An honest breakdown of the providers BJJ gym owners actually shop, including the one we built. Real pricing, real coverage, and what to watch out for.
Insurance that gets jiu jitsu. Most BJJ gyms pay $1,100 to $1,600 a year with Gym Insurance by PushPress, with rolling, sparring, submissions, open mat, and kids' classes written into the coverage from the start, not buried in an endorsement and not hidden behind a "fitness training" workaround. Both general liability and professional liability are included as standard, and professional liability is the coverage that matters most when a student claims your instruction caused an injury.
Jiu jitsu gym owners know the pattern: you call an insurer, describe your classes, and the moment you say sparring, rolling, or submissions, the quote doubles or they stop calling back. Generic carriers don't know what to do with grappling, so they decline you or quietly exclude the contact piece. Brokers acknowledge the category, but they can usually only place you with specialty insurers, which run higher and carry higher minimum limits than a grappling gym needs. Honest pricing, with what you actually do on the mats written into the policy, is the third option. That's the gap we built to close.
Quick disclosure before you read on: one of the providers below is us. We've kept the comparison as honest as we know how, and you can decide for yourself.
We're gym owners. We've built the software thousands of jiu jitsu academies, MMA gyms, and combat sports facilities use to run their operations, and we heard the same insurance complaints over and over: rolling and sparring quietly excluded, kids' programs left out, brokers who couldn't explain what they were selling. We wanted insurance that priced a grappling academy like a grappling academy, not like a maximum-risk specialty case and not like a generic fitness business. Nobody was selling that, so we built it.
20+ years in fitness. Data from thousands of gyms. No broker fees. A-rated carriers (Everspan, Starr Indemnity). Reinsured by global names you'd recognize. Rolling, sparring, submissions, open mat, and kids' classes all written into the standard policy.
This comparison is based on what we've actually seen working with thousands of gyms, not desk research.
| Provider | Best for | Typical annual cost* | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gym Insurance by PushPress Best overall | Most BJJ gyms: gi, no-gi, open mat, kids | $1,100 to $1,600 | Not built for one-day, event-only tournament coverage. |
| Jiu Jitsu Insurance | BJJ academies that want a grappling-only broker | $1,800 to $3,200 | A broker, not a carrier. The advertised 'under $25/mo' is athlete accident coverage, not gym liability. |
| AGuard | Gyms with medical-grade amenities (cryotherapy, IV therapy, PT) | $1,800 to $3,000 | Broker fees on top of premium. Property coverage not bundled. |
| Nexo Insurance | Gyms that want an insurer with fitness-industry experience | $1,800 to $2,800 | Higher pricing and added fees, and coverage isn't built around your specific gym. |
| K&K Insurance | One-day tournament and event coverage | $2,800 to $4,300 | Phone and email only, no online quoting. Excludes boxing and wrestling. |
| The Hartford | Building owners who want a name-brand commercial carrier | $3,000 to $5,000 | Often excludes grappling and recovery amenities like saunas and cold plunge. Generic commercial coverage. |
*Prices accurate as of June 2026. Coverage and pricing can change. Verify directly with the provider before making a decision.
Most gym insurance was written for fitness studios, not grappling academies. A general policy might cover a slip in the lobby but quietly exclude the rolling, sparring, and submissions that are the whole point of your gym. The moment you describe what actually happens on the mats, a generic carrier either declines you or buries the exclusion where you won't read it.
Why it's different. Our policies are built around how a jiu jitsu academy actually runs: gi and no-gi classes, open mat, competition training, and kids' programs are written into the coverage from the start, not relabeled as "fitness training" to get past underwriting. Professional liability is included on every policy, which matters most in a sport where a student can claim your instruction caused an injury. Property coverage for your mats and build-out is a click away.
The 'what's the catch?' answer. There isn't one. No broker in the middle, no commission baked into the premium. You can get a quote in under 5 minutes, and the policy stays with the business as you add classes, move locations, or grow a competition team.
Not ideal if you only need a single-day tournament or event policy. K&K Insurance is built for that, and is worth a call alongside us.
Jiu Jitsu Insurance is a brokerage built almost entirely around the grappling market. It is the most visible name when you search for jiu jitsu coverage, and it covers gyms, athletes, and events across jiu jitsu, MMA, and catch wrestling. If you want a broker who lives in this niche, they understand the sport.
Read the two products carefully. Their widely advertised "under $25 per month" is an athlete accident plan: a month-to-month subscription that helps a practitioner with injury costs. It is not gym liability coverage. Your gym's general and professional liability is a separate, broker-placed policy, typically in the range of $1,800 to $3,200 a year, so don't confuse the cheap athlete plan with your actual gym premium.
The structural issue. As a broker, they place your policy with an outside carrier and add their fee on top. They don't control what the underlying carrier excludes. For a single discipline that's manageable; if you also run striking or other programs, confirm those are covered by the placed policy.
The honest take. Good niche knowledge and a strong fit if you want a grappling specialist to shop on your behalf. Just separate the athlete plan from your gym liability premium before you compare, and get the gym coverage and exclusions in writing.
Not ideal if you want a direct policy without a broker fee in the middle.
AGuard (formerly Affiliate Guard) is a broker that can accommodate gyms that have layered in services like cryotherapy, IV therapy, or physical therapy alongside their jiu jitsu programming. Those unusual combinations are where they earn their place on the list.
The structural issue. Policies are sold through brokers, which means extra fees are layered on top of your premium and you don't control what the underlying carrier writes. Business personal property coverage is typically not included, so your mats, gear, and build-out aren't protected under the base policy. Medical expense limits also vary by carrier, so verify before you sign.
The honest take. If your gym genuinely runs medical-grade amenities and you've already got a broker relationship, AGuard can work. For a standard jiu jitsu academy without the medical add-ons, you're paying for a brokerage layer you don't need.
Not ideal if you want property coverage bundled in, or you want to avoid brokerage fees.
Nexo places liability coverage for martial arts and grappling gyms and has genuine fitness-industry experience, which is more than most generic brokers can say. For a jiu jitsu gym, that familiarity is the main draw.
The trade-off. Nexo essentially acts as a broker, placing your policy with an outside carrier and adding their fees on top. Pricing runs higher than going direct, roughly $1,800 to $2,800 a year, and the coverage is more standardized than a policy built around your specific gym. You're paying for industry familiarity, not for coverage shaped around how a grappling academy actually trains.
Not ideal if you want the lowest honest price, or coverage designed around jiu jitsu rather than an off-the-shelf placement.
K&K is one of the largest specialty managers for sports and event coverage. For a one-day tournament, a multi-day competition, or a standalone event policy, they're often the right call.
The structural issue. Their martial arts coverage excludes boxing and wrestling, which rules out a lot of the operators who think K&K is their answer. The buying experience is also entirely offline: no online quoting, no self-service, everything by phone or email, and response times run slower than digital-first providers.
The honest take. K&K's value is at the event layer. For your gym's annual tournament or an in-house competition, they have the right product. For your day-to-day jiu jitsu coverage, you'll be reading more exclusion language than coverage language.
Not ideal if you want a fast online experience, or a primary policy for daily training.
The Hartford is a large, recognizable commercial carrier with deep pockets, commercial property coverage, and umbrella options. If you own your gym building and want a brand name on the policy, they're a credible option.
The structural issue. The Hartford's policies are general commercial products sold through agents who rarely know the grappling world, so expect to do some educating. Standard coverage often excludes the contact and grappling activities that define a jiu jitsu gym, and it tends to leave out recovery amenities like saunas and cold plunge that more gyms are adding. It fits a building-owning operator who needs commercial property coverage better than it fits a working academy.
The honest take. The Hartford can make sense if you own your space and want commercial property or umbrella coverage from a recognizable name. For a grappling academy where rolling and sparring are the point, the exclusions are where you'll get burned.
Not ideal if you rent your space and run a standard gi and no-gi jiu jitsu program.
Covers you if a member or visitor is injured at your gym and sues. Slip-and-falls, mat injuries, equipment accidents, property damage to a member's belongings. This is the baseline, and every policy includes it. Check the per-occurrence and aggregate limits.
Learn more →Covers you if a student claims your coaching or technique instruction caused their injury, like a sweep or submission taught incorrectly. This is the coverage generic policies most often leave out, and for a jiu jitsu gym where instruction is the product, it is not optional.
Learn more →Covers your mats, training dummies, gear, mirrors, and build-out. A fire, a burst pipe, or theft gets paid out so you can reopen. Replacement cost vs. actual cash value matters here, so ask for replacement cost.
Learn more →How each provider stacks up on what's actually in the policy. The at-a-glance table above is the headline. This is the fine print.
| Attribute | Gym Insurance by PushPress | Jiu Jitsu Insurance | AGuard | Nexo Insurance | K&K Insurance | The Hartford |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General liability | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Professional liability | ✓ | Through broker | Through broker | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on |
| Rolling & sparring covered | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Limited | Often excluded |
| Kids' classes covered | ✓ | Varies | Varies | Varies | Limited | Varies |
| Business personal property | Replacement cost | Add-on | Not included | Add-on | Varies | ✓ if owner |
| Pricing model | Flat rate | Broker quote + fee | Quote-based + broker fee | Quote-based | Per-event + broker fee | Quote-based |
| Online quoting | Under 5 minutes | Through broker | Through broker | Through agent | Phone / email only | Through broker |
| Instant COI | ✓ | Varies | 1-3 business days | Varies | Event-specific | Varies |
| Carrier financial strength | A-rated | Varies by placement | Varies by placement | Varies by placement | Varies by placement | A-rated |
Most jiu jitsu gym owners pay between $1,100 and $1,600 a year, about $114 a month, with Gym Insurance by PushPress. Brokers and generic commercial carriers commonly run higher, often $1,800 to $3,000 or more, because a broker fee gets added on top or the policy is priced as a generic fitness business. The difference comes down to whether the insurer prices a grappling academy like a grappling academy. See how gym insurance pricing works →
It should, but many generic policies don't. Commercial fitness policies often exclude contact activity or participant-on-participant contact, which is the core of how a jiu jitsu gym trains. Gym Insurance by PushPress covers rolling, sparring, submissions, and open mat as training, without requiring you to call it "fitness training" on the application. Competition matches and tournaments with an intended winner and loser are a separate question, so always confirm what's training versus competition before you buy.
Yes. General liability covers injuries at your facility, like a student slipping in the locker room or tripping off the mat. Professional liability covers a claim that your instruction caused harm, like a student saying you taught a sweep or a submission incorrectly and they got hurt. For a jiu jitsu gym, where coaching technique is the product, professional liability is the coverage that matters most, and it's the one generic policies most often leave out. Gym Insurance by PushPress includes it on every policy.
There's a line worth understanding. Day-to-day training, including competition training and rolling, is covered under your standard policy with Gym Insurance by PushPress. Hosting a tournament or a formal competition with an intended winner and loser is a different risk, and that's where a dedicated one-day event policy comes in. K&K Insurance specializes in that kind of event coverage. If you host or run competitions, plan for an event policy on top of your year-round gym coverage.
They should be, as long as the program is disclosed when you buy the policy. With Gym Insurance by PushPress, kids' jiu jitsu classes are covered under the standard policy from age 2 and up, including the rolling and grappling instruction that comes with them. Some carriers treat youth programs as a separate endorsement or exclude minors entirely, so confirm in writing that kids' classes are included before you assume they are. Abuse and molestation coverage is worth asking about specifically when minors train at your gym.
They help, but they don't replace insurance. Courts regularly look past waivers, especially for cases involving minors, negligence, or poorly written waiver language. A waiver sets expectations and can limit some claims; insurance pays for your legal defense, covers medical costs, and satisfies your landlord's requirements. For a jiu jitsu gym you want both, because a signed waiver won't stop a determined claim and won't pay your defense bill.
Most commercial landlords require $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate in general liability coverage, plus the right to be named as an additional insured. Many also ask for 30-day notice of cancellation language on the certificate of insurance. Gym Insurance by PushPress offers $1M/$3M as standard, which exceeds what most leases ask for. If your lease requires higher limits than that, get in touch and we can talk through your options. You can download your certificate of insurance the moment your policy is active.
Yes. Adding a landlord, franchise (like CrossFit, LLC), charter school, SBA lender, or any other interested party as an additional insured is standard on every Gym Insurance by PushPress policy. No extra fee. The endorsement and the updated certificate of insurance issue instantly through your policy dashboard, so you don't have to wait for a broker to process the request.
For most jiu jitsu gyms, running gi and no-gi classes, open mat, kids' programs, and a competition team, Gym Insurance by PushPress is the best combination of coverage, price, and simplicity. Policies are built for grappling from the ground up, include professional liability as standard, and adjust as your gym grows.
If you're hosting a tournament or a one-day competition, K&K is worth a call alongside us for event coverage. For your gym's day-to-day policy, the choice is straightforward.
Don't let high costs or inadequate coverage hold your gym back. Protect your business and your students with insurance built for you.