Yoga Alliance is an organization in the United States that sells membership and insurance to yoga teachers, schools, and studios. The association appears to exist to provide a registry of instructors and schools who pay their fees.
As yoga grew into a mainstream form of exercise, rising steadily in popularity since the 1980s, countless studios and teachers emerged. The Yoga Alliance was formed in 1999, in an attempt to govern yoga teachers and studios, although an official organization for accreditation still has not been established.
Occurrence Form Policy
Stolen Equipment Coverage: $1,000 (*$250 deductible)
Identity Protection Coverage: $25,000
Free Website: To promote your classes
Student Coverage: $25 for the first year
ONE FLAT RATE
Yoga Full-Time Professional Policy
$179/per year
$327.95/Two years (Save $30)
Yoga Alliance
Claims Made Policy
Stolen Equipment Coverage: None
Identity Protection Coverage: None
Free Website: No website available
Student Coverage: No student policy available
EXTRA FEES
Yoga Full-Time Professional Policy
Membership Fee: $50
Policy Premium: $146
$196/per year
Becoming a Yoga Teacher
Yoga Alliance provides students with an online directory of registered yoga teachers and schools that have paid their membership fees. Yoga teachers who want to be registered with Yoga Alliance have to meet a few requirements under certain categories before doing so.
For example, in the 200-hour category, teachers who want to be registered must complete the hours needed in several training courses, which include yoga philosophy and teaching methodology, among many others. Once they are registered, they can include Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) to their name.
These schools and courses often cost more than a traditional yoga 200-hour teacher training as the courses must pay Yoga Alliance for the rights to use “RYT,” but may not necessarily add any benefit to the student.
Importantly, Yoga Alliance does not certify teachers and schools - the Yoga Alliance registers them. There is a big difference between the two. Certification is a more formal process of the declaration of a particular individual’s professional competence and is most often a requirement for practice. When you become registered with Yoga Alliance, it just means that you meet their standards for teaching yoga and pay their fees.
A review of online forums suggests that some within the yoga community have raised questions regarding the value of becoming a registered yoga teacher or school with the Yoga Alliance.
Yoga Liability Insurance
In addition, Yoga Alliance offers a yoga liability insurance program as of 2013. Their annual rates are $233 or $183, which include an $80 or $53 membership fee, respectively. They provide claims made coverage, not the industry-preferred occurrence form coverage, which is an important distinction for yoga teachers to note.
NACAMS Insurance Plus
The National Association of Complementary and Alternative Medicines (NACAMS) is a national association that serves health, wellness, and beauty professionals by offering comprehensive liability insurance and practice support. NACAMS does not claim to certify or register yoga teachers or schools. Instead, we offer the industry preferred and more affordable yoga teacher insurance as well as other health and wellness disciplines at no additional cost.
Our dedication to the industry stems from our long-standing view that these professionals are true leaders in health and wellness. We developed a fully comprehensive liability insurance program, tailored specifically to their needs, in order to serve the larger wellness industry and its vital role in human health.
NACAMS is also a proud supporter of the Massage Therapy Foundation–a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the advancement of professional massage therapists and the massage industry; the Yoga Health Foundation–founders of National Yoga Month September and proponents of yoga for health and wellness worldwide; and Trees for the Future–a non-profit supporting sustainable, eco-friendly practices in communities around the globe.
While providing the best value to the practicing health, wellness, and beauty professional, NACAMS’ affordable liability insurance package is also the most comprehensive in the industry.
This is why NACAMS includes product coverage, rental damage insurance, and stolen equipment insurance with our general and professional liability coverage. These cover any claims made against products you recommend to your students, damage to rental equipment, and theft of your business equipment.
Comprehensive yoga liability insurance covers you in all the ways a yoga teacher (or teacher trainee) could possibly need to be covered.
Compare NACAMS and Yoga Alliance Insurance
NACAMS yoga professional insurance includes:
- Professional liability coverage: $2 million per occurrence, $3 million per year
- General liability coverage: $2 million per occurrence, $3 million per year
- Product liability: $2 million per occurrence, per year
- Rental damage insurance: $100,000
- Identity protection plan: $25,000
- Stolen equipment coverage: up to $1,000 with a $250 deductible
- PLUS a free professional website
While providing the best value to the practicing health, wellness, and beauty professional, NACAMS’ affordable yoga liability insurance package is also the most comprehensive in the industry.
Call (844) 896-4847 to find out more about our comprehensive yoga insurance program or to get a free quote. We also have 2-minute insurance application you can fill out to receive instant coverage.
At NACAMS, we use occurrence form coverage, which is the preferred form of coverage available in the industry today. We also offer instant proof of insurance at checkout, so you don’t have to wait on such an important document in order to practice.
We provide student rates for yoga liability insurance–a great, low rate of only $25 per year.
