What an Injury costs a self-employed coach

Most coaches have been injured. Most have no way to replace the income.

We asked 100 self-employed personal trainers and coaches about injury and income. More than eight in ten had already been injured in a way that affected their work. Most lost money. And nearly two-thirds have nothing in place to replace their income if it happens again. Here's what our research found and what you can do to help financially protect you and your business.

When your body is your business

For a self-employed coach or personal trainer, an injury might not just be a physical setback. When your income depends on being fit enough to run sessions, the same injury that keeps you off the gym floor can also close your diary and stop your pay, usually at the moment you can least afford it.

We wanted to understand how often that actually happens, and what it costs. So, we surveyed 100 self-employed PTs and coaches about their experience of injury and income. For most of them, this turned out to be anything but hypothetical.

82% of the coaches we surveyed had experienced an injury that affected their ability to coach or work.

Of everyone we asked, 42% had needed to reduce their workload after an injury, 22% kept working through one, and 18% were unable to work at all for a period. Only 18% had never had an injury affect their work. In short, being sidelined by injury is something most self-employed coaches have already lived through.

Why coaches don't have a safety net

The root of the issue is self-employment. 94% of the coaches we surveyed were self-employed or freelance, which means no employer sick pay, no paid leave, and no one else to fall back on. When you stop working, your income can stop with you. And while many coaches have more than one income stream, for almost a third (31%), coaching is their sole or main source of income, so time off lands directly on the household finances.

That pressure changes how people respond to being hurt. Rather than taking the time off they might need, many push on, because the alternative is losing money they can't do without.

7 in 10 who kept working or cut back after an injury told us they couldn't afford to lose the income.

It isn't only about money, either. Among those who worked through an injury or reduced their workload, 80% didn't want to let clients down, and almost half (48%) worried clients would go elsewhere if they stopped. For a self-employed coach, time off can feel like a threat to the business itself, not just a pause in earnings.

And when income drops, the shortfall usually falls on the individual. Of the coaches we surveyed who'd been injured, two-thirds (67%) dipped into savings to cover it, 45% leaned on a partner or family member, and one in five (21%) turned to a credit card or loan. Just 4% received an insurance payout, a telling sign of how few had any dedicated cover in place.

68% lost income to injury, and the costs don't stop there

The lost sessions are only part of the picture. Add up the missed income, the cost of getting treated, and the longer-term effect on the business, and a single injury can carry a surprisingly large price tag.
On lost income alone, the figures are significant. Among the coaches we surveyed who'd been injured, more than two-thirds lost at least £501, around one in three lost more than £1,000, and 13% lost £2,501 or more.

68% of injured coaches lost at least £501 in income as a result of their injury.

Then there's the cost of recovery. Of those injured, 87% spent something out of their own pocket on treatment such as physio, and 85% faced further costs on top with things like travel to appointments, equipment, or paying someone to cover their sessions. That last one is the double hit that catches people out: paying to keep sessions running while earning nothing from them.

The effects can also outlast the injury itself. Seven in ten injured coaches told us they felt some lasting impact on their business:

• 44% had to turn down or postpone work
• 40% passed clients to colleagues or friends
• 28% fell behind financially or took time to recover their income
• 12% lost clients who didn't return or went elsewhere
• 7% considered stopping coaching altogether

Handing clients to someone else, or turning work away, doesn't always reverse cleanly once you're back, which is why the cost of an injury can keep running long after you've physically recovered.

Loss of earnings vs personal accident: what's the difference?

If you're thinking about how to financially protect yourself and your business, the first thing worth clearing up is the difference between the two covers that are easily confused. They can sit on the same policy, and both relate to injury, but they do different jobs and knowing which does what is the key to understanding what you'd actually be protected against.

Personal Accident cover relates to the injury itself. It can help towards the cost of treatment and rehabilitation, such as physio and dental work, and can include lump sums for more serious injuries. Through Insure4Sport, this can be up to £50k.

Loss of Earnings cover does something different. It's designed to provide a weekly income if an injury stops you working, up to £750 a week, for up to 52 weeks. It isn't linked to what the injury costs to treat; it's there to help with everyday outgoings while you can't earn.

Put simply, one relates to treating the injury and the other to the income you lose while you can't work.

How Loss of Earnings cover works 

If an injury stops you working, loss of earnings cover through Insure4Sport pays a weekly benefit while you're unable to work, up to £750 a week, for up to 52 weeks. Two details are worth understanding.

The 14-day excess. This is the initial period the cover doesn't pay for. In practice, it means the cover is aimed at meaningful time off such as an injury that keeps you out for weeks, rather than a day or two here and there. Payments begin after the excess period.

It's designed for injury, not illness. This cover relates to injury such as a sudden accident that stops you working, rather than illness or conditions that develop over time.

Example: If an injury kept you from coaching for eight weeks, the first 14 days would fall under the excess. The remaining period could then be covered, up to £750 a week, subject to the policy terms. The exact amount payable, and the conditions that apply, depend on your individual policy.

How much cover would you get?

Loss of earnings cover through Insure4Sport pays up to £750 a week, for up to 52 weeks, after a 14-day excess.

Whether that would be enough depends on your own circumstances. For some coaches it may cover essential outgoings such as rent or mortgage, bills and other fixed costs; for others it may cover part of what they'd usually earn. What it's designed to do is provide a regular income, for a defined period, while you're unable to work because of an injury.

The 52-week limit matters because a serious injury can keep you out for months rather than days. It's worth thinking about how you'd manage if your income stopped for a stretch of time, and whether your current savings would bridge the gap. Our research suggests many coaches have less room than they might expect.

32% told us they could cover their essential costs for only a few weeks or less if they couldn't work from tomorrow.

The exact amount you'd receive, and the conditions and exclusions that apply, depend on your policy. Full details are set out in the policy documents.

64% have no way to replace their income

For all that injury is a common experience among coaches, comparatively few have anything in place to replace lost income. In our survey, nearly two-thirds had no cover that would do so, while a third (32%) did and a further 4% weren't sure.

64% have no insurance that would replace their income if an injury stopped them working.

Set that against how thin the savings buffer often is. Among those without income-replacement cover, 88% had no more than three months of essential costs saved, and around a third could manage only a few weeks or less. Yet 80% of this same uninsured group had already had an injury that affected their work, so for many, it's a risk they've felt first-hand and remain exposed to.

Part of the gap seems to come down to awareness. When we asked how well people understood loss of earnings cover, most said not very:

• 13% felt they understood it well
• 58% had only a rough idea
• 28% had heard of it but didn't know how it worked
• 1% didn't know it existed

So nearly nine in ten coaches don't feel they fully understand how the cover works, which makes it hard to judge whether it's something they need. A few simple questions can help: is coaching your only income? How long would your savings realistically last? And how long might a serious injury keep you out?

Staying in the game when your body's your business

One clear pattern in our research: experience alone hasn't led to protection. Among coaches with no cover who'd already been injured, three-quarters lost at least £501, and nearly as many felt a lasting effect on their business.

Injury is part of an active, physical job, and for coaches and PTs, time off the gym floor can affect income as well as fitness. Our research shows how differently coaches are placed to manage that.

Loss of earnings cover is one of the things some coaches choose to have in place. Find out more about insurance for personal trainers, fitness instructors, sports coaches and other fitness professionals by Insure4Sport.

About this research

Insure4Sport surveyed 100 self-employed personal trainers and coaches in September 2026. Figures relating to injury experience use a base of the 82 respondents who reported an injury affecting their work, unless otherwise stated. Questions allowing multiple answers can total more than 100%. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.