How To Get Bonded And Insured For Dog Walking
Not all insurance companies offer dog walking policies, but more are entering the arena as professional dog walking continues to grow. The best way to find reliable insurance coverage is to do your research.
We recommend Pet Care Insurance via Veracity Insurance Solutions and Lloyds of London. You can also ask fellow dog walkers what they use and consult with a local insurance professional.
In addition to dog walking business insurance, you need to look into bonding requirements in your area. Many companies that offer dog walking or pet sitting insurance also provide bonding.
First, what is bonding? In general terms, bonding is a type of insurance that protects your customers against any losses caused by the contractor (the walker). Specifically, being bonded as a dog walker provides your clients compensation in the event of theft or property damage.
Bonding requirements vary by state. Some states require bonding before you can even register your business or purchase insurance. Even if it’s optional in your state, you should still get bonded. Why?
Purchasing a pet sitting bond is an excellent business practice. Being bonded helps assure potential clients that you’re trustworthy and you won’t abuse your access to their home or the well-being of a family member.
TIP: If you have employees, you should obtain a fidelity bond to protect you as a business owner. This type of bond covers you against any losses resulting from dishonest acts by your dog walking staff.
What Does Dog Walking Business Insurance Cover?
All dog walking policies include general dog walking liability insurance, which helps you with the cost of legal claims against you from injuries or damages sustained by a third party during your business operations. Features of this coverage can include the following.
A common feature of general liability insurance, medical coverage reimburses your costs for medical bills associated with people sustaining injuries by a dog in your care.
Products/Completed Operations covers your liability for property damage or injuries to a third party once you cease your contracted operations.
Many dog walking insurance policies include personal and advertising injury clauses, which are common for many business insurance policies. This coverage includes claims arising from one or more of the following situations:
Animal Bailee Coverage provides coverage due to the loss or destruction of animals in your care, custody and control. This is important if you’re concerned that the dog owners you are working for will hold you liable for any injury to their pet while you are walking it.
Veterinarian expense reimbursement coverage protects you for vet expenses — regardless of who’s at fault — for your client’s pet while in your custody up to the policy limit. If your client has pet health insurance, you may not need this feature.
If you lose your clients’ keys, you’re covered for the cost to replace or re-adjust the locks at your customer’s home.
How Much Does Dog Walkers Insurance Cost?
The basic dog walkers insurance policy cost $139/year. However, there are optional coverages that you can add to your policy for an additional premium. For example, you can add PCI’s employee dishonesty coverage, which is a coverage that operates similar to bonding.
Insurance for Pet Sitting Businesses
You’re headed out of town last-minute and forgot to book service for your dog. You call the neighbor kid down the street. It’s only for a couple days. No big deal, right? Unfortunately, a number of things can go wrong (and do!) when someone else is taking care of your pet:
Will you be held responsible? If you hire a pet sitter or dog walker without insurance, you may ultimately, be on the hook.
Pet owners have a lot of choice when it comes to the care of their pets. Twelve years ago when we started Peak City Puppy, there were only a handful of dog walking companies in Apex, Cary and Raleigh and most of them were one-person operations. The internet, social media and platforms like Nextdoor, Care.com or Rover enable many Triangle residents to simply post “Pet Sitter Needed” and get barraged with replies. The convenience and price of individual providers is understandably alluring. But, what if something goes wrong?
Whether you’re headed out of town or just into work for the day, you want peace of mind that your dog and your home are safe and secure. Hiring a professional dog walker or pet sitter offers a greater chance of avoiding accidents altogether. But even when accidents happen, you want the issue resolved without having to file a claim against your own homeowner’s insurance or worse, be held liable. Here are some actual claims published recently by the company we use for General Liability, Bonding and Workers’ Compensation coverage: Business Insurers of the Carolinas:
At a minimum, the pet sitter or dog walker you hire must carry a General Liability Policy to cover a lot of the unexpected accidents that are common when caring for both your pet and your home. We also highly recommend that you seek someone with a Workers’ Compensation policy as dog walking is sometimes dangerous or accident-prone work. Innocent large-breed dogs can pull a dog walker to the pavement. Even the smallest dogs can do damage from fear-biting. Slippery front steps during the icy winter months are another potential hazard. Here are the policies we maintain and recommend at a minimum:
If you ask, many independent dog walkers or pet sitters will not have any of the above mentioned policies. They are costly and often, out of range of a one-person operation. You’ll want to read closely, the level of coverage provided by referral or match-making sites that simply pair you with someone who filled out an on-line profile. The pet sitting and dog walking industry has grown exponentially in the past ten years and while competition may drive prices down, be careful to consider your total costs, including any risks.
Since 2008, Peak City Puppy has offered residents in Apex, Cary, Morrisville, Holly Springs and Raleigh reliable and trustworthy Pet Sitting and Dog Walking services. We’ve had insurance policies in effect since the beginning, as every professional service should. Feel free to give us a call, text or email at PeakCityPuppy.com to find out ways we can help you and your family enjoy your time away from home without unnecessary stress.
Lesley White is Founder of Peak City Puppy, a company she built with her own four-legged family in mind.