Equipment · wet floors · instruction
Liability insurance for a fitness studio
In a fitness studio, visitors come into contact every day with heavy equipment, slippery floors and an instructor who says how much weight may go on. Every claim starts with one of those three.
- Several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een fitnessstudio.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Your liability towards members runs along two tracks. The first is Article 6:173 of the Dutch Civil Code: as the possessor of the equipment you are liable for damage caused by a defective movable item, even where you did not know of the defect. A cable that snaps, a locking pin that no longer closes or a treadmill that does not stop on the emergency button then causes injury for which you answer. The second is Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code for the building itself: a loose tile in the changing room or a slippery floor by the showers is liability as the possessor of a structure. The public and employers' liability insurance picks up this injury, provided you can show that maintenance and cleaning were in order.
What insurers examine closely in this sector is the maintenance log of the equipment and the cleaning protocol. If periodic inspection of strength equipment is missing, or a defective machine was not cordoned off, the conversation shifts from cover to your own fault. State on the application whether you operate a sauna, sunbed or studio for group classes and whether people train unsupervised outside opening hours: those are circumstances the insurer expects you to disclose under Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Three things that occur regularly in a gym remain outside cover. Members' possessions that you have in safekeeping, such as the contents of a faulty locker or a bicycle left in your store, fall under the care, custody and control exclusion. A member who demands his subscription back after an injury, or claims compensation without injury, is claiming pure financial loss; for that, the professional indemnity insurance is the right policy. And damage to your own equipment and mirrored walls belongs on business contents insurance, not on the liability policy.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
What to look out for
Four subjects that make the difference in this sector between a claim that is settled and one that is rejected.
Instruction and intake for new members
An injury on the leg curl machine almost always leads to the question whether the member was given instruction. Record the intake, the equipment instruction and the health questions in writing. An exclusion of liability in your house rules rarely holds up where there is serious injury, certainly not against a consumer, so do not rely on it as a substitute for prevention.
Self-employed trainers and hire of space
Personal trainers working on your floor with their own clients are not automatically covered. If they work under your direction, your duty of care under Article 7:658(4) of the Dutch Civil Code applies to them as well. If they work independently, ask for a liability policy of their own and record the arrangement, otherwise their claim still ends up with you.
Sale of supplements and drinks
As soon as you sell protein powders, bars or shakes, you are a supplier. Damage caused by a defective product falls under product liability, a separate section with its own conditions; see the product liability insurance. The costs of a recall are almost always excluded here, even where the liability itself is covered.
Legionella and the water system
Showers and whirlpools with standing water fall under the duty of care for drinking water installations. Injury from legionella is in principle ordinary injury loss, but without a management plan and flushing records the insurer will ask whether you should reasonably have acted differently within the meaning of Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. Keep the measurements.
What does your premium depend on?
- Floor area and number of members: this determines the number of visitors exposed
- Payroll and number of instructors: the yardstick for the employers' liability section
- Facilities available: a sauna, sunbed and pool weigh more heavily than strength equipment alone
- Unstaffed opening hours: training without supervision changes acceptance
- Sale of supplements: activates the product liability section
- Sum insured and excess: per claim and per insurance year
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| A weight plate rolls off the rack and lands on another member's foot | Yes | No |
| A visitor drives into a poorly visible post in your car park that you had installed | Yes | No |
| A cleaner slips on a puddle under the water dispenser and breaks a wrist | Yes | No |
| A member demands a year's subscription back because the group classes have been dropped | No | Yes |
| A personal trainer who hires your floor loses clients after you withdrew his time slot | No | Yes |
| Your own treadmills burn out after a power surge in the building | No | No |
Injury in the gym belongs on this policy. An argument about subscriptions, time slots or agreements does not.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
A member is injured on a machine. Are we liable?
That depends on the cause. If the machine is defective, the strict liability of Article 6:173 of the Dutch Civil Code rests on you as the possessor and saying that you did not know of the defect is not enough. If it concerns misuse despite clear instruction, the picture shifts. In both cases your maintenance records determine how strong your position is.
Does the house rule that training is at your own risk apply?
Only to a limited extent. A general exclusion of liability in house rules or standard terms can be regarded as unreasonably onerous towards a consumer, and where there is injury from defective equipment such a provision offers little protection. Treat it as an addition to prevention and supervision, not as a substitute for them.
Is theft from a locker covered?
No. Members' possessions that you have in your care fall under the care, custody and control exclusion of the liability policy. Theft from a locker or of a bicycle left in your store is therefore not eligible for payment, even where the lock turned out to be inadequate. State this in your house rules and point members to their own home contents or bicycle insurance.
What if an instructor is off work with back problems?
Injury claims from your own staff fall under employers' liability, provided that section is included, and are assessed against the duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code. Your own income as the business owner does not fall under it; there is disability insurancefor that. Report an injury claim in good time, because Article 7:941 DCC requires notification as soon as you know of it.
Read more
Within Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering
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- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering vereniging
- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering recreatiebedrijf
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- Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering uitvaartonderneming
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