The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
287: Insurance for International Yoga with Beth McVeigh & Joe Fagan
Description:
Many yoga teachers have been curious about insurance for yoga teachers teaching abroad and teaching online to international students - particularly in light of the COVID pandemic. What kind of coverage do you need? Do you need people to sign a waiver? What happens if you can’t control who watches your videos? Beth McVeigh and Joe Fagan have the answers to these questions and more.
Beth is a Commercial Insurance Manager specializing in insurance for Complementary Health practitioners and Studio, Clinic and Spa owners based in Canada. Along with her experienced and knowledgeable team of insurance advisors, Beth helps clients navigate the insurance coverage they need for their practice. Joe Fagan is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for Beyogi. He helps to create relationships within the yoga community to generate exposure for all involved. Joe is a US-based insurance provider for yoga teachers.
Beth and Joe share more about what kind of insurance yoga teachers need when teaching online to international students, sharing yoga on shared platforms, or if they are traveling to teach in-person and abroad. They also explain the legal considerations yoga teachers should be mindful of when it comes to waivers and COVID, and how to navigate getting insurance if you’re planning to relocate and teach yoga in another country.
Disclaimer: The material presented in this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please consult with your local insurance agent for specific advice or services needed.
Key Takeaways:
[2:27] Shannon introduces the topic for this episode, which was inspired by questions and comments from the Connected Yoga Teacher community.
[4:36] Shannon has a few announcements about upcoming events and trainings.
[8:04] Shannon introduces her guests for this episode - Beth McVeigh and Joe Fagan.
[11:17] What is yoga insurance and what gets Joe and Beth excited about helping yoga teachers with their insurance?
[13:52] Why is it important for yoga teachers to have insurance, and what gets Beth excited about her work?
[15:16] What are some considerations with teaching yoga online? Is there a difference between live classes and pre-recorded classes, and does it make a difference who signs up?
[18:42] What can yoga teachers do if they are not able to keep track of who is watching their videos online? Beth and Joe explain how insurance works for yoga teachers going outside their country of coverage.
[24:02] Beth clarifies how it would work if a yoga teacher who has international web-based consulting coverage posts a video on Instagram and someone from a different country watches it and gets hurt as a result.
[25:37] It is hard to provide blanket statements about which specific situations are covered and which aren't, so it would be best to check with your local advisor for any specific cases you are concerned about.
[27:21] What should yoga teachers be aware of if they are planning to travel to another country to host a yoga teacher training or retreat?
[29:22] If a yoga teacher is planning to relocate to another country, should they look into insurance before traveling or should they wait to get to their new location?
[31:17] Shannon pops in with a quick note about the sponsor, OfferingTree.
[33:44] What are the steps a yoga teacher should take if they are planning to go away for a whole year to teach yoga abroad? How is it different if they're relocating?
[37:14] What are some other things yoga teachers should know about teaching online to people outside their country?
[41:02] What has changed with waivers because of Covid?
[48:09] Joe offers his clients a template of a waiver when they enroll into his program as well as other helpful resources available on the website.
[50:45] If you are based in Canada and you work with Beth and her team, you will have 24/7 access to a group of lawyers.
[53:30] If you are in the US, find out more about getting yoga teacher insurance with BeYogi and in Canada, do check in with Beth for your best options!
[55:00] Shannon shares her biggest takeaways from this interview.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.
Quotes from this episode:
"Yoga insurance or liability insurance for yoga instructors, it's ultimately all designed for protection." - Joe Fagan
"We are definitely heading into a new age of claims, so it's good to make sure that [yoga teachers are] properly covered for it."
"It's very crucial to any type of online environment to have some type of disclaimer or waiver that can be signed before admitting somebody into that." - Joe
"It's always a good idea - whatever event you're doing, if it's outside of your normal scope of practice - to talk to an agent." - Joe
"Make sure that we know every single detail of your business structure because that's the only way that we can properly make sure that you're insured." - Beth