As a health coach, you need to protect your company from catastrophe. Insurance safeguards your practice’s finances and may divert damage to your reputation.
Do you know what you can’t do or say as a health coach? Although health coaching is approved by the World Health Organization, the UK National Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control, and the United States Preventative Services Task Force, it has many gray areas.
Health coaching is still a relatively new field with separate federal, state and local regulations. You must research how each tier of these laws impacts your coaching practice. With the right protection in place, you’ll have peace of mind. So, do health coaches need insurance? The answer is yes and the rest of this article explains why.
8 Types of Insurance for Your Health Coaching Business
First, let’s dive into the types of policies available for your health coaching business:
Commercial General Liability
Commercial general liability (CGL) protects your business from legal costs if someone gets injured on your property. CGL is nicknamed “slip-and-fall.” Four out of 10 small businesses are anticipated to suffer a CGL by 2025.
Commercial Property Insurance
Commercial property insurance safeguards your business’ physical assets such as:
- Your building or office
- Furniture and equipment
- Inventory
Coverage may also include:
- Loss of business income – Property damage that causes billing problems or work disruption.
- Equipment breakdown – Electrical and mechanical equipment failures.
- Utility services failure – Power, natural gas or water main disruption.
General Liability Insurance
Also called business liability insurance, general liability coverage can protect you from claims including:
- Bodily injury and property damage liability
- Medical payments
Personal Injury Liability Insurance
Personal injury liability insurance shields you from defamation, libel, and slander. It also protects you from lawsuits involving:
- False arrest
- Malicious persecution
- Invasion of privacy
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability insurance, also called errors and omissions (E&O), malpractice or professional indemnity insurance, protects you from lawsuits that claim:
- You provided negligent professional services
- You made mistakes or omissions
- You didn’t honor contractual promises
E&O insurance is important as these claims are some of the most expensive ones. In addition, many clients won’t work with you unless you have E&O coverage. They want proof that you’re serious about protecting them, as well as protecting your own interests.
Cyber Liability Insurance
If your business collects client information through a website or credit card payment system, then it would be wise to include cyber liability insurance coverage. This type of coverage may include:
- Informing your clients about a security breach
- Identifying and rectifying the breach
- Hiring public relations experts for damage control
The more confidential the client information you store, the pricier your cyber liability coverage will be.
Commercial Auto Insurance
If you have a commercial policy, you and your vehicle will be protected in the event of a job-related accident. The more frequently you drive to your clients’ residences or workplaces, the more expensive your insurance will be.
Sexual Abuse & Molestation Liability
This type of crime has, sadly, become prevalent. Sexual abuse liability coverage shields you from these allegations.
As health coaching gains more and more momentum, insurance companies are recognizing their need for coverage. Here are two of the best:

A Look into Health Coach Insurance Companies
Luckily, there are forward-thinking companies that acknowledge health coaching as a legitimate business. Here are two credible insurers that specifically address health coaching:
CPH & Associates Insurance
CPH & Associates is a Chicago-based company providing professional liability insurance services for almost two decades. A.M. Best Company has rated CPH & Associates as an A++ Carrier for Financial Stability. Their health coach malpractice coverage includes:
- Zero deductible
- Unlimited defense coverage
- US and international coverage for brief business trips that last up to 30 days
- Professional liability limits of $1 million per occurrence/$3 million aggregate
- Deposition expense limit of $5,000 per deposition/$15,000 aggregate
Click here to check out CPH & Associates.
Alternative Balance Insurance
Alternative Balance Insurance, a 20-year-old insurance company based in Henniker, New Hampshire, specifically caters to health coaches and other wellness professionals. Alternative Balance has a Better Business Bureau rating of A+.
Their professional liability coverage spans four different levels:
- Student (currently enrolled in a trade school) – $189/year
- Per diem (working up to 10 hours a week) – $219/year
- Professional (working more than 10 hours a week) – $249/year
- Employer – $279/year (each employee’s coverage $97/year)
Included coverages and limits are:
General and professional aggregate – Bodily injury and property claims against you, $3 million. General and professional each occurrence, $2 million.
Product-completion operations aggregate – Bodily injury or property damage from the products used in connection with your services, $2 million.
Personal and advertising injury – Included with the coverage and protects you against oral or written slander, malicious persecution, false arrest and plagiarizing someone else’s advertising ideas.
Medical expenses – Reimbursement for medical or funeral expenses, $5,000.
Damage to premises rented to you, $300,000.
You can also purchase optional liability coverage:
- Cyber liability – $142/year
- Sexual abuse liability – $147/year
Alternative Balance has an instant application process. You simply fill out an online form, submit with payment, and you’ll immediately be covered. There’s no waiting and no approval process.
With membership, you’ll have access to Benefit Suites. These are online professional resources that include:
- Regularly updated ebooks
- Mindfulness Business Academy video courses
Alternative Balance will give you a reminder phone call 30 days before your policy expires. You’ll also have access to free, customizable business forms including consent forms, client handouts, and policy forms. You can also create a free web page to promote your services, post videos and link to your social media accounts.
Click here to check out Alternative Balance Insurance.
Conclusion
Insurance is a crucial business investment. In this era of ever-increasing lawsuits, it’s a must-have. Without it, you’re vulnerable to any number of claims that could deplete your finances and ruin your practice. Do health coaches need insurance? Yes – for your business’ safety and for your peace of mind.
So, what are your thoughts about health coaching and insurance? Leave your comments below!
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Thank you for a most informative article. I am a dance teacher and I know that I also need this type of insurance. I have a public liability one in place, but when I read about all the things that can go wrong in a business such as mine, I think I am slightly under covered.
I will definitely be taking a good look at this aspect of my business again and thank you for bringing me up to speed on these issues.
Sure thing Michel! 🙂
Hi Debbie, this is an eye opener. I have never thought of all these types of insurance as necessary for a health coach. I note that in the last ten years or so, everyone seems to be offering health advice and claiming expertise in different areas. Health advice can help or harm clients. I am wondering if any of them know and understand the risks that you mentioned ?
Hi JJ, I think many health coaches who have been in the business for awhile are well aware of the risks. Thanks for reading!
Wow, this was so insightful. Love the fact that you actually used real numbers and not same vague random comparisons, thus helping put it all better into perspective.
You have no idea how much I agree with your statement about insurance being a crucial business investment. As you said, people are willing to sue at the drop of a hat when something does not go completely their way. And you just can’t predict when that will happen!
But above all, I think the most value insurance has is the peace of mind that it provides. Just think of living in constant fear that someone will sue you. Insurance safe guards you against that. You just do your thing and try helping people as much as you can. This way you will be able to devote much more energy to actually making the business thrive. 🙂
Again, this was very helpful! Thank you, I appreciate it!
Cheers, and have a Great One!
Matiss
Thanks Matiss!
This was so incredibly resourceful for me, Debbie! Thank you!
I had absolutely no idea there were so many different insurances involved. Sexual Abuse/Molestation Liability is something I hear of the first time ever but I totally get where it’s coming from. The rest also make sense but for someone like me, it would be insanely hard to come up with all of these myself.
The numbers on things I really liked. Really helps in anticipating the costs.
Loved your recommendations, they seem really solid.
Thank you for all the work and effort you made to share this with us. Really made things and understanding all of it a lot easier!
Have a Wonderful Day!
Rasa
Thanks Rasa, appreciate it 🙂