A pet trainer business can carry several risks, including the risk of an animal getting harmed or injured during your services, and accidents that arise due to negligence and omissions. Pet trainer insurance can help provide your business with comprehensive protection against legal defense costs, third-party medical costs, veterinary bills, and property damage.
Coverwallet began its journey in New York City in 2015 operating under the
Aon Insurance banner. At Coverwallet, you can access everything you need to
keep your company well-protected at an unbeatable price.
With a 100-year history of insuring businesses, Hiscox is well-known across
America and globally. With more than 500,000 small business customers,
Hiscox is fully aware and trained in the unique risks a business can face.
Thimble provides business insurance that can be tailored to your business by
the year, month, day, or even the job. At Thimble, the process to getting
the right business insurance is simple, scalable, and flexible.
It’s almost impossible to predict accidents or an animal getting sick while in your care. You could be training a dog when it suddenly bites a pedestrian causing injury, or a client is not happy with the service provided and claims their pet is now emotionally distressed.
Pet trainer insurance can help protect you from third-party claims of wrongful conduct and negligence, legal costs, third-party medical costs, and property damage.
Who needs pet trainer insurance?
Businesses that provide pet training services should consider taking out insurance to protect their business against liability, financial losses, and damages that could occur.
What insurance do pet trainers need?
When taking out pet trainer insurance, it’s important to consider different types of coverage and policies to adequately cover your business for risks and financial losses. The most common types of coverage are:
General liability: General liability insurance can help cover the basic risks of conducting business. If an accident happens on your business premises, where a client walks in and is bitten by another animal, general liability can help cover the legal costs of a lawsuit and medical costs that arise due to third-party bodily injury. In addition, if you carry out pet training services at the client’s residence, and something breaks while you are training the animal, insurance can help cover the costs of third-party property damage.
For the most part, general liability insurance can cover you for legal defense costs, damages to third-party property, defamation, slander, and third-party bodily injury.
Professional liability: Professional liability insurance helps to protect your business against claims of errors and omissions where the client sues you due to financial losses incurred. If you make a professional mistake where the animal suffers harm or injury due to one of your training techniques, legal action can be bought against you. Professional liability insurance can help cover the legal costs and protect your reputation.
Many insurers offer professional liability as a bundled policy with general liability insurance and typically include coverage against professional negligence, legal defense costs, and legal judgments bought against your business.
Commercial property: If you train animals at your facility, it’s a good idea to protect the building and equipment used in your business. Commercial property insurance can protect against a range of covered perils including fire, vandalism, and natural disasters, helping cover the cost of repairs and replacements.
Commercial property insurance will cover loss of inventory, business income interruptions, repairs to your building, and equipment breakdown.
While coverage for pet trainer insurance can be extensive, as with any insurance policy there will be some exclusions. Common exclusions for general liability insurance include tools and equipment used in your business, professional mistakes, and workplace injuries.
Exclusions for professional liability insurance include employee injuries, intentional wrongdoing, illegal activity, and property damage. For commercial property insurance, incidents arising out of wear and tear, theft, and intentional injury are commonly excluded.
What are the limits of pet trainer insurance?
The limits of your insurance policy will vary depending on the insurer you decide to go with. Many insurers provide policy limits of up to $1,000,000 or $2,000,000, where the premium is increased to account for the larger coverage limit.
If your policy states an aggregate limit, this is the maximum amount your insurance company will pay out given any number of claims during the policy period. A per occurrence limit is the maximum amount you will be covered per claim. It’s important to be aware of your limits because if your claims exceed the limit, this will result in out-of-pocket expenses for your business.
How much does pet trainer insurance cost?
The cost of pet trainer insurance can vary depending on the coverage type you take out. General liability insurance can on average cost around $40 per month, and this can increase if you choose to bundle your policy with professional liability insurance. Here are some factors that insurers will consider when providing a quote:
Location: Certain areas can have a higher cost of insurance, which will increase your premium.
Coverage limits: The higher your coverage limits, the more expensive your premium will be.
Business size: Businesses with more employees have a higher risk of errors and incidents. Therefore, more extensive coverage is likely to be required, increasing the cost of premiums.
Claims history: If you have previous claims that have been made against your business, the insurer will consider this when providing a quote for your policy. A high number of claims will be reflected in a higher cost of insurance.
The number of years in business: As your experience in business grows, you are less likely to make costly mistakes that newer business owners may encounter. With fewer mistakes, not as many claims will be made against your business, and this will lower the cost of your insurance premium.
How to choose the best pet trainer insurance?
When shopping around for the best pet trainer insurance plans, it can be a time-consuming and challenging task to compare the cost of multiple providers. Before you select a plan, here is what to look for:
Consider your services provided: Depending on the services you choose to provide and how you fulfill them, you may require additional policies to cover your pet trainer business for risks. For instance, if you use a vehicle to complete business errands you may require auto insurance. Or, if you hire employees, you’ll need to consider workers’ compensation insurance.
Read the fine print: It’s important to understand the terms and conditions before purchasing a pet trainer insurance policy to avoid surprises when filing an insurance claim.
