Express Quotes For Express Clubs

Express Quotes For Express Clubs

Which is the swiftest growing sector of the health club industry today?

Those small express-workout centers with less than 3,000 square feet and about 350 members account for more than 10,000 of the nearly 27,000 facilities in the country today, according to the International Health Racquet & Sportsclub Association in Boston. They also represent a majority of the clubs opened in the past 12 months.

“The development of small fitness centers focused on circuit training represents a tremendously positive phenomena for the industry, because these centers have demonstrated a clear ability to introduce fitness to people who might not normally join a large, traditional gym,” said IHRSA Executive Director John McCarthy.

Mark Beck, vice president of the Fort Wayne, Indiana-based K&K Insurance Services, said niche clubs are usually adult-membership driven and focused primarily on one-to-one training. Specialty clubs can be devoted to yoga, Pilates or weight lifting.

“Niche clubs allow for serious workouts for the busy club member,” Mr. Beck said. Members of these clubs “can focus solely on the activities they are interested in without waiting for equipment or classes” as they would with a full family fitness center, he said.

And not surprisingly, underwriting these facilities is also a simplified process. “Insurance provisions are streamlined for this type of club and are quicker to quote, versus a full menu family fitness facilities,” Mr. Beck said.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, March 17, 2005. Copyright 2005 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.