Страхование для организаторов FYDS

Этот документ опубликован на английском языке.

A plain-English guide for independent retreat and workshop organisers

This guide is general information, not legal or insurance advice. Insurance rules and prices change, and your situation is your own — always confirm details with an insurer or broker. FYDS receives nothing from any insurer mentioned here; they are examples, not endorsements.

First, untangle the word "required"

When organisers ask "do I need insurance?", four different things get mixed together:

• Required by law. Rarer than you'd think for liability insurance — but real in specific cases (see your country below).
• Required by someone you work with. Venues, municipalities — and FYDS. In practice, this is what makes insurance unavoidable: most venues won't confirm your booking without proof of cover.
• Best practice. What responsible organisers in your activity carry, whether or not anyone checks.
• Optional. Cover that protects your business — cancellation, equipment — rather than your guests.

What FYDS requires of every organiser, everywhere: public liability insurance appropriate to your activity, with a minimum of £1,000,000 per claim (or local equivalent), as set out in the Organiser Terms. We may ask for your certificate at any time.

The two covers that matter

Public liability (called general liability in the US): a guest is injured or property is damaged in connection with your event — someone trips over an easel, a candle marks the venue's floor. This is the cover venues ask about.

Professional indemnity (called professional liability or malpractice in the US): your teaching or advice itself causes harm — a hands-on yoga adjustment injures someone, coaching guidance leads to a loss. If you teach, instruct, adjust or advise, you need both — and note that basic business policies often include only the first.

Two things that are related but are not liability insurance:

• Payment protection for packages. If you sell retreats that include accommodation, protecting your guests' money against your business failing is a legal requirement in the UK and EU — see our separate guide, Does your retreat count as a package?
• Your guests' travel insurance. Their cover, for their cancellations and medical costs. Require it for international retreats. It never replaces your own insurance.

Your country, in brief

United Kingdom. The only broadly compulsory insurance is employers' liability (£5m) — mandatory the moment anyone works for you, even casually. Public liability isn't required by statute, but venues typically demand £2m–£5m, so treat £2m as your working floor. Typical cost for a small organiser: £50–£300 a year (market average around £118 for £2m). Wellness and retreat specialists (Balens is the best-known) offer combined public liability + professional indemnity policies for individual practitioners at similar prices; general small-business insurers (Simply Business, Markel, Hiscox, AXA) cover workshops and events.

European Union. There is no EU-wide rule — it depends on your country and your activity. France is the strictest example that matters here: instructors of sport and physical activities (which can include yoga, dance and guided hiking) must hold professional liability insurance, and mountain guiding is a regulated profession in several countries — check before you charge for guiding. Elsewhere, mandates are rare for creative and wellness instructors, but venues expect €1m–€3m cover just as in the UK. The cheapest route is often your national professional association, which frequently bundles group insurance with membership (€80–€300/year is a common range). Two checks for every EU organiser: is my activity regulated in my country, and does my association offer cover?

South Africa. No general legal requirement for ordinary workshops and retreats — but public events needing municipal (JOC) approval must usually show public liability cover, and venues ask for it routinely. Costs start around R3,000/year for small, low-risk businesses. Major insurers (Santam, Hollard, Old Mutual Insure, Standard Bank's events cover) all offer it; a broker or comparison service is the practical route. Note: signed indemnity forms are customary in South Africa, but consumer protection law limits what they can waive — they support your insurance, they don't replace it.

United States. No state requires liability insurance for organisers as such (workers' compensation applies once you have employees). In practice the US runs on Certificates of Insurance: nearly every venue requires general liability — typically $1m per occurrence / $2m aggregate — and will ask to be named as an additional insured on your policy. Specialist schemes for instructors (beYogi, NACAMS, Insure Fitness) cost roughly $180–$350/year for combined professional + general liability; single-event retreat policies start around $175, which suits a once-a-year US retreat. Be aware that US claim sizes are much larger than in Europe.

⚠️ The trap that catches international organisers

Your policy may not travel with you. A UK or EU policy does not automatically cover a retreat you run in Morocco, Bali or the US. Many policies cover "temporary work abroad" but exclude the US and Canada, exclude professional indemnity abroad, or require advance notification. Before you list an experience outside your home country, get written confirmation from your insurer that your policy covers (a) that destination and (b) claims brought in that country's courts. This is the single most common gap we see — and the most expensive one to discover late.

What to carry, by activity

Worth considering, not required

Cancellation cover protects your own revenue if the retreat can't run. Equipment cover for materials and cameras. Personal accident for your own injury. All optional; all cheap to ask about while you're getting quotes.

One conversation with a broker, once a year, is usually all this takes. It's the least creative hour of running your business — and the one that lets you do all the others with a clear head.