General liability insurance for pet care businesses

Dog walkers, pet sitters, and other pet care professionals deal with twice the liability of other businesses: accidents involving both customers and their pets. Because of this increased risk, pet care businesses often purchase general liability insurance as their first policy. It protects against some of the most common liability issues in your field.

This policy provides coverage related to:

• Customer and pet injuries
• Customer property damage
• Advertising injuries

If you run a small pet care business, such as a dog walking business, you may be able to bundle general liability insurance with commercial property insurance in a business owner’s policy. A BOP is usually cheaper than purchasing each policy separately. Pet care businesses that are eligible for BOPs typically:

• Have fewer than 100 employees
• Have a small office or workplace
• Make less than $1 million in annual revenue
• Operate in a low-risk industry
• Need less than 12 months of business interruption insurance

Talk to a licensed Insureon agent to find out if a BOP fits your pet care business.

If a pet owner, pet, or delivery person is hurt at your place of business, there’s a chance you could be blamed for the injury. If someone sues over a dog bite, you could end up paying for medical expenses – plus the cost of hiring a lawyer. The same is true for pets that are injured outside of your business. For instance, if you’re pet sitting at a client’s home, and you drop their pup and it breaks a leg, you may have to pay for a trip to the vet.

General liability insurance covers:

• Medical bills
• Attorney’s fees
• Court-ordered judgments
• Funeral expenses in fatal incidents

This policy does not cover employee injuries. For that, you’ll need workers’ compensation insurance.

In the pet care industry, accidents happen all the time. General liability insurance shields your small business when customer property is damaged. If a pet sitter accidentally breaks a valuable bowl in a customer's home, general liability insurance could pay for the cost of replacing it. If an employee causes more expensive damage and the customer sues, general liability could pay for attorney’s fees or a court-ordered judgment.

While advertising your company and its services, it’s possible to inadvertently copy a competitor’s slogan or logo. Or, one of your employees might say something negative about a competitor in a public forum. Accidental advertising injuries are covered by general liability insurance, including:

• Defamation, both libel (written) and slander (spoken)
• Copyright infringement

If you use advertising or promotional materials to attract clients to your animal hospital or pet boarding business, you’ll want to make sure your insurance includes this protection.

While general liability insurance covers many common risks, it does not protect against every type of accident. Employee injuries or damage to business property can occur at any small business. Other pet care insurance policies to consider include:

Business owner’s policy: This policy combines general liability insurance with commercial property insurance, usually at a lower rate than if the policies were purchased separately.

Workers’ compensation insurance: Required in almost every state for pet care businesses that have employees, workers’ comp can cover medical costs for work-related injuries and illnesses.

Errors and omissions insurance: Also called professional liability insurance, this policy can cover legal fees of lawsuits related to your work performance.

Are you ready to safeguard your pet care business with general liability insurance or another policy? Complete Insureon’s easy online application today. Once you find the right policy, you can begin coverage in less than 24 hours.