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Our insurance for sports massage therapists can protect you against mistakes you make in your work.
Sports massage work can be hugely rewarding, but it can also bring certain risks.
Even with the highest standards of care, a client could react unexpectedly to treatment, equipment could be damaged, or an accident in your workspace could lead to a costly claim.
Cover at a glance:
- Public liability and treatment liability cover up to £5m
- Protection for injury or adverse reaction claims
- Suitable for freelance and clinic-based practitioners
What is sports massage insurance?
Sports massage insurance refers to a group of insurance policies designed to protect your business from a range of risks. Sports massage insurance can include a variety of different covers, like public liability insurance, professional indemnity insurance, employers' liability insurance and more. We can offer flexible cover options to suit you and your business, giving you peace of mind that you’re covered with appropriate insurance in place.
Cover starting at
£5 a month*
*Price based on a sports massage therapist requiring £25,000 of directors and officers insurance.
Why do sports massage therapists need insurance?
Sports massage therapists play a key role in helping athletes to achieve their physical potential, assisting in their recovery and aiding their preparation for their next challenge. It’s important that you can carry out this work in confidence, knowing that you have the right protection in place in case anything goes wrong, for example:
- an injury unintentionally caused to a client
- a client suffering an allergic reaction to a treatment
- a trip or fall.
This is where Markel Direct’s cover comes in. With over 25 years of specialist experience, our policies are designed to cover the risks facing your role as a sports massage therapist.
To help safe proof your business, read our guide on how massage therapists can prevent claims.
What does sports massage insurance cover?
Insurance for sports massage therapists can cover you from a range of risks including:
Professional negligence
A client alleges that a massage you gave them has worsened their injury and makes a negligence claim against you. Despite your best efforts to help the client, it turns out that what you thought was a strain was in fact a rupture that shouldn’t be massaged.
Injury
A client visits you at your clinic for a massage. As they walk across the room they slip and crash down on their elbow causing a fracture. You hadn’t realised that there was some spilt oil on the laminate flooring, causing it to be hazardous. Your client makes a public lability claim against you.
Property damage
You’re visiting a client at their premises. On your way in, you accidentally knock an expensive standing clock off the radiator cover. The impact of it falling and subsequently smashing damages the floor. Your client wants you to pay for the damages.
Damage to clinic premises
A fire in the building where your clinic is situated leaves you unable to access to premises and the equipment inside. This means you have to let client’s down and cancel appointments. It also means you lose out on income.
Sports massage public liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance are often considered essential for massage therapists.
If you’re a member of a professional association like The National Association of Massage and Manipulative Therapy (NAMMT), we can tailor your insurance to match your associations business insurance requirements.
Example policy documents
If you have an existing policy with us, please sign in to view your policy documents.
Below you will find examples of the documents provided.
How to buy sports massage therapist insurance
Insurance can be tailored to suit your individual business needs. Our user-friendly online quote system involves answering a few questions about your job and then offers you a list of all the cover that is suitable for you. From there, you can choose to buy all the covers quoted or just some of them. This means you'll only ever pay for the insurance you need and not unnecessary extras.
Insurance covers for a sports massage practice
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Public liability and professional indemnity insurance
Public liability and professional indemnity insurance are two key parts of the insurance package for a sports massage therapist. These forms of cover can help you to defend yourself if a customer suffers an injury during the course of your work - clearly a big concern for sports massage therapists helping clients to look after their limbs and muscles – or if you face an allegation of negligence.
Examples of the situations in which this cover might be needed include:
- Claims from a client that sports massage therapy work you carried out caused an injury making them miss an important sporting fixture.
- Compensation claims made by a client who tripped over a cable and suffered an injury while visiting your home for a therapy session.
- Claims for damages made after a client had an allergic reaction to a cream or oil used during your work.
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Employer's Liability insurance
Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement for any business that employs staff. It covers you if they suffer from an injury or illness as part of their work.
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Legal expenses insurance
Commercial legal expenses insurance covers the costs of defending you as a director or officer of your company against allegations of wrongful acts and any damages subsequently awarded against you. Cover is also provided for the legal costs and expenses of defending actions for disqualification as a director, investigations and extradition proceedings. Limits range from £100,000 to £5m.
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Directors and Officers insurance
Director and officers insurance can help you to defend yourself if you face an allegation of poor practice – or if you have to pay out damages as the result of a claim.
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Portable equipment and office insurance
Whether it’s your phone and laptop, or a piece of equipment required for your therapy, it’s likely you’ll be reliant on having key equipment to hand. Office insurance covers any office premises you have – including accidental damage to the buildings and contents while you’re at work.
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Occupational personal accident insurance
Occupational personal accident insurance provides a weekly payment if you find yourself unable to carry out your job because of an injury suffered during the course of your work.
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Cyber and data risks insurance
Sports massage therapists need to hold personal data of their clients – potentially including sensitive medical information for conditions they might be helping them to manage. This poses a risk that needs to be managed. Cyber and data risks insurance can help to cover the cost of retrieving data and managing the aftermath of a data breach.
How it works
Choose the cover you require
Get a quote you need in minutes
Buy online or contact one of our advisors
How much does sports massage therapy insurance cost?
At Markel Direct, we offer sports massage insurance from £5 a month for £1 million worth of public liability cover*. When it comes to insurance, the cost varies from business to business depending on;
- The size of your business - your turnover and whether you have any employees
- The level of cover you choose
- The type of equipment you use.
So how much insurance is for a sports massage therapist? To get a clearer idea of how much you’ll pay, simply get a quote online.
Ready to build your quote?
Our simple quote process will help you to find the right business insurance for your individual needs.
Frequently asked questions
These frequently asked questions are designed to help you and include questions relating to policy cover, pricing and ‘technical’ terms.
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Do you need insurance to be a massage therapist?
Ensuring you have the appropriate level of insurance is a worthwhile consideration. If a claim was made against you without the correct level of protection, you could be faced with having to pay the associated costs from your own pocket. From clients accusing you of causing an injury during the course of your work, to accusations of you causing damage to their property.
Our insurance for massage therapists means you have added peace of mind, knowing that your business is protected should the worst happen.
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What insurance is needed for a sports massage practice?
Whether you practice sports massage in your own studio, from home, or in a variety of different venues, obtaining the appropriate level of insurance is a worthwhile consideration.. Despite your best efforts, mistakes can happen. Public liability insurance could cover you against potential claims made by clients, who accuse you of injuring them.
Running a sports massage practice requires expensive equipment for you to be able to carry out your work. Massage tables are not cheap, and they’re difficult to replace at short notice should they be damaged or stolen. Should such a scenario arise, portable equipment and office insurance could protect you and ensure that you’re not suddenly left out of pocket. For more information on what the insurance requirements are for sports massage therapists, call Markel Direct today on 0371 705 1467 or contact us using our online form.
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What insurance do I need as a sports massage therapist?
As a sports massage therapist, you’re constantly working to improve the wellbeing of your clients. However, if you’re unable to work as a result of an injury sustained at work (or travelling to and from work), occupational personal accident insurance can cover you against loss of earnings, with a cash lump sum or a weekly benefit to see you through.
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What's the difference between professional indemnity and public liability?
These are two slightly different types of cover. Professional indemnity insurance covers you if you are challenged for the professional work you carry out or advice given. For a sports massage therapist, this type of professional negligence case might involve a compensation claim made by a client who feels your advice led to them exacerbating an existing illness or condition, for example. Public liability insurance offers cover in case of any injuries or illnesses third parties suffer through your work.
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I often offer massages from my own or a client's home. Will I be covered for this?
Yes, your policy can offer you the level of cover you need wherever you carry out your work.
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What limit of cover should I choose?
This depends on the work you carry out and, potentially, the legal requirements of some industry bodies. It’s well worth checking these out to ensure your cover meets the threshold presented by any bodies you need to be a member of for your work.
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How are Markel Direct regulated?
Markel Direct is a trading name of Markel International Insurance Company Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Find out more on the Financial Services Register.
We are a division of Markel International, a Lloyd’s of London market insurer that wrote gross premium totals of £2.4bn in 2023
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