Pet Care Worker Insurance
The demand for pet sitters has never changed throughout the years. Many pet owners still choose to have professional pet sitters to look after their beloved furs when they are away. Pet Care Insurance is a great choice to have if you are going to start a pet care business. Unlike before, many pet-sitting owners are now more aware of the needs and essential things they must have to ensure their investment. Hence, knowing the pet care worker insurance guide is essential before starting the business. Here is a guide to professional pet care insurance that can help you fully understand all you need to know.
What is BOP?
A Business Owner’s Policy or BOP combines business liability and property under one business insurance policy. A BOP protects your business from claims due to covered perils.
What Does Pet Care Professional Insurance Cover?
Generally, a pet care insurance policy covers areas other business insurance covers. This coverage usually includes:
- Pet Care Liability Insurance – This protection covers you if proven that you are at fault for any property damage or any injury to the pet while in your custody.
- Pet transportation insurance – This coverage is also known as Pet Taxi Insurance. This covers you while the pet is in the car or transport.
- Control, custody, and care of pet insurance – This coverage protects you if accidents happen while the pet is under your care. The limits may range from $10,000 to $20,000 for each covered incident.
General Coverage
Most Traveler BOP already includes some policies to ensure your business needs. These coverages are:
- Pet Grooming Liability Coverage covers pet daycare, overnight pet boarding services, and pet grooming. This covers injury if your business fails to care for a pet properly.
- Boarding Kennel Liability Coverage – Boarding kennel endorsement for pet daycare and overnight boarding services that cover injuries of domesticated animals like dogs and cats etc.
Employee Dishonesty
Most BOPs have basic coverage for Employee Dishonesty. This applies if one of your employees did something not included in their work that caused dishonesty. Moreover, you might want to add a Traveler’s Theft of Client’s Property Coverage Endorsement that can cover damages or loss to property on your client’s house caused by your employee.
What is Business Income and Extra Expenses or BIEE
Business Income and Extra Expense or BIEE is a coverage that can help you and your business if ever your business needs to close temporarily due to a natural disaster or fire. Traveler’s BOP can cover the loss of revenue caused by these perils and help your business get back when you are ready to open the business again.
How Much Does Pet Care Worker Insurance Cost?
The average cost of a standard General Liability Insurance policy for a small business for a pet care worker like you ranges from $28 to $40 per month.
These are the factors that will affect the amount of your pet care business insurance:
- Pet care services your business offered
- Pieces of equipment your business has
- The property itself
- Your Business’ Revenue
- Location
- Number of your employees
What are General Liability and Professional Liability Insurance?
Usually, insurers offer annual payments for general liability insurance with monthly premium payments. Also, there are other options that you can ask your insurance provider, like adding Professional Liability Insurance and General Liability Insurance to your policy. These two can help protect your business against financial losses if you cannot properly care for your client’s beloved pets.
General Liability Insurance
This policy is for work-related accidents that cause third-party bodily injury, property damage, and non-employee damage. Moreover, it covers advertising injury to third parties like competitors.
Professional Liability Insurance
It provides coverage if your professional advice results in your client’s financial loss. We all know that your clients see your business as professionals in the pet care field. That is why they entrusted you with their pets’ lives. Hence, anything you advise or recommend is essential and can affect them or their pet somehow.
Having these two together in your policy can make your business more secure from many kinds of claims that may occur in your business.
Who Needs Pet Care Professional Insurance?
Businesses that have something to do with the care or medical treatment of domesticated animals as pets or selling products related to pets, such as:
- First, Pet Grooming
- Second, pet sitters
- Third, pet Stores
- Fourth, overnight Boarding of Pets
- Fifth, pet Daycares
- Sixth, veterinarian Services
- Seventh, the pet Product Store
Why Does Your Pet Care Business Need Insurance?
Your pet care business needs insurance as protection. Like how your house and car need insurance for security, so does your pet care business. You can face liability and property risk anytime; only insurance can help you. Pet Care Professional Insurance can help guard your business investment against fire and disasters as well as:
Common Incidents
common incidents in pet care services are inevitable due to the nature of the business. Imagine a stranger taking care of a pet. This can be a playful dog or an aloof cat. Anything can happen, right?
That is why it is a common incident, like when an employee accidentally injures a dog while trimming its fur or cutting its nails.
Also, if an employee accidentally left the gate open and a dog ran out of the yard and injured its leg. Now, if the dog that runs out the fence accidentally bites another dog or damages someone’s property outside your business premises.
Indeed, that will be a bigger problem for you. These scenarios are pretty common in a pet care business. Some pet owners will just let it slide but not all, especially if the injury is quite severe. Your business might even face a lawsuit if worse comes to worst.
Theft
There are many types of theft. A stranger can go inside your pet store and steal something from it. Or one of the customers secretly slides one of your pet store products. Another one is when an employee went to a customer’s house to drop off the pet and stole something from the house. These theft incidents can happen; the best thing an owner can do is be prepared.
Examples Of Pet Care Insurance Claims
Anything can happen in your pet care business. That is why you must consider all the risks when looking for the perfect insurance coverage to fit your business’s needs. It’s always best to talk with your insurance agent about what you want to include in your policy. Working hand in hand with your insurer and knowing your policy is the first step to avoiding getting underinsured. Here are some of the examples of typical claims that your pet business might encounter:
- Stolen Pet- When a pet got stolen while in your care. This can happen in your pet care facility or while traveling while your staff gets the pet from its owner.
- Pet Injury- When a pet gets injured or becomes sick while in your custody.
- Veterinary Care- If the pet needs medical assistance from a vet while in your care, who will pay for the medical fees?
Types of BOP Coverage that you can add
You can add some types of BOP to your basic BOP to ensure your business needs are met.
Veterinarians Professional Protection – If you have a veterinarian in your pet care business, you might want this for your veterinarian’s protection. Again, anything can go wrong at any time. A wrong diagnosis or delayed medical help can be costly if the client takes some legal action. Adding this coverage to your BOP can secure your employees and your business.
Travelers Animal Floater Add-on – Added coverage for pets under your care can cover damage, injury, death, and theft. Also, it includes protection if the pet escapes while in your custody.
Commercial Auto Coverage – Travelers Commercial Auto Coverage protects the car or vehicle your business uses for overall business needs.
Employee Coverage or Workers’ Compensation Insurance – Most states require employers to provide insurance for their workers. The job of your employees needs physical work. Hence, consider adding Workers’ Compensation Insurance to your policy. We all know it is difficult to carry and tame animals, enormous breeds of dogs. Some work can require extreme physical endurance. Also, grooming the animals can sometimes injure your employees. That is why having this coverage is needed.
Having the right insurance before having a business such as Pet Care Professional Services is essential to secure your investment. You have so many options and policies that you can add or remove based on what your business needs for a pet care worker like yourself. Contact Us here at Advantage Insurance Solutions in Denver, CO. Toll-free. Talk to our team,, and we can discuss all you need to know.