Wondering if a freelance dance teacher insurance is right for you? Let’s help you to figure out. What if a student falls and breaks a bone in your dance class, will you be able to pay the legal fees if they sue you? A dance teacher insurance may become helpful in these situations. What insurance does a dance teacher need?
As a dance instructor you have a hard job at the best of times; it’s physically strenuous, patience-testing and with students coming in all shapes, sizes and abilities they must cope and adapt to individual needs. They could really do without the added stress of allegations pertaining to negligence, maltreatment, injury or property damage.
Dance teachers are in a unique position because they provide both advice and a service to paying students, as well as conducting classes where there is potential for injury or neglectful practice. Therefore, though they aren’t legally obliged to, dance instructors are highly advised to have both a Professional Indemnity (PI) and a Public Liability (PL) insurance policy.
Freelance dance teacher insurance
“Protecting your business against claims for slips, trips, falls and more” (source)
A dance instructor will often be self-employed or freelance, renting studio space for their classes. A public liability insurance policy protects the instructor in the event of damage to the property, or injury to a student as a result of faulty equipment or a dangerous practice space. Some property owners who rent studio spaces to dance teachers will insist on a PL policy being in place before any teaching commences, thus making a policy is a must.
In order to join employment-boosting directories such as The Dance Register, which help match instructors to suitable jobs, a teacher must have a PL policy that covers them for a minimum of £5 million.
An example where a teacher might need to claim on their PL policy is if a student tripped on uneven flooring, cut themselves on a broken studio mirror or incurred injury by slipping on an obstruction or wet surface. Where culpability can be proven to be a result of rented space or equipment, the policy would cover the teacher for compensation costs that could otherwise jeopardise their career and livelihood.
Professional Indemnity Insurance for a Dance Instructor
“Protecting your business against claims for negligent teaching and advice” (source)
PI insurance protects the self-employed dance instructor for the other element of their profession, which is providing advice and guidance to students – perhaps the most important and integral part of their workload. If a student should incur injuries as a result of advice provided by a teacher, or perhaps exacerbate an old injury by engaging in unsuitable physical activity as advised by the teacher, they are within their rights to hold the instructor accountable and file for financial compensation.
A PI policy will cover such costs should such an unfortunate, but relatively common, scenario occur. Said compensation could be to cover costs of treatment, emotional damage, legal fees and loss of earnings where quantifiable.
Best Dance Teacher Insurance
As with all insurance, different companies offer varying levels of coverage on a sliding scale in terms of cost. When no legal obligation determines the degree of coverage, the dance instructor themselves must decide how much of a risk they are willing to take. Or if you would like to have the best dance teacher insurance, or simply the cheapest.
A cheap dance teacher insurance is more risky and has the potential to give rise to costly legal fees down the line, whereas a better policy covers for all manner of situations that can occur in a physical, dangerous industry. This could save the teacher paying a hefty lump sum in the long-run.