When an insurance broker specializes in fitness, the right program partnership can become a strategic advantage for every club in the network.
While insurance may not be the most sexy topic, for gym owners navigating a market shaped by rising claim costs, confusing policy exclusions and a general lack of industry-specific expertise, having the right insurance partner can mean the difference between financial stability and a costly surprise.
That is exactly what Matt Warsh, the vice president and chief technology officer of KIG Insurance, has spent the past 15 years doing by specializing in the fitness sector. KIG insures hundreds of fitness facilities across all 50 states — from boutique yoga studios to 100,000-square-foot athletic clubs with racquet sports and summer camps. To support that work, Warsh turned to FITLIFE, a managed insurance program developed specifically for the fitness industry and distributed through independent brokers like KIG.
The partnership, which has been in place since FITLIFE’s founding, reflects a broader idea for fitness operators: the right insurance structure isn’t just about your premiums. It’s about whether the people managing your risk actually understand your business.
For fitness operators, general commercial insurance policies often fall short in ways that only become apparent at the worst possible moment: when a claim is filed.
“You won’t find certain exclusions that other programs like to include,” said Warsh. “Those would be things like assault and battery exclusions, attendance limitations, tanning exclusions, abuse sub-limits, cross-suits exclusions, etc.”
These aren’t obscure technicalities. For a busy health club, an assault and battery exclusion could leave an operator exposed after an altercation on the floor. Attendance limitations could render a policy inadequate during peak seasons. Each exclusion represents a gap that a gym owner may not discover until they’re already in the middle of a claim.
FITLIFE was designed to close those gaps. Brian Rawlings, the vice president of sales and marketing for Venture Insurance Programs, which operates the FITLIFE program, describes its core mission as developing coverage that genuinely meets the needs of clubs.
“Our FITLIFE program endeavors to provide the coverages, sustainable pricing and ancillary support services that clubs need,” said Rawlings.
The program operates in multiple layers. FITLIFE and Venture Insurance Programs back the policy, while independent brokers like KIG that are embedded in the fitness industry and hold direct relationships with club owners serve as the point of sale and service.
“We have a relationship with fitness owners and independent franchisees, franchise offices and association leaders who need help navigating the complexity of insurance and proper coverage for the operations they are running,” said Warsh.
For operators this structure can offer an advantage. When both the broker and program are fluent in the fitness space, communication moves faster, policy questions get answered accurately and the coverage itself reflects the actual risk profile of the operation.
Another aspect of this partnership is what happens beyond the transaction. Warsh emphasizes that FITLIFE doesn’t simply write a policy and step away — the program actively engages with the risk side of the business to help clubs reduce their exposure in the first place.
“They get a strategic insurance partner that truly understands the business and inserts themselves into the business and ensure safety protocols, risk mitigation and overall loss control measures are in place to not only keep members safe but also keep insurance costs down in the long run,” said Warsh.
That proactive approach reflects a partnership philosophy that aligns financial incentives between the insurer and the insured.
Rawlings echoed that alignment, noting that the fitness insurance market can be volatile and clubs that work with operators who understand their specific risk environment are better positioned to weather that volatility.
Beyond coverage design and risk management, Warsh highlights operational service quality as a distinguishing factor in working with FITLIFE. “Claims experience, speed of processes with endorsements, changes, billing options and other service-related functions truly stand out,” he said.
For operators managing multiple locations, staff changes, equipment additions or seasonal programming shifts, the ability to move quickly on endorsements and policy changes without friction is a practical operational asset.
The KIG-FITLIFE relationship offers an example of what a structured insurance partnership can look like for fitness operators. The lesson isn’t simply to find a better insurance policy but to evaluate whether the people and programs managing your risk actually understand the environment you operate in.
“It’s always good to have an agent who is immersed in the industry and the nuances of coverage to look out for you,” said Warsh. “But it’s even better when we have an insurance carrier program that is fully aligned in the best interests of the gym owner as well.”
