The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) has announced a general liability insurance premium credit for all health and fitness clubs that employ personal trainers who are certified by organizations that have been accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), which is the accreditation body of the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA). The NCCA accreditation serves as a benchmark for how organizations should conduct their certification activities.
The insurer, Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company, is providing the credit based on the percentage of NCCA-accredited certified personal trainers on site. All clubs are eligible to earn up to a 10 percent reduction on their rates depending on the individual state schedule rating plan. Those clubs with less than 50 percent accredited trainers on staff are not eligible for the discount.
Currently accredited organizations include the National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF), American Council on Exercise (ACE), and the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA).
“We have always offered discounted liability insurance to our ACE-certified fitness professionals, but this breakthrough doubles their protection and provides an increased opportunity for employment,” said Scott Goudeseune, ACE chief operating officer.
"This announcement conveys a significant level of confidence by the Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company in the importance of NCCA accreditation in helping to protect the public and support for IHRSA's recommendation to health/fitness clubs to hire personal trainers who have earned NCCA accredited certifications," said Dr. Thomas R. Baechle, executive director of the NSCA Certification Commission.
“The opportunity being offered by the Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company communicates very clearly the relevance of legally defensible competency and its effect on maintaining a reduced liability risk,” said Dr. Brian Biagioli, executive director of the National Council on Strength and Fitness. “The NCCA accreditation is a mark of distinction for valid certifications which provide the layer of protection that every club owner needs and every member deserves.”
IHRSA recommends that, beginning January 1, 2006, member clubs hire personal trainers holding at least one current certification from a certifying organization/agency that has begun third-party accreditation of its certification procedures and protocols from an independent, experienced, and nationally recognized accrediting body. IHRSA has identified the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, the accreditation body of NOCA, as being an acceptable accrediting organization.
“IHRSA is committed to supporting the excellence of fitness professionals,” said John McCarthy, executive director of IHRSA. “Given the fact that personal training is the most frequently offered program in health clubs today and given the soaring popularity of training among health club members, the association felt it necessary and critically important to develop a recommendation for club operators that would best reflect the industry’s efforts to improve safety and effectiveness in these programs.”
Additional information about the insurance benefit can be obtained by visiting www.insureyourclub.com or by contacting Robert Kuchefski at 1-800-649-0087 ext. 45 or rkuchefski@hoffmaninsurance.com.
