Public Liability vs Professional Indemnity Which Insurance Do You Need?

Understanding the Two Types of Insurance

One of the most common points of confusion for yoga teachers is understanding the difference between public liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance. Many teachers mistakenly believe these terms are interchangeable or that having one covers the risks of the other. In reality, they protect against completely different types of claims and are both essential for comprehensive protection.

Understanding this distinction isn't just academic—it's critical for ensuring you have adequate protection. A claim covered by professional indemnity wouldn't be covered by public liability insurance alone, and vice versa. Let's break down exactly what each covers and why you need both.

Public Liability Insurance: The Basics

Public liability insurance protects you against claims from third parties who claim you caused them physical injury, death, or property damage through negligence or breach of your legal duty of care. In simpler terms, it covers "accidents" rather than "professional mistakes."

What Public Liability Covers

Public liability insurance specifically covers:

• ✓Physical injuries to students caused by environmental hazards (slipping on wet floors, hitting something in the studio)
• ✓Injuries from your negligence (not maintaining studio safety, failing to warn of hazards)
• ✓Property damage you cause (damaging someone's phone, breaking studio equipment)
• ✓Legal defense costs and compensation for the injured party
• ✓Medical expenses for injured students

Real-World Public Liability Examples

Imagine these scenarios in your yoga studio:

• 1.The slip: A student exits your hot yoga class, slips on the wet bathroom floor you neglected to mop properly, and fractures their ankle. Public liability covers this.
• 2.The falling equipment: A yoga block falls from a shelf you overstuffed and hits a student on the head, requiring emergency room treatment. Public liability covers this.
• 3.The collision: During class, another student accidentally kicks your student in the head causing a concussion. Public liability covers this.
• 4.The property damage: You knock over a student's expensive yoga mat bag, damaging their laptop inside. Public liability covers this.

Professional Indemnity Insurance: The Basics

Professional indemnity insurance (also called professional liability insurance) covers claims that your professional advice, instruction, or treatment caused harm to a client. The emphasis here is on your professional expertise—what you advised or instructed them to do, not on accidents or environmental hazards.

For yoga teachers, professional indemnity covers claims that your instruction caused physical harm, based on the assumption that you gave bad advice or failed to properly assess the student's capabilities and limitations.

What Professional Indemnity Covers

Professional indemnity insurance specifically covers:

• ✓Claims that your yoga instruction caused injury (e.g., a student claims your cueing made them twist their back incorrectly)
• ✓Claims that you failed to modify poses appropriately for their limitations
• ✓Claims that you pushed a student too far, beyond their safe range of motion
• ✓Claims based on your professional assessment (or lack thereof)
• ✓Legal defense costs against professional negligence claims

Real-World Professional Indemnity Examples

Consider these scenarios:

• 1.The deep backbend: You encourage a student to go deeper into a backbend despite them mentioning lower back pain. They aggravate a pre-existing condition. They claim your instruction caused the injury. Professional indemnity covers this.
• 2.The unsafe assist: You manually adjust a student in a pose using incorrect technique, causing a shoulder strain. They claim your adjustment caused the injury. Professional indemnity covers this.
• 3.The untold contraindication: You teach a student a pose contraindicated for their condition (which they mentioned but you missed). They sustain injury and claim you should have known better. Professional indemnity covers this.
• 4.The progressive injury: During a yoga class, a student feels mild pain but continues the class at your urging. The pain worsens later into a significant injury. They claim you should have recognized the problem and stopped them. Professional indemnity covers this.

The Critical Difference: Real-World Comparison

Let's use a concrete example to show how these cover different aspects of the same incident:

Why You Need Both Types of Coverage

The key point: Public liability and professional indemnity cover different types of risk. A claim might fall into either category or even both, but you can't rely on one type to cover what the other doesn't.

Consider these specific risks of teaching yoga:

Coverage Amounts and Limits

Both types of insurance come with maximum coverage limits. Understanding these limits helps you understand your protection level:

Typical Yoga Teacher Coverage Limits

• •Public Liability: Usually £1-10 million per claim (£1 million is most common for yoga teachers)
• •Professional Indemnity: Usually £1-6 million per claim (£6 million is standard for yoga teachers)

These limits might seem high, but serious injury claims can be substantial. A permanent spinal injury might be valued at £500,000-£2,000,000 depending on severity and age of the injured party. Head injuries can exceed these amounts. Understanding your coverage limits helps you assess whether your insurance is adequate for your specific situation.

What's NOT Covered by Either Type

There are some situations neither type of insurance covers:

• ✗Intentional harm or criminal behavior
• ✗Professional violations or breaches of code of conduct
• ✗Claims related to verbal abuse or harassment
• ✗Employment-related disputes with staff
• ✗Contractual disputes over class fees or services

Getting the Right Coverage

When shopping for yoga teacher insurance, look for policies that explicitly include BOTH:

• 1.Public Liability Insurance (minimum £1 million, ideally £6 million)
• 2.Professional Indemnity Insurance (minimum £6 million)

Most yoga teacher insurance policies bundle these together as a comprehensive professional package. When comparing quotes, always verify:

• ✓Both public liability AND professional indemnity are included
• ✓Coverage limits are adequate for your student volume and class types
• ✓All yoga styles you teach are explicitly covered
• ✓Private sessions and group classes are both covered if you offer both

Conclusion

Public liability and professional indemnity insurance serve different but equally important purposes in protecting your yoga teaching career. Public liability protects against accidents and environmental hazards; professional indemnity protects against claims related to your instruction and professional judgment. You need both.

When you purchase yoga teacher insurance, make sure you're getting a comprehensive policy that includes both types of coverage. Review your policy annually to ensure both components are maintained and that coverage limits remain appropriate for your evolving practice.