Gym owners require a few key types of insurance to cover their risks:
Coverage | Explanation | Importance for gym owners |
Commercial Property Insurance | Protects your gym premises against property damage, e.g. fire, explosions, certain types of water damage, etc. | Critical |
Public Liability Insurance | Protects you against liability to third-parties for property damage or injuries. E.g. customers slipping & falling in your gym due to you negligently leaving the floor wet. | Critical |
Work Injury Compensation Insurance (WICA Insurance) | Protects your gym employees if they suffer work-related injuries/sickness. | Legally required for all manual workers (e.g. fitness trainers), or workers who earn <$2,600/month |
Business Interruption Insurance | Provides cash benefit if you cannot operate your gym due to covered reasons, e.g. fire at your gym premises. | Very good to have |
Foreign Worker Medical Insurance | Covers medical expenses incurred by foreign workers. | Legally required for S-Pass and Work Permit holders |
Commercial Property Insurance: This type of insurance is also commonly known as “Property All Risks” or “Industrial All Risks” Insurance. Basically, it covers your gym against property damage. This covers you against fire, explosions, certain types of water damage, burglary, vandalism, and more.
This policy will cover your property, such as: gym premises, gym machines, free weights, renovations, fixtures & fittings, furniture, inventory (e.g. protein powder) and other miscellaneous property.
Public Liability Insurance: This provides cover if clients in your gym accidentally suffer injuries due to your negligence. For instance, if clients slip and fall because of a wet puddle you left on the floor, they could sue you for personal injury. Public Liability Insurance can cover you for the personal injury damages and lawyer’s fees.
Work Injury Compensation Insurance (WICA Insurance): WICA Insurance is absolutely vital for gym owners. MOM legally requires business owners to cover all manual workers, and workers who earn below $2,600/month. The vast majority of workers in a gym are likely to perform manual work. Manual workers would include: fitness trainers, gym instructors, cleaners, gym machine repairmen, and general workers who perform various physical labour (e.g. help with putting weights back on their racks).
Coverage for your gym employees includes work-related injuries and sickness, including Covid-19 infections. Gyms are one of the more likely sites for Covid infections, so it’s important that you purchase this coverage. For instance, one of your waiters gets Covid-19 after interacting with customers, and spreads it to all your other staff. This insurance will pay for lost wages while quarantined, medical expenses, and legal expenses if your workers sue you for creating an unsafe work environment.
Business Interruption Insurance: Pays you a benefit if you cannot operate your gym due to covered major risks, like a fire. Helps you to defray costs like rent, salaries, utilities, and other expenses while your business is not generating revenue. Very useful to have.
Foreign Worker Medical Insurance: Legally required for all S-Pass and Work Permit holders. You must have a Foreign Worker Medical policy for each foreigner.
