your professional indemnity at no extra cost.
Liability Insurance helps you stay focused on sports coaching
Sports coaches often don’t have a budget large enough to cover any liability issues that arise. When you buy sports coach insurance, you have one less thing to worry about - you can focus your efforts on leading a happy and healthy lifestyle while coaching your clients.
As an added bonus, Suited also offers additional cover - Business Owner Protect - which can be used as an emergency fund to help cover any business expenses if you get seriously injured and aren’t able to work. If you’re not sure whether sports coach insurance is right for you, give us a call.
Common Questions
Do I need qualifications to be a sports coach?
If you want to be insured, you need to be able to demonstrate that you have relevant qualifications or experience to do your job.
Do amateur sports coaches need insurance?
Whether you sports coach for money or fun, you still face the same risks of being sued. While not required by law, insurance is recommended.
What does sports insurance cover?
Suited sports insurance covers your liability to the public and your clients. As a sports coach you might also need insurance for your equipment, health and income.
What is the difference between professional indemnity and public liability cover?
Professional indemnity defends you against claims of professional mistakes, negligence, while public liability helps when your business activity caused an accidental injury or property damage.
Covers we offer
Suited small business owner and freelancer insurance starts with professional indemnity. It’s our core cover. With that you can also get public liability and a couple of other helpful insurance add-ons for a solid protection of your business.
Recent articles
What does ‘hibernate’ mean in professional indemnity insurance?
Imagine you’ve just delivered the last piece of work for your client and plan to take some time off, perhaps for good. Cancelling your professional indemnity cover is an option but not a very good one. The work you did in the past may still catch up with you in the future and since professional indemnity insurance (PI) works on a ‘claims made basis’, you won’t be able to access its benefits unless you have an active PI cover in place.
What is a retroactive date in professional indemnity insurance?
A retroactive date is a line in the sand which determines a specific point in the past from which your insurers have agreed to insure your business. You are effectively allowed by some insurers to backdate your professional indemnity (PI) cover so that your business is protected against possible claims as a result of your past work.
Is professional indemnity insurance the same as public liability insurance?
In short, no. It isn’t. Professional indemnity and public liability insurance are both legal covers, meaning you’re protecting yourself and your business against legal threats from clients and third parties. However, there are subtle differences and whether you need one, the other or both does depend on your business activities.
Ready to get started?
The fast and hassle free way to get business insurance for small professional outfits.