Insurance for Dog Grooming Businesses

Do Dog Groomers Need Insurance? 

Running a dog grooming business can be a rewarding career, from interacting with lovable pets all day, to having flexible hours, to the relationships you build with pet owners. Like with any small business, a dog grooming business comes with risks. As someone who works with animals, you know that even well-trained dogs can be unpredictable under certain circumstances. You could have all the proper equipment and safety training, and a dog could still become injured at your business. If you have a mobile grooming business, you could accidentally damage a client’s property while on site.

Reviewing your business insurance policies to understand what coverages you have is an important part owning a dog grooming business.

Insurance Pricing and Quotes for Dog Groomers 

How much your dog grooming business pays for insurance depends on a variety of factors. Some of these include what policies you choose, where your business is located, how many pets you see per day, what services you provide, and how many employees you have. To get a picture of what it could cost to insure your grooming business, you can request a quote from us. We work with many different insurance carriers, from local companies based out of New England to nationally recognized names. If you prefer to call someone to start the quoting process, you can find a list of phone numbers to all of our offices here. With offices in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, and Florida, finding a local agent may be easier than you think.

What Insurance Should a Dog Groomer Consider? 

When it comes to common coverages for businesses, including dog groomers, general liability insurance is one frequently considered, because it typically covers a variety of common risks. General liability insurance typically covers things like customer injuries resulting from accidents that happen at your place of business, copyright infringement, and sometimes product liability. Because your grooming business requires you to see pets and their owners face-to-face, there is an ongoing risk that someone could be harmed on your property. If you advertise your grooming business, a general liability policy can help protect you if you accidentally infringe on a copyright. Another common coverage for any business is workers’ compensation. If your dog grooming business has employees, you may be required to have workers’ compensation.    

Commercial Auto Insurance for Dog Groomers 

Does your dog grooming business provide mobile grooming services? If so, you likely will need a commercial auto policy. Generally, commercial auto policies have higher coverage limits than personal policies. Typically, commercial auto insurance provides coverage if your company vehicles are damaged from collisions or vandalism, or if you are at fault for an accident that results in personal injury or property damage to a third party.  

Animal Bailee Coverage 

As a dog groomer, you are constantly being trusted with other people’s pets. For this reason, animal bailee coverage should be on your radar for insurance policies to consider. Sometimes called animal floater coverage, animal bailee coverage typically provides financial protection if an animal in your care or control is lost, injured, or passes away.

Commercial Property Insurance  

If a fire were to damage your grooming salon, could you replace your equipment, grooming tables, bathing tubs, and kennels all out of your pocket? Generally, commercial property insurance covers losses caused by fires, hail, and even acts of vandalism.

Employment Practices Liability 

If your dog grooming business has employees, you may consider an employment practices liability policy. Typically, employment practices liability insurance, sometimes shortened to EPLI, covers legal fees resulting from lawsuits by current or former employees who believe your business discriminated against them or treated them wrongly.

BOP for Pet Groomers

A BOP, or business owner’s policy, typically bundles two common coverages for pet businesses together- commercial property insurance, and general liability insurance. As an upside, a business owner’s policy may be more cost effective than purchasing these coverages separately.

Other Coverages for Dog Groomers

Please reach out to us if you would like to discuss any of the potential types of coverage mentioned above, or if you would like to discuss whether your dog grooming business ought to consider any other type of insurance product.

Safety Tips for Pet Groomers

There are a few things that you can do to help keep yourself, your employees, and your clients safe while they visit your grooming salon. Here are a few ideas to consider:

• • Train your staff on how to recognize behavior changes in dogs and react appropriately
  • Establish procedures for how dogs should be checked in at your business (example: only in kennels, with leash and well-fitting collar, etc.)
  • Grooming staff should wear appropriate clothing including bite-proof gloves, long pants, etc.  
  • Supervise dogs in your care at all times
  • Clean liquid spills when they happen, and train staff to wear non-slip shoes
  • Evaluate all electronic equipment (dryers, clippers, etc.) for wear and tear and inspect outlets
  • Ensure your grooming salon has the appropriate amount of smoke alarms and fire extinguishers

• Read more dog grooming safety tips here.

The Bottom Line 

Whether you are thinking about opening a dog grooming business, or have been operating one for years, having appropriate insurance coverage for your business is an important step of your business strategy. A general liability policy is a common coverage for most businesses, but pet groomers should also consider animal bailee coverage, commercial auto, employment practices liability, and potentially other coverages. Reviewing your current policies or quotes with a local insurance agent is a smart way to see what your costs will be to insure your dog grooming business.

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This article is for general informational purposes only and is not to be relied upon or used for any particular purpose. Cross Insurance shall not be held responsible in any way for, and specifically disclaims any liability arising out of or in any way connected to, reliance on or use of any of the information contained in this article. The information contained or referenced in this article is not intended to constitute and should not be considered legal, insurance, accounting or other professional advice, nor shall it serve as a substitute for the recipient obtaining such advice. The views expressed in this article are that of its author and do not necessarily represent the views of Cross Financial Corp. and its subsidiaries and affiliates (“Cross Insurance”) or Cross Insurance’s management or shareholders.