For Jenny Chumbler, the president of BFIT Gym, risk management is about the work that happens before an incident ever occurs, not just once it’s happened.
BFIT operates four locations in southern Indiana — three in Evansville, one in Newburgh,
“While we have four locations, we really operate as one BFIT family, so consistency across our is incredibly important to us,” said Chumbler.
In July 2026, BFIT began working with Players Health, an insurance and risk management provider focused on the fitness industry.
“Our partnership with Players Health is still very new,” said Chumbler. “But they have already made an impression on us in a pretty short amount of time.”
Before Players Health, Chumbler said BFIT had worked with providers that served a broad range of industries. That experience left her looking for a partner fluent in the specific risks health clubs face.
“One of the biggest things that stood out to me was that Players Health understands the fitness industry,” she said. “There is definitely value in having a partner who lives in our world and understands what we do every day. I don’t want a partner who simply helps us after something goes wrong. I want someone who can help us see around the corner and hopefully prevent it in the first place.”
That distinction is central to how Players Health frames its role with operators like BFIT.
“Our partnership with BFIT is unique because Jenny and the entire BFIT team are incredibly hands-on and genuinely committed to creating a safe environment for their members and employees,” said Jayson Scott, the VP of business development at Players Health. “They’re not simply looking for an insurance provider — they want a true risk management partner who understands their business, challenges them when appropriate, and works alongside them to identify and address potential exposures.”
Scott said that positioning is deliberate.
“Players Health supports health clubs by combining specialized insurance expertise with proactive risk management resources built specifically for the fitness industry,” he said. “We work directly with operators like BFIT to identify potential exposures, improve safety practices and provide tools and resources to help prevent incidents before they occur. Our goal is to be an extension of the club’s team.”
At BFIT, that approach has already changed how the team evaluates its own facilities.
“They have already helped us look at risk management differently,” said Chumbler. “During their facility visits, they looked closely at our fitness equipment and operation and made recommendations we had never received from previous providers. The onboarding process also pushed me to take a deeper dive into areas such as staff training and education that can help prevent issues before they happen.”
That shift, she said, reflects what she wants most from risk management.
“I’d much rather have someone helping us reduce the chances of it happening in the first place,” said Chumbler. “That benefits BFIT, but more importantly, it helps us create a safer environment for our members and team.”
Chumbler also pointed to communication as a clear indicator of how the partnership functions day to day, saying how responses are quick and not transactional.
“When we reach out, we don’t feel like we’re just another policy number or the next email in someone’s inbox,” she said. “They make us feel like what matters to BFIT matters to them, too.”
Scott said that level of engagement reflects a broader shift in the industry.
“Health clubs continue to face increasing challenges around member safety, employee practices, liability exposures, claims frequency and the rising cost and complexity of insurance,” he said. “Jenny and her team are willing to be proactive, ask questions, implement recommendations and use risk management resources to continually improve.”
Chumbler is careful not to overstate a relationship that’s still in its early stages. But she believes there’s a lesson in it for other multi-location operators evaluating their own insurance providers.
“I would tell them to look beyond simply comparing insurance coverage and premiums,” said Chumbler. “Ask yourself what kind of partner you want when you actually need them. What I’ve seen so far gives me a lot of confidence that we chose a partner who wants to help us become a better, safer operation not simply sell us insurance.”
For fitness operators navigating rising liability exposure and complex insurance markets, BFIT’s experiences shows the value of a risk management partner is measured less by how it responds after a claim and more by how it actively works to prevent one.
