Online Yoga School

When you embark on your yoga career and finally start teaching, you have enough to focus on. You will spend time creating the best playlists, practicing your ques, and building your relationships with local yoga teachers and industry professionals. The last thing you want to worry about is if your insurance covers you.

Many teachers start their careers by subbing for various local studios. If you’re a sub without weekly classes you may wonder if it’s worth it to get insurance. Meanwhile, you may consider hosting your own content online and you might not be sure if insurance is necessary for online yoga. There are so many mediums you can use to share your healing yoga teachings that it may seem like the legalities of liability insurance are less important. 

Through thinking like this, new teachers may not be sure if they need insurance. But consider this: when you’re guiding people to move their bodies, you can be responsible for any injury they endure - even if it’s with another studio’s props, even if you only taught one class, even if they’re streaming in from miles away. 

Long story short: If someone is trusting you to teach them yoga, you should have yoga insurance.

Before we move any farther, let’s greet the scariness. Yes, it can be intimidating to teach once you begin to research the importance of insurance. Did you know that The National Institute of Health put out a study that showed that one in five yoga students said they’d had some form of “adverse effect” from a yoga class? 

Here’s the good thing, once you have your insurance in place, you can focus on the bigger picture: you are a harbinger of healing and safety. Only you can spread your unique message and change the lives of your students. When you’re covered with the right insurance, you can confidently create life-changing classes and inspire healing in others.

Let’s say that you’ve earned your credentials and you’re ready to teach yoga. You know that you should get liability insurance but you don’t know where to start - how do you know what insurance is right for you? 

Here are some things to consider:

1. Learn what the insurance covers.

Every yoga liability insurance plan is a little different. One big factor to check off the list of requirements is what styles are covered. If you’re teaching a specialty lineage of yoga, especially something like a yoga sculpt class that may include weights or other props, you want to be one hundred percent certain that you can teach your niche safely. BeYogi Insurance, for example, covers over 450 types of services, including SUP and Acro yoga.

Most insurance coverage is what industry folks call general liability. General liability is the most used and can cover anything from property damage to injury and is not limited to the time you are instructing the class. This is the minimum coverage that every yoga teacher should have. 

Then there’s professional liability. Professional liability covers whatever goes down while you’re teaching. And there are a lot of moving parts that are all working together during any class - music, queuing, adjusting, remembering sequencing, and monitoring the practice space - even the most experienced teachers may experience someone getting injured or property damage while they’re teaching. That’s when professional liability coverage is crucial.

Product liability is more specific. Not only can you be protected from paying for property damage in the practice space, with product liability you can also be covered if any harm happens from the property to your students. This can relate to allergies, new cleaning products, or even prop misuse. 

Lastly, you may be covered for various “loss events.” This may include rental equipment or stolen identity. There are so many ways your yoga insurance can have your back. Once you’re sure you have everything you need for what you teach, then you can start asking other questions.

2. Find out where you’re covered.

Whether you’re coveting the digital nomad lifestyle or you’re just curious about teaching in multiple locations, it’s vital that you're covered no matter where you teach. BeYogi Insurance, for example, has a mobile policy which permits you to teach anywhere in the US and be covered. Even if you aren’t currently teaching online or in multiple locations, it is good to know that you’ll be covered if your gift to teach is summoned elsewhere.

3. Compare rates.

Insurance companies range in more than just coverage. It’s important to find one that fits your budget while also making you feel safe doing what you do best in the studio or online. As a partner of beYogi, Online Yoga School teachers get a discounted rate of $169 (originally $179). Do your research and shop around, it may be helpful to know how affordable yoga liability insurance really is!

4. Check for bonus discounts.

A great perk with yoga insurance, aside from peace of mind, is that they frequently come with additional discounts and perks. From business websites to clothing and yoga prop discounts or even business software, you can reap benefits more than liability coverage. You may find helpful articles and resources in your search for the best insurance policy. Among other useful education, beYogi benefits can even help you get access to health care that you can afford.

Yoga liability insurance is maybe not the most exciting or glamourous part of your yoga career but it is be one more way to keep your peace of mind. Making sure that you find yoga insurance that’s right for you and your teachings may help you create a thriving, long lasting business. 

As a new yoga teacher or a teacher upleveling their offerings, you need to focus on serving your students and clients. Let your yoga insurance take care of your business so you can show up without worry.