# Insurance for personal trainers, yoga teachers and fitness instructors in Germany

> You work with other people's bodies: in the gym, in the park, in the client's living room or live on camera. An exercise that asks too much, an assist that goes wrong, a class on wet grass: then your liability is at stake. And if your own body lets you down, so does your income. This page shows how to protect both.

Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-personal-trainer.php  
Updated: 2026-09-18

## Am I covered by the gym where I work as a freelance trainer?

Usually not. The gym's policy normally only covers its own employees, not self employed trainers who look after their clients there or run classes on their own account. If a client is hurt following your instructions, you are liable yourself. You therefore need your own public liability policy that names personal training, classes, outdoor training and online sessions.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** No insurance is required by law. Gyms, sports clubs and landlords of class rooms usually ask freelance trainers for their own proof of liability cover, though
- **Biggest risk:** Clients injured by exercises, assists or equipment, and losing your own ability to work
- **Basic cover from:** about 60 euros a year for public liability for a yoga teacher or trainer without employees
- **Statutory accident insurer:** VBG, the Berufsgenossenschaft for service businesses; self employed trainers without staff are not covered automatically but can take out voluntary cover
- **Often forgotten:** Your own accident cover: without voluntary VBG cover or private accident insurance, nobody pays for your lost income after a training accident
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 85.51 Sport- und Freizeitunterricht

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Asking too much:** The exercise does not suit the client's back, the weight is too heavy, a pre existing condition was never asked about. Injuries from overload are the typical liability claim.
- **Assists and corrections:** While adjusting a yoga pose or spotting on the bench, a client is injured. Physical contact means liability.
- **Training outdoors:** Bootcamp in the park, a running group in the woods: roots, wet grass and cyclists. Outdoors the risk of accidents is higher.
- **In the client's home:** A kettlebell drops on the parquet, a mirror breaks, the client's front door key goes missing.
- **Online, on camera:** Even when coaching by video you can be liable for wrong instructions. Many policies do not yet cover online classes.
- **Your own body:** Injuries while demonstrating, overuse, a slipped disc: if you cannot train, you earn nothing. That is the biggest financial risk in this job.

**Risk radar** (Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.): Liability 3, Fire and water 1, Theft 2, Cyber 2, Downtime 4, Health 4

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): Covers injuries and property damage to clients and class participants, in the gym, outdoors, in clients' homes and online. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Accident insurance** (Strongly advised): Pays you a lump sum after an accident with lasting consequences, during training and in your free time. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-accident-insurance.php
- **Occupational disability** (Strongly advised): Protects your income if illness or injury means you can permanently no longer train clients or demonstrate exercises. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-occupational-disability.php
- **Supplementary health** (Depends on the business): If you are in the statutory health insurance system, supplementary cover gets you quicker appointments and better treatment, for example with a physiotherapist. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-supplementary-health.php
- **Business legal expenses** (Depends on the business): For disputes with clients over unpaid session packages, with gyms over fees, or over warning letters about image rights. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-legal-expenses.php
- **Business contents** (Depends on the business): For your own equipment and your own class room, against burglary, fire and water. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-contents.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Depends on the business): For online classes, your booking platform and client data with health information. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php

## What it costs: example prices

Personal trainers and class instructors are among the self employed people who are cheap to insure. The premium rises with group size, outdoor training, martial arts or rehabilitation sport, and your own premises. Most of your budget should go into protecting your own ability to work.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Yoga teacher or personal trainer without employees, 3 million euros cover | about 60 to 180 euros a year |
| Business liability | Class instructor with outdoor bootcamps and groups of up to 20 | about 120 to 300 euros a year |
| Accident insurance | Trainer, 150,000 euros base sum with progression | about 120 to 300 euros a year |
| Occupational disability | Trainer aged 30, 1,500 euros monthly benefit | about 800 to 1,600 euros a year |
| Business legal expenses | Self employed, no staff, contract legal cover | about 200 to 400 euros a year |

For comparison: Public liability for a personal trainer costs roughly as much per year as one or two training sessions.

_Guide figures from our own quoting experience, excluding German insurance premium tax, as of September 2026, benchmarked against publicly quoted tariffs for fitness businesses. Income protection depends heavily on age, health and how the insurer classifies the occupation; some insurers rate trainers unfavourably._

- [berufshaftpflichtversicherung-experten.de: Betriebshaftpflicht Fitnessstudio](https://berufshaftpflichtversicherung-experten.de/betriebshaftpflicht-fitnessstudio/)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Start** (freelance trainer or yoga teacher with one to one and group sessions): Business liability, Accident insurance. Together: about 180 to 450 euros a year
- **Career** (full time trainers who live from their ability to work): Business liability, Accident insurance, Occupational disability. Together: about 1,000 to 2,100 euros a year
- **All round** (trainer with their own class room, online offering and a team): Business liability, Accident insurance, Occupational disability, Business contents, Business legal expenses, Cyber insurance. Together: about 1,800 to 3,500 euros a year

## The worst day as a personal trainer

Six things that really happen to personal trainers and class instructors, all on one single Wednesday. Tap through the day and see who pays.

- 06:45: At bootcamp in the park, a participant twists her ankle in a hole you missed when choosing the spot. Torn ligament. (€5,500, Paid by: Business liability)
- 09:30: At a client's home, a kettlebell falls onto the parquet and into the glass door of the living room cabinet. (€2,400, Paid by: Business liability)
- 12:00: While adjusting a yoga pose, a student is pushed into an overstretch. Torn muscle fibre, physiotherapy, compensation. (€4,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 15:20: Demonstrating an exercise, you rupture your Achilles tendon. Surgery, three months without income, a lasting impairment. (€18,000, Paid by: Accident insurance)
- 17:45: A gym has not paid your fees for two months of classes. You sue for the amount. (€2,800, Paid by: Business legal expenses)
- 20:00: In an online class a participant copies an exercise wrongly and injures his shoulder. He says your instructions were misleading. (€3,500, Paid by: Business liability)

**Damage so far:** €36,200

## Practical tips from your broker

- Have every format named: personal training, group classes, yoga, outdoor, home visits, online classes, and martial arts or rehabilitation sport if relevant.
- Before the first session, ask about health and pre existing conditions in writing and have the client sign the answers.
- Take out voluntary cover with the VBG or private accident insurance. Without it, nobody pays for your lost income after a training accident.
- Take out income protection early, while you are healthy. With every year and every injury it becomes more expensive or harder to get.
- Include loss of third party keys if you train clients at home and are given keys.
- For social media and online classes, only use music and images you have the rights to. Warning letters cost more than licences.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **We protect you as well:** For trainers, your own ability to work matters more than any liability policy. As a broker we compare income protection and accident cover from several insurers, who classify trainers differently.
- **We know claims settlement:** In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves. We know that a health questionnaire and training log make the difference after an injury.
- **Work and private life in one hand:** Liability, accident, income protection, health insurance and pension are handled together, so nothing is duplicated and nothing is missing.
- **A family business since 1989:** Our advice costs you nothing; the insurer pays our commission. You have fixed contacts, even if you are on the move a lot.

## FAQ

### Do I need liability insurance as a personal trainer in Germany?

Not by law. But gyms, clubs and clients expect it, and without it you pay for every client injury yourself.

### What does insurance for yoga teachers cost?

Public liability starts at about 60 euros a year. With accident insurance you usually come to 180 to 450 euros.

### Does my personal liability policy cover my classes?

No, as soon as you charge for your classes. Volunteer instructors in sports clubs are often covered through the club or the regional sports federation (Landessportbund).

### Am I insured with the Berufsgenossenschaft?

Not automatically if you are self employed without staff. The VBG offers voluntary cover for business owners that includes accidents at work and on the way to work.

### Are online classes covered?

Only if the policy includes them. Ask specifically, especially if you have participants abroad.

### Why is income protection so expensive for trainers?

Because insurers rate physical occupations higher. The differences between providers are large, so comparing is particularly worthwhile here.

## Request quotes

We obtain quotes and come back with a comparison. Free of charge and without obligation: the insurer pays our commission. You can write in English. https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-personal-trainer.php#anfrage

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NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act, broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. For boat and yacht insurance we act as underwriting agency, not as broker.

NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, Karl-Marx-Straße 4, 15711 Königs Wusterhausen, +49 3375 29 12 77, info@nammert.com. Wikidata: Q141141479.