If you own a dog daycare or pet boarding service, you want the animals in your care to have a tail-wagging good time. While you don’t want to consider the thought of an animal being harmed at your business, accidents can happen. A dog could slip on ice in your outdoor play area, or contract an infection from another dog staying with you. Dogs are also notorious for exploring areas not intended for them, and a dog could swallow a non-food item on your property. All of these incidents can lead to costly vet bills, and possible legal action from your clients. Your four-legged customers are not the only business risk. You also need to think about how you will protect your employees, as well as your property. Whether you own the property your pet daycare is on, lease the space, or it is connected to your home, you need proper insurance coverage for when accidents happen.
Starting the process to request a quote for your dog daycare or pet boarding service is as simple as filling out our form here. From there, we will put you in contact with one of our offices in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, or Florida where your local agent can collect more information about your business and what services you offer. At Cross Insurance, we work with a variety of different insurance carriers to give business owners like you options. Whether you are looking for a general liability policy, commercial property, or even cyber coverages, our experienced agents can search for policies.
As a business owner, how much you will pay for a policy to cover your dog daycare or pet boarding service will depend on a few different factors that include, but are not limited to:
Working with an insurance professional to obtain a custom quote for your business is one way to get picture of what your costs will be.
A common coverage for business owners is a general liability policy. This can protect your business if a customer or pet is injured at your business. Some examples of what a general liability insurance policy would typically cover are:
Animal bailee coverage, sometimes called animal floater coverage, can provide financial protection if an animal in your care or control is injured, lost, or passes away. For example, if a dog in your care jumped over one of your fences and became lost, animal bailee coverage could provide costs to advertise for the lost dog and potentially provide money for a reward.
If your pet daycare or boarding service is run by just yourself, you probably have not thought about workers’ compensation. Once your business begins to grow, if you hire employees, you may be required by law to have workers’ compensation insurance. A workers’ comp policy generally will cover things like medical bills from injuries caused by work related events, as well as ongoing care costs for services like physical therapy. How much you will pay for a workers’ compensation policy will depend on a few different factors, including, among other things, the location of your business and the type of work your employees do.
As someone who owns a pet daycare or boarding service, you likely are all too familiar with the costs associated with creating a fun and welcoming environment for your four-legged guests. Outdoor play structures, kennels, and the costs of your building (if you own it) were a significant investment. Commercial property insurance can protect not only your building, furniture, and equipment, but also your outdoor sign. If your pet daycare or boarding service is based out of your home, homeowners insurance policies do not typically provide coverage for business equipment losses by flood or fire. Whether you lease your space, own it, or run your pet business out of your home, you should consider commercial property insurance to help protect your business investment.
If your dog daycare or boarding service uses a vehicle, you should consider a commercial auto policy. Errors and omissions insurance can help protect your business if a client believes an error you made caused them financial loss, such as a mistake that led to a vet visit for a dog. Contact us if you would like more information on any of the coverage types mentioned above, or if you would like to discuss whether your business ought to consider any other type of insurance product.
One way you could save on insurance for your business is looking into a BOP. Typically, a BOP, or business owner’s policy, bundles two common coverages for businesses together- commercial property insurance, and general liability insurance. If you are looking to select these coverages, a business owner’s policy may be more cost effective than purchasing these coverages separately.
As someone who owns a dog daycare or boarding service, there are a number of things that you can do to potentially reduce the risk of accidents at your place of business. Coming up with a safety checklist can help to create a safe environment at your dog centered business. Here are a few ideas to consider:
While keeping your four-legged residents and staff safe is a priority for you as a business owner, you should still have a plan in place for when accidents happen. Commercial Property Insurance and General Liability Insurance are two common coverages for business owners that can also be bundled together as a BOP. If you have employees, state laws may mandate that you must have workers’ compensation coverage. If an animal in your care or control is lost or injured, or passes away, animal bailee coverage can provide financial protection. To request a quote for your dog daycare or boarding service, you can reach out to a local agent by filling out our contact form here.
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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.
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