The most important part of life coach insurance is malpractice insurance that protects coaches if they’re sued over their advice. Coaches should also consider a Business Owner’s Policy, which costs about $1,200 annually, as well as cyber liability and commercial auto insurance. Professional liability insurance offers additional coverage and typically costs $1,735 annually.
If you’re a life coach and need fast quotes on affordable insurance, check out CoverWallet. CoverWallet utilizes an easy-to-use online platform to provide you with multiple quotes from top carriers, allowing you to find a low-cost option quickly. You can usually bind online and print an insurance certificate immediately after purchase. Complete a short online application to get started.
How Life Coach Insurance Works
Life coaches must obtain multiple life coach insurance policies to provide different kinds of coverage for many different possible sources of loss. Because they provide professional advice clients rely upon, life coaches must be protected in case of claims arising from this service, in addition to having general protection from liability. If someone sues you claiming you gave poor career or financial advice, for example, your policy will protect you from loss.
Life coaches seeking affordable coverage should work with an insurer that allows the purchase of a BOP, along with additional supplemental coverage such as a professional liability policy or cyber liability coverage. A BOP is the most cost-effective way to obtain coverage for both general liability and property damage.
Top Life Coach Insurance Providers
| Provider | |
|---|---|
| Policies that specifically cater to life coaches | |
| Malpractice insurance policies for life coaches with no deductible | |
| Immediate coverage and the ability to print an insurance certificate immediately if you need proof of coverage | |
| Discounted professional liability coverage for new graduates in health care fields and those who take risk management courses | |
Life coaches wanting tailored policies from a large, highly rated provider |
Alternative Balance Professional Group
Alternative Balance Professional Group has a network of top-rated insurance carriers offering comprehensive coverage tailored to life coaches. It’s the ideal solution for life coaches who want to shop around among different providers while ensuring the policy that protects them is affordable and offered by an insurer that provides timely claim responses.
CPH & Associates
If you want a policy with no deductible for malpractice coverage, CPH & Associates is the ideal provider for life coach insurance. CPH & Associates specifically focuses on malpractice insurance and provides a policy offering broad protection, including unlimited coverage for defense costs. Its dedicated focus on malpractice ensures you’ll have full coverage for all expenses associated with responding to misconduct claims.
CoverWallet
When you need to get an insurance certificate right away showing you have general liability coverage, turn to CoverWallet. It’s quick and simple to submit an online application and get instant approval. Once you’ve purchased coverage, you can print an insurance certificate to provide proof your life coaching business is protected from losses.
HPSO
HPSO is an especially good option for new graduates and professionals just getting into the life coach business because of the generous discounts available. New graduates can save 60 percent on annual premiums the first year, 40 percent in year two and 20 percent in year three. There’s also a 10 percent discount for coaches who take qualifying risk management courses.
Hiscox
Hiscox is a large, top-rated insurance provider that specializes in understanding the particular risks faced by niche industries, like therapy and life coaching. Hiscox uses that knowledge to provide customized, affordable coverage to its clients. Life coaches can pay their annual premiums in monthly installments for no extra charge — a feature that is uncommon with other providers. You can get a no-obligation quote online in minutes and your insurance certificate will be available an hour after you purchase coverage.
Types of Life Coach Insurance
The types of insurance for life coaches that’s best includes a BOP, malpractice insurance, cyber liability coverage and commercial auto insurance. Together, these life coach insurance policies will offer protection from lawsuits arising against them and will ensure their property and company are insured against loss.
Most Common Types of Life Coach Insurance
| Type of Insurance | What it Covers |
|---|---|
| Business Owner’s Policy | Property damage and general commercial liability |
| Malpractice Insurance | Lawsuits arising from professional services |
| Cyber Liability Coverage | Data breaches, including costs of claims and restoring data |
| Commercial Auto Insurance | Accident losses, including property damage and lawsuits by victims |
Business Owner’s Policy
Life coaches could be sued by a client injured on their premises or if the life coach damages a client’s property during an in-home consultation. A general commercial liability policy covers lawsuits due to injury or property damage. A property damage policy covers property belonging to the life coach. If a fire destroys a coach’s office, property damage policies provide coverage.
A BOP bundles coverage for commercial liability and property damage, so life coaches need only purchase one policy. Buying a bundled policy provides cost-efficiency. Since virtually every life coach faces the risk of injuring someone or causing property damage, all life coaches should generally purchase a BOP to protect them.
Malpractice Insurance
Life coaches are held to a professional standard. If their advice causes harm, they could be sued for professional negligence. If a life coach is sued for breaching confidentiality or giving bad career advice, a malpractice policy will pay legal defense costs and any resulting settlement or damages.
Any life coach could potentially face a lawsuit, so getting covered before offering professional advice is advisable. Median costs of a malpractice lawsuit could run as high as $122,000 according to research published by the National Center for State Courts, so not having coverage when a claim arises is a financial disaster.
Cyber Liability Coverage
Life coaches may keep files containing highly personal and confidential material related to their clients. If a hack occurs, this could lead to a lawsuit from clients. It could also be costly for a life coach to restore lost data and secure networks after a hack.
Cyber liability coverage provides money a life coach needs to respond to a problem with digital data. A policy can pay for not only legal defense costs and restoration of computers, but also for public relations and crisis response to protect the life coach’s brand.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Some life coaches travel to clients. If you drive for work, your personal auto policy may preclude coverage when using your car for commercial purposes. A commercial auto insurance policy will protect you and your vehicle in case of an accident-on-the-job.
Commercial auto policies provide coverage if you’re sued for an auto accident and provide money to repair or replace a vehicle damaged in a collision. Any life coach who uses a car for work should have appropriate commercial auto insurance if their personal policies don’t provide coverage.
What Insurance for Life Coaches Costs
A life coach can expect to pay $500 to $3,500 annually for a BOP providing $1 million in coverage. There will be additional costs for add-on coverage. Malpractice insurance policies alone cost around $1,735 for $2 million in coverage annually, which is a critically important type of insurance for life coaches to obtain.
Cost of Insurance for a Life Coach
| Insurance Type | Average Premium Cost | Deductible |
|---|---|---|
| Business Owner’s Policy | $500-$3,500 | $500 |
| Malpractice Insurance | $1,735 | $1,000 |
| Cyber Liability Coverage | $1,000-$7,500 | $5,000 |
| Commercial Auto Insurance | $750-$1,200 per vehicle | $500 |
Many different factors impact the cost of life coach insurance policies including:
- Your professional experience: The longer you have been working as a life coach and the more impressive your credentials, the less costly a malpractice insurance policy will be; however, if you’ve been sued in the past for professional malpractice, policy premiums will be much higher
- The type of data you store: The more confidential information you store regarding clients, the more costly your cyber liability insurance coverage will be
- The frequency with which you drive: If you regularly operate a work vehicle to travel to client’s homes, or if you transport clients in your work vehicle, the costs of your commercial auto insurance policy will be higher
Tips on Applying for Life Coach Insurance
When applying for life coach insurance, be as prepared as possible so you can provide the information the insurer needs and so you can compare coverage appropriately. These tips can help you as you obtain a policy.
Be Prepared to Show Your Skills
When applying for professional liability coverage, the insurer needs to be able to assess the level of risk. If you have professional credentials and extensive experience, the chances of a lawsuit are reduced so your policy should cost less. You’ll want to provide as much detail as possible to the insurance provider.
“Life coaching is not regulated,” explained Michael Perry, vice president at CBIZ Risk & Consulting Services. “However, it does have certifications, which differentiates coaches presenting themselves as experts.”
“Life coaching is not regulated,” explained Michael Perry, vice president at CBIZ Risk & Consulting Services. “However, it does have certifications, which differentiates coaches presenting themselves as experts.”If you have received certification or have other formal credentials, provide them to the insurer to get the best price.
Obtain Multiple Quotes for Coverage
It’s important to shop around with different providers to obtain the necessary coverage. You’ll want to find an affordable policy that provides comprehensive coverage addressing all potential losses you face.
You should obtain at least three quotes for different policies, including general and professional liability insurance. While price is important, it shouldn’t be the only factor you consider though — you should also make certain that the policy is comprehensive enough to provide adequate protection.
“This coverage would protect primarily against slander, personal injury and poor advice,” Perry said. When you’re facing the potential for a lawsuit based on your professional advice or someone getting injured on your property, you don’t want to incur costs not covered by your insurer.
Understand Occurrence vs. Claims-made Coverage
Different malpractice policies are structured in different ways:
- Occurrence policies: These cover you in case of a lawsuit arising from any incident that occurs while you have coverage, regardless of when a claim is made
- Claims-made coverage: This provides coverage only if the incident occurred while the policy was in effect, and you were sued while the policy was in effect
If you provide advice to a client in September 2018 under a policy with occurrence coverage and that policy lapsed in January 2019, whether you’d be covered for a lawsuit in September 2019 depends what kind of policy you have. You’d have no coverage under a claims-made policy but would be covered if your policy covered you based on when the claim occurred.
Life Coach Insurance Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
If you’re looking for insurance as a life coach, you probably have many questions about how to get the right coverage. You can read on here to get some answers to frequently asked questions.
What Kinds of Legal Costs Does Life Coach Liability Insurance Cover?
Both a malpractice policy and a general commercial liability policy provide coverage for lawsuits resolved in civil court as well as for claims resolved through arbitration or mediation. Your insurer will pay for investigation expenditures, court costs and legal fees and any settlement or damages awarded to victims.
Do You Need to Be Licensed or Certified to Get Insured?
States have different licensing laws for life coaches. As long as you are permitted under state law to offer services you are providing, you should be able to obtain coverage. If your state requires certification and you provide services without requisite credentials, insurance would likely not cover any legal or regulatory issues that resulted.
What If You Have a Claims-Made Policy and You Drop Your Coverage?
If you have a claims-made policy and drop your coverage, your policy would no longer cover you if a client sued in the future for an incident while your policy was in effect. To maintain continued protection, you’d need to purchase tail coverage.
Tail coverage extends the protections of your policy so you can obtain coverage for claims that arise in the future. The cost of a tail policy may be as much as 300 percent of policy premiums, so there’s a big cost to continued protection.
The Bottom Line
Life coaches face the potential for lawsuits from dissatisfied clients. There’s also a risk of loss due to an accident that injures others or damages property. Life coaches can minimize and mitigate the risk to their business if something goes wrong by purchasing appropriate insurance coverage to meet their needs like a BOP from a trusted insurance provider.
CoverWallet makes getting reliable life coach insurance easy. It partners with top insurance providers to help make sure you’re properly covered, streamlines and simplifies the process using technology, and can get you covered within minutes. Complete a free, no-obligation questionnaire online to get started.
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