Do Waivers Really Work or Are They “Not worth the paper they are written on”?
By Jennifer Urmston Lowe Sports & Fitness Insurance Corp. When I talk to health club and gym owners at any of our industry events, I almost always get one of two responses regarding the subject of liability waivers. Either the owners think their waiver is going to protect them from claims and they don’t need to pay for “those high insurance premiums” or they think the waiver “isn’t worth the paper it is written on” [...]
November 2016 ResourceBeat Article – The Importance of AEDs in Health Clubs & Gyms
By Jennifer Urmston Lowe, National Account manager, Sports & Fitness Insurance Corp. This article is intended to provide an overview of automated external defibrillator (AED) devices in response to the recent Club Industry article covering a case in which an AED was featured (INSERT LINK?). AED’s should be used as part of a formal, comprehensive safety program. There are a number of resources listed below that can help with guidelines for establishing an AED safety [...]
Sexual Harassment: How to Protect Your Fitness Business
By Jennifer Urmston Lowe, National Account Manager, Sports & Fitness Insurance Corporation With recent headlines showing a growing number of claims of sexual harassment and sexual abuse across varying work places and industries, it is more important than ever to understand what sexual harassment is and how to prevent it in order to protect your members and employees, as well as, your fitness business. What is Sexual Harassment? According to the United States Equal Employment [...]
January Newsletter 2018
Click here to view the January 2018 Newsletter
It’s a New Year! Protect Your Fitness Business in 2018!
With the New Year, it is a good time to review your fitness business. Are you offering new classes or are you hosting any special events? It is important to also review your insurance coverage and to make sure you are covered for any new programs, services or products. Always reach out and ask your agent if you are covered when you change your offerings or if you host any special events on site or [...]
Building Sustainable Results, Beyond The January Rush, Through Nutritional Supplements
Fitness professionals are often called upon to be the first responders of New Years Resolutions. We’ve all seen the influx of new customers in the first quarter of the New Year with their exodus by Q2. According to Nielsen’s Global Consumer Exercise Survey, 78% of adults exercise and according to the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), 68% of adults consume dietary supplements regularly. Think about it... nearly 7 out of 10 of your customers are already [...]
December Newsletter 2017
Click here to view the December 2017 Newsletter
November Newsletter 2017
Click here to view November Newsletter 2017
October Newsletter 2017
Click here to view the October Newsletter 2017
September Newsletter 2017
Click here to view the September 2017 Newsletter
August Newsletter 2017
Click here to view the August 2017 Newsletter
The Importance of Ethics in the Fitness Industry
Learning Objectives: To identify the special considerations of ethics in the fitness industry. To learn how ethics and service are intertwined. To help fit pros understand how others are affected by their decisions. There are special considerations for ethics in the fitness industry. The fitness industry has a tremendous and unique opportunity to impact lives in a positive way by both improving health and longevity as well as improving the quality of life for individuals, [...]
Proud to Partner with PoleMoves
PoleMoves would like to offer a special price for Sports & Fitness Insurance clients who need ACE or PFA continuing education credits. We have an online Level 1 pole course that is normally $499, but we will give it to fitness professionals with SFIC for $159. Participants would only need to pass a written exam at the end so there is no pole required for the CECs. (This is only for CEC credit and does [...]
What NOT To Say To Clients
Watch this short video featuring SFIC's own Jennifer Urmston Lowe outlining a few tips about what NOT to say to clients in order to minimize the risk of sexual harassment and more:
How to Ensure Your Club and Staff Are AED-Ready
We are pleased to present this article featured by our friends at Club Industry--written by SFIC's own Jennifer Urmston Lowe. Click the link or image to view the article.
SFIC and AFS Working Together For You
Watch Sports & Fitness Insurance Corporation's Jennifer Urmston Lowe speak briefly about the benefits of AFS as well as SFIC.
Holiday Wisdom From SFIC
Courtesy of WORKOUT ANYTIME. As a season of reflection, the Holidays seem like the perfect time to celebrate our partner WORKOUT ANYTIME's Values of... "Think Big, Keep it Simple, and Do it with Integrity." Sports & Fitness Insurance Corporation (SFIC) is honored to be the insurance partner for the WORKOUT ANYTIME franchise. Beginning in the early 1970's, WORKOUT ANYTIME founders John Quattrocchi ("John Q") and Steve Strickland worked with some of the biggest names in the [...]
Yoga Instructors and Studios Need Protection
Yoga studio owners, as well as, independent yoga instructors need to protect themselves with appropriate and sufficient insurance coverage! Even relatively simple juries can result in a claim being filed against a studio or instructor for thousands of dollars of medical bills. More severe injuries can generate hundreds of thousands of dollars of expenses to pay legal bills, as well as, medical bills. All yoga studios should carry General Liability insurance that includes Professional Liability [...]
2016 Club Industry Show Highlights
This is Jennifer Urmston Lowe reporting from the 2016 Club Industry Show in Chicago! I have two major take-away themes to share for 2016: Education and Networking. Education Club Industry put together strong education tracks for sales & marketing, leadership, programing, wellness and studios. The sessions were packed and there was a ton of excitement & buzz about the very useful and meaningful content presented! Sports & Fitness Insurance Corporation was proud to sponsor this valuable education for [...]
AFS Research Report: Best Practices For Fitness Studios 2016
Report Methodology "In the first Quarter of 2016, the Association of Fitness Studios (AFS) sponsored an industry-first Study to explore the marketing practices and marketing performance of fitness studios from 2015. In doing so, AFS partnered with ClubIntel who managed and administered the Study on its behalf. The Study was conducted via online survey among various segments of potential participants as defined by AFS." Sports & Fitness Insurance Corporation partner, the Association of Fitness Studios [...]
An SFIC & NPE Success Story
A Marine Corps pilot and a draftsman grow from park bootcamps with 5 people to a MILLION DOLLAR business with 850 clients (and they’re still growing!) Client Name: Josh Cherry & Robby Marlow Business Name: Delta Life Bootcamp Location: Multiple Locations in Florida, Texas, and California Business Model: Women’s Only Bootcamp Classes NPE Client Status: PLATINUM™ Cofounders Josh Cherry and Robby Marlow never planned on getting into the fitness industry. Neither of them had formal [...]
When Members Behave Badly– Are You Responsible?
The news of a hidden camera in the tanning area of an Anytime Fitness facility in New Castle, Indiana, may have ended well—in an arrest, but for the victim and the franchise owner it is a distressful situation. It is a situation that fitness facilities must be ready to combat in every situation. According to a recent blog at ClubIndustry.com: “The case in Indiana unfortunately illustrates the problems alleged voyeurs can create for health clubs and fitness centers. In other examples, [...]
Sports & Fitness Background Screenings
Sports & Fitness Background Screenings: What You Need to Know Today! By Michael Faber M.S., FCRA-Advanced Certification, VP Business Development, SecureSearch One of the joys of teaching and coaching is the opportunity to help another person realize their full potential while unleashing talents and skills they might never have known they have. Athletes of all sizes and talent levels require coaching and instruction to maximize their performance. Whether you’re instructing the weekend warrior, a fourth-grader [...]
Liability Insurance Critical For Personal Trainers
LIABILITY INSURANCE Critical for Personal Trainers Carrying appropriate and sufficient liability insurance is vitally important for Personal Trainers because they are at risk for liability claims every day. Personal trainers are liable not only for their own actions while training their clients but also for what they say or don’t say when instructing their clients. Clients can claim that they were not properly instructed in how to use a piece of equipment or how to [...]
Liability Waivers for Your Fitness Facility
By Jennifer Urmston Lowe Fitness facility owners and personal trainers often give very little attention to their liability waivers or hold harmless agreements because they feel they are not going to protect them from claims and they don’t want to pay for legal advice. The truth is, state laws determine how effective a waiver may be in court, but it is important to always have a well-written waiver in every state. We read examples all [...]