In this guide: How to choose insurance for meditation teachers and mindfulness studios, and why you need it.
When you’re thinking about becoming a meditation teacher or if you are opening a mindfulness studio, it is vital that you get the proper insurance that you need before you start teaching students.
Insurance is vital for teaching meditation and mindfulness.
The role of insurance is essential to make sure that your business is covered in the event that anything goes wrong. For instance, if one of your students is injured in a class or suffers an event such as a seizure (which can happen when meditating), you will need to be insured to make sure you can cover any claim that the student makes.
When you have coverage you will feel safe and secure because you are financially covered.
Insurance for mindfulness and meditation teachers should cover the following things:
- Public liability
- Products liability
- Malpractice cover
- Financial loss
- Employers’ liability
- Money cover
- Legal expenses
- Personal accidents
- Stock / equipment coverage
By getting coverage now, not only will you be covered if something happens, but you will also feel peace of mind knowing that you’re financially secure.
Let me show you how to get the most out of meditation.
Come meditate with me today!
Finding The Best Insurance For Meditation & Mindfulness Teachers
Because meditation and mindfulness are both becoming incredibly popular practices, we are seeing many new insurance coverage packages specifically catering to these two professions. Companies like Alternative Balance and Sun Life have specific coverage for meditation teachers and yoga teachers.
But how do you find the best coverage for you?
Here are my tips.
1: Make sure it covers your exact practice
We all know the truth. While insurance providers are quick to tell you that they will cover you in any event, they are also quick to find ways to get out of that. We’re talking about loopholes. And you do not want to let your insurer find a loophole that means they don’t have to pay your claim.
One reason some insurers won’t cover a claim is that they deem that you are doing practices not covered in their insurance policy.
For instance, let’s says that you get coverage specifically for guided meditations. But then you also teach one student a specific meditation technique like vipassana. And something goes wrong in that lesson. Your insurer would be able to say “You weren’t giving guided meditation, which is what we cover you for. Therefore, we are not covering your claim.”
Therefore, you need to make sure that your coverage policy covers all the practices you will do in your lessons. And you need to make sure you do not teach anything else.
This means that you need to 1) Get coverage that covers all the types of lessons you’re going to give, and then 2) Not teach anything else.
Make sure your insurance policy covers all the different activities you are going to do
2) Choosing between a specialist and a larger company
You have two choices when it comes to choosing insurance for meditation lessons. You can go with the smaller, specialist provider, or you can choose a larger provider that covers all different kinds of businesses.
I am going to suggest that you use the larger provider. For one reason: They have stood the test of time.
Smaller, newer providers are being set up all the time. Some of them give specific insurance for meditation teachers. The only problem is: You have limited reviews and comments to judge these insurers on, and, more importantly, you don’t know whether the insurer themselves will actually survive. They could go bankrupt. Then you will not be covered.
I’d stick to the larger providers, personally. These insurers have thousands of comments and reviews that you can read online (which you should do to establish their trustworthiness) and they have also stood the test of time and are not likely to go bankrupt anytime soon.
Therefore, I advise you to stick to larger insurance providers and to research the hell out of them before you sign-up.
3: What type of insurance?
Choosing meditation instructor insurance can be a headache, and there are a lot of different things to consider. So, to make it easier for you, here are the most important types of insurance for meditation instructors.
Public liability insurance: This is the most important type of coverage for meditation teachers. It covers you against legal fees if someone is injured in your class. [1].
Income protection: Covers you as a meditation teacher if you yourself become ill and are unable to work.
Business equipment insurance: This could be essential or unessential depending on the amount you’ve invested in your set-up. It covers you against damaged or stolen equipment.
Property insurance: If you own your meditation studio you will want property insurance to protect you against theft, fires, floods and other events.
Employer’s liability insurance: If you own a meditation studio, and you employ other people, you will need employer’s liability coverage. This is coverage against compensating employees who are injured or ill as a result of work. [2]
4: I’m teaching mindfulness / meditation at a gym. Do I still need insurance?
If you are teaching mindfulness or meditation at a gym, you might presume that you are covered by the gym’s insurance and that you, therefore, do not need insurance yourself. This may or may not be the case, depending on the gym and your legal agreement with it.
It is imperative to check the terms under which you work at the gym. I would recommend getting a written record of the terms of your relationship with the gym, including a record of insurance policies. Do not simply presume that you are covered by the gym. This could be a very costly mistake.
Do not presume you are covered by a gym. Always check!
The same is true when teaching meditation in schools.
Never assume that you are covered just because you are doing your lessons as part of a larger business. Always check the details!
5: How to get approved
Naturally, meditation teacher insurance providers have the right to accept you or not. And if you want to get approved for insurance you will need to answer their questions.
So how do you get approved for mindfulness instructor insurance? Honestly, in my experience, it’s easy to get approved for insurance to teach meditation. You will simply need to provide evidence of your experience. This could include your having attended a course in mindfulness or meditation, or various lectures you’ve attended. One insurer simply asked me what books I’d read about meditation!
Getting proper teacher training will help. But being qualified does not necessarily mean that you are part of an alliance or other official body. There are many different ways to substantiate your qualification to teach mindfulness. You simply need to contact the insurance provider and ask them what evidence they need of your qualifications.
Important note: Take it as a good sign if your insurer wants to know your credentials. Some smaller insurers will accept anyone because they don’t intend to pay you out ever even if something happens. Larger providers will likely want to know more about you because they actually will cover you. Even though those questions might worry you, they are a sign that the insurer is legit and serious.
6: How much does it cost?
The cost of mindfulness meditation instructor insurance will depend on the size of your studio, how many students you have, and the value of equipment you want to have insured.
The average yoga studio has about 35 clients per session, with a 30 ft. studio and around $1500 worth of equipment. For this scale of studio, you should expect to pay around $450 per year and ad $4 of $5 per student covered.
You can definitely find cheaper insurance, but I’d recommend getting a comprehensive coverage policy from a well-respected insurance provider. Honestly, the ticket price isn’t that high compared to the risk of not being insured.
Don’t be a DERP!
I hear from a lot of meditation teachers that no one has ever been injured in one of their classes, so why do they need insurance to teach meditation?
No one thinks they need insurance…until they need insurance!
One single accident in your meditation classes could completely destroy your business if you are not covered.
Don’t be a derp!
Get the insurance you need. Honestly, I would hate to hear that you didn’t get insurance and that it cost you your business. Yes, mindfulness and meditation teacher insurance can be expensive, but it is a business owner’s responsibility to make sure they are covered.
Paul Harrison is a passionate meditation teacher who believes in genuine, authentic meditation. He has more than 15 years experience in meditation and mindfulness. He studied meditation in beautiful Oxford, UK, and Hamilton Ontario Canada, and earned his degree at Staffordshire University.
“My goal is to provide the most authentic meditation sessions so you can harness the power of your own mind for personal transformation” – Paul Harrison