Pet Business Insurance

What Is Pet Business Insurance?

Pet business insurance protects owners of pet-related businesses. It helps your business financially when you're facing liability claims for bodily injury or property damage related to your business activities. You can choose from various coverage options based on your specific pet business, the services you perform, and your business assets.

Why You Need Pet Care Business Insurance

When working with clients' pets, you care for members of their families. People treasure their pets and want the best for them. Working with animals inherently comes with unique risks to you, the animals, and the general public. Protecting yourself with pet business insurance is essential to keep your business running.

Animals can be unpredictable. A dog might flail during grooming, resulting in an injury to the animal. If you own a dog-walking business, an animal could break loose or bite another person or animal. As the business owner, you could be responsible for the costs associated with those situations, such as vet or medical bills.

If you perform your pet-related services at your clients' homes, you face potential liability situations. Say you break a belonging in a client's home while pet sitting or retrieving a dog to walk. You're responsible for paying to replace that item. If you have a team of employees, you could be held responsible if they steal an item from a client's home.

When you own a commercial property for your pet business, you also face potential liability issues there. A client who gets injured at your facility could come after you for their medical expenses. Examples include a client slipping and falling on a wet floor where you cleaned up an animal accident or an animal attacking a client in the waiting area.

You could also face legal action for those situations if you fail to keep animals and people safe. Any of those situations could cripple your business financially. It's often not easy to recover financially if you have to pay for major medical or legal expenses.

Who Needs Pet Business Insurance?

You need proper coverage if you operate any type of pet-related business, whether you own a physical location where clients come to you or you travel to your clients. Pet business insurance is available to individuals who offer services directly to clients and pet business owners who employ a team. Examples of pet-related businesses that typically need liability coverage include:

Pet sitters
Dog walkers
Mobile grooming companies
Pet care services
Pet boarding facilities
Pet stores
Pet daycares
Veterinarians

What Type of Coverage Do You Need?

It's important to have the proper insurance policies in place to provide full legal and financial protection to your pet business. Common options include:

General liability insurance: All pet care businesses need general liability insurance for claims of bodily injury and damage to property. This coverage pays for medical expenses and property damage of pet owners and others who interact with your business.
Commercial property insurance: If you own a brick-and-mortar pet business, you need commercial property insurance to cover damage to the property and equipment. You can combine this coverage with general liability in a business owner's policy.
Professional liability insurance. Some pet-related care providers, such as veterinarians, benefit from professional liability insurance. It covers you in cases of negligence, such as misdiagnosing an animal.
Pet-specific add-ons: You may need additional riders or endorsements based on the business you run. Examples include pet grooming liability, boarding kennel liability, and loss of income.
Commercial vehicle insurance: Pet businesses often have commercial vehicles used to deliver services. For example, a mobile grooming company might have a large vehicle used to house the grooming equipment. If you own a pet-sitting or pet-walking business, your employees may use a commercial vehicle. This type of policy covers your commercial vehicles.
Data breach coverage: If you keep digital records for your pet owners and their furry friends, you may want data breach coverage. It protects you from liability for a data breach that compromises your clients' information.

How Much Does Liability Insurance for Pet Business Cost?

Pet business insurance premiums vary depending on your specific business. The type of pet care services you provide have an impact, but it also depends on the coverage you need and your history. Some factors that weigh into the price include:

The type of pet business and the associated risks
The type of insurance coverage
The coverage amount
Exclusions in the policy
Deductible amounts
Your past claims history

With a customized quote, you can get a realistic idea of what you may spend in premiums for your pet care business insurance coverage.

Get a Quote With Tivly

Running a successful pet business requires a love of animals, but it also requires adequate financial protection in the case of accidental injuries, damage to property, and other unexpected situations. Pet care business insurance provides extra protection to ensure you can keep your doors open. Tivly helps you find the best partner for your pet care insurance policy. Chat with one of our experts by calling 877-907-5267 to get a quote.