Guard Dog & Security Dog Insurance: Cost & Quotes From $11

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Your guard dog business provides an extra layer of protection to commercial property and residences - the infallible sense of dogs. Many business owners and homeowners get the services of guard dog businesses to protect property against theft, burglary, vandalism, and fire. 

Just like a dog walking business or pet sitting business, your guard dog business needs insurance too. You’ll get the best protection through tailored guard dog insurance or protection dog insurance. Read this guide to know about its features, cost, and the best carriers to buy your coverage. 

Guard Dog Liability Insurance

When shopping for protection dog insurance, you’ll first want to consider the kind of coverage you’re looking for. There are plenty of different types of coverage available. But you’ll get primary protection through guard dog liability insurance.

Liability insurance will ensure that you don’t use personal funds or business funds to settle a claim someone filed against you. This comes in different forms. However, the most common ones for your guard dog business are general liability insurance, public liability insurance, and professional liability insurance.

Also read:How Much Do Dog Walkers Make & How to Boost Income

General Liability Insurance for Guard Dog Companies

General liability insurance is a very common type of insurance. In fact, this is the first inclusion in tailored insurance for guard dog businesses. So how does general liability insurance help? The primary function of general liability insurance is to protect your business against claims made by vendors, visitors, clients, and other third parties due to the following:

• Personal injuries - Your guard dog bit someone. The injured person decided to take the matter to court to hold your business liable. General liability insurance will help pay for attorney fees, other legal costs, and compensation to the plaintiff on your behalf

• Property damage - Your guard dog became unruly and did some minor damage to a client’s property. The client in question wants you to reimburse the value of the property damaged. In this situation, general liability insurance will take care of expenses on your behalf. Also, it will cover attorney fees, other legal costs, and compensation if the client decides to take the matter to court

Insurance companies include add-ons to general liability insurance so that it provides more protection for your business. These add-ons are:

• Advertising injury coverage

• Products and completed operations coverage

• Rented premises liability coverage

You’ll find advertising injury coverage useful if someone files a claim and accuses your business of copying or using trademarks, logos, and other types of intellectual property legally owned by another person or business. The job of advertising injury coverage is to cover attorney fees, other legal costs, and the amount of compensation you’re required to give.

As for products and completed operations coverage, it covers personal injuries or property damage your business’s completed product or service caused. In a nutshell, this one will take care of claims made by past clients.

Are you renting or leasing someone’s commercial space for business? If this is the case, add rented premises liability coverage to general liability insurance. The space you’re renting or leasing might get damaged due to fire, and the landlord might require you to reimburse financial losses. The job of rented premises liability is to take care of the amount you have to pay.

I’m About toHire a Dog Trainer. Will My General Liability Insurance Cover Accidents He or She Will Cause?

No. Your general liability policy only covers security dog services. Ask the person before hiring to get dog trainer insurance and name you as an additional insured. Ideally, this must have a $1 million-$2 million general liability policy.

Professional Liability Insurance

Your employee might commit mistakes resulting in economic or financial loss for a client. In turn, the client will file a claim against your business to recover his or her loss. General liability insurance can’t help you with this. So what insurance will have your back? Professional liability insurance.

Professional liability insurance is a common inclusion in tailored business insurance for guard dog companies. Insurance companies recommend you also get this aside from having general liability insurance. Professional liability insurance will cover attorney fees, other legal costs, and compensatory payments if a client files a claim for:

• Negligence

• Misrepresentation

• Violation of good faith and fair dealing

• Breach of confidentiality

• Other acts considered errors and omissions

Public Liability Insurance for Guard Dog Companies

Public liability insurance is another liability insurance policy for your guard dog business. Just like general liability insurance, this will cover personal injury claims and property damage claims from third parties.

So what’s the difference between public liability insurance for guard dog companies vs general liability insurance? The main difference is that general liability insurance’s scope is broader than public liability insurance. General liability insurance covers advertising or reputational harm, personal injuries, and property damage. On the other hand, public liability insurance only covers personal injury claims and property damage claims.

We recommend getting general liability insurance if you want very comprehensive coverage against third-party claims. On the other hand, if you only want basic protection, having public liability insurance will work.

How Much Insurance Money Can You Get from Public Liability, Professional Liability, and General Liability Insurance?

The amount of coverage you can get from general liability insurance, professional liability insurance, and public liability insurance is $1 million - $2 million. This is the case for most insurance companies. However, there are carriers that offer $200,000, $300,000, or $500,000 minimum coverage.

Commercial Property Insurance for Guard Dog Business

Of course, your guard dog business can’t operate without a commercial building. The commercial building is one of your business’s most valuable assets. This is why insurance companies allow you to protect it against destruction or damage through commercial property insurance. The primary function of commercial property insurance is to:

• Provide reimbursements equal to the value of the building that fire or extreme weather destroyed

• Provide reimbursements equal to the value of the building that fire, extreme weather, vandalism, theft, and other covered perils damaged

Inside your business’s commercial building are dog food, cages, medicines, office furniture, important documents, and other valuables. Commercial property insurance takes care of those through its stocks and contents coverage. If the items we mentioned gets damaged or lost due to fire, theft, vandalism, extreme weather, and other covered perils, stocks and contents coverage will reimburse your losses.

Also read:Veterinary Business Insurance for Vets: Cost & Quotes From $11

How Much Money Will You Get from Commercial Property Insurance?

The amount of reimbursement commercial property insurance provides will be equal to the actual cash value or replacement cost of your damaged commercial property.

Reimbursements made through actual cash value will be equal to the depreciated worth of your commercial property. On the other hand, reimbursement based on replacement cost will be equal to the worth of the commercial property not taking depreciation and other related factors into account.

Additionally, commercial property insurance having replacement cost coverage is more expensive than commercial property insurance having actual cash value coverage. Nonetheless, the expensive premiums are worth it because you’re sure to fully recover investments when a commercial property becomes lost or damaged.

Workers Compensation Insurance for Guard Dog Business

Your employee might experience injuries or sickness because of work. A few example of work-related hazards are:

• Employee getting bitten by a dog

• Employee slipping, falling, or tripping

• Employee contracting a zoonotic disease

You have to shoulder expenses when an employee becomes sick or injured due to tasks. The problem is that using business funds isn’t ideal. Workers' compensation insurance is the quickest solution for this.

When an employee suffers from a work-related injury or disease, workers' compensation insurance will pay for treatment, hospitalization, rehabilitation, medication, and lost income compensation on your behalf.

The amount of compensation for lost income your employee receives will be equal to two-thirds or 67% of the average weekly wage. This means that if he or she is receiving $780 per week, lost income compensation will be $522.6.

Aside from injuries or sickness, your employee might die because of work. Workers' compensation insurance also provides a helping hand in such a situation by providing death benefits. Death benefits include but are not limited to the following:

• Payments for funeral expenses

• Allowance to dependents

Is Workers Compensation Insurance a Requirement for Your Guard Dog Business?

Having worker's compensation insurance is an absolute requirement if you want to operate your guard dog business legally. Except for when you’re doing business in Texas, workers' compensation insurance is required as soon as you have one or more employees. Failure to get workers' compensation insurance is punishable. Punishment differs from state to state. Here are some examples:

• New Jersey - “Failure to carry appropriate workers' comp insurance for your business can result in penalties that range from administrative fines to criminal charges as severe as fourth-degree felonies. The financial penalties are up to $5,000 for the first 20 days of noncompliance and up to $5,000 for each 10-day period thereafter”.

• Minnesota - The amount of penalty is calculated depending on how many instances your guard dog business didn’t provide workers comp coverage to an injured or sick employee :

• First violation - warning

• Second violation - $125

• Third violation - $250

• Fourth violation - $375

• Fifth violation going onwards - $500

• Kansas - A guard dog business that fails to get workers comp will pay $25,000 or twice the amount for premiums, whichever is greater

• Oklahoma - An employer who is required by law to secure compensation and does not do so, may be subject to penalties up to one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) PER DAY. Failure to secure compensation may also subject the employer to liability in district court in a negligence action maintained by an employee.

Other Insurance for Your Guard Dog Business

Commercial Auto Insurance

You need to get commercial auto insurance if you’re using a vehicle to transport guard dogs, get supplies, and other related activities. This insurance is either bundled in tailored guard dog insurance together with the ones we discussed above, added as an endorsement, or be purchased as a separate insurance policy.

So what does commercial auto insurance do? Commercial auto insurance offers the following types of protection:

• Auto liability coverage - Your guard dog business’s vehicle might cause an accident and injure people or damage property. In connection, auto liability coverage will take care of paying for medical expenses and reimburse damaged property on your behalf

• Physical damage coverage - Physical damage coverage has two forms: collision and comprehensive. Collision physical damage coverage will take care of parts repair or replacement if a business's vehicle collided with an object or another vehicle and incurred damage as a result. Comprehensive physical damage coverage will take care of parts repair or replacement if your commercial vehicle got damaged by fire, theft, vandalism, extreme weather, and other covered perils

• Medical payments/personal injury protection - Medical payments/personal injury protection will take care of your medical expenses, the driver, and the passenger.

Business Owner’s Policy

A business owner’s policy combines general liability insurance and commercial property insurance. Its cost is cheaper than buying commercial property and general liability insurance separately. But still, depending on the company underwriting it, a business owner’s policy comes with more options. For example, CoverWallet’s business owner’s policy has workers' compensation insurance too. On the other hand, State Farm’s business owner's policy includes professional liability insurance in its terms.

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Guard Dog Insurance Cost

Security dog insurance cost in America is about $35 per month or $420 per year for a $1 million general liability insurance policy.

While rates may vary depending on the specific guard dog business, please find some average guard dog insurance costs from some of the leading guard dog insurance companies and providers:

Best Guard Dog Insurance Companies

When looking around for the best guard dog insurance policy, you’ll want to be sure that you’re working with the best company. Unfortunately, there aren’t too many companies that are willing to shoulder the risk of covering a guard dog business, though we’ve rounded up four of the best right here. Read the reviews below to know about each company's pros, cons, and pricing for a $1 million general liability coverage. 

CoverWallet Insurance

Pros

• Compare quotes online

• Cancel a policy anytime

• Get covered in an instant

• Stable rates

• Has more than 10 types of insurance products available for your guard dog business 

Cons

• Doesn’t sell its own insurance for guard dog businesses 

CoverWallet is an insurance company and not an insurance broker. However, we decided to include it in our review of the best guard dog insurance companies. Why? CoverWallet has an online quotes comparison platform you can use to find insurance companies offering coverage for your guard dog business.  Provide some basic information about your business and this company’s quotes comparison tool will give you the different quotes of carriers, showing the insurance available and average pricing. 

Note that CoverWallet allows you to buy the offers of insurance companies instantly. This means that there are no lengthy talks with insurance agents. Upon getting insured, you’ll get access to MyCoverWallet app where you can pay insurance premiums online, file and track a claim, or manage policies. 

Best for: Guard dog insurance quotes comparison online

Average cost: $15 per month 

Our rating: 10/10

Federation of Insured Dog Owners

Pros

• Covers common guard dog breeds

Cons

• Limited online presence

F.I.D.O. is a coalition of dog owners and insurance companies that support them and ensure that they can get their hands on liability policies no matter what. This means that you’ll be able to get liability coverage for your dog regardless of the kind of breed that it is, as many insurers are biased against particular breeds.

F.I.D.O. policies are meant to be affordable and accessible, and they start at a minimum rate of just $20 per month. To ensure maximum accessibility, F.I.D.O. also works throughout all of the United States.

Best for: Starting guard dog businesses

Average cost: $20 per month

Our rating: 9/10

XINSURANCE Guard Dog Insurance

Pros

• Policy adaptable for various kinds of dogs

• Wide area of service

Cons

• Handles claims poorly 

XINSURANCE is a company that specializes in providing customers with liability insurance that they can’t get coverage for elsewhere. Whereas your homeowners, business, and employers liability policies will cover you in case of certain things, XINSURANCE will cover you in every other one.

XINSURANCE is used to working with guard dogs, regardless of whether you’re the proud owner of a guard dog or if you run a business that helps train them. Along with guard dogs, these policies will also cover you from liability related to your service dog or any kind of protection dog.

Best for:  Workers compensation insurance for guard dog businesses

Average cost: $33 per month

Our rating: 8/10

Einhorn Insurance Agency

Pros

• Works with guard dog businesses that have spotty histories

Cons

• Relatively expensive

The Einhorn Insurance agency is similar to F.I.D.O. in that it provides coverage for breeds that would be considered more dangerous. Once again, since most guard dog breeds are on the dangerous breeds list, then you can expect them to be exclusions for many insurance companies.

Einhorn’s policy is popular with clients that have to get their animal insured so that they can bring it into an apartment or a rented home. They will even work with clients that own a dog that has a history of aggression, allowing clients to get their pets out of quarantine after an incident.

Best for: High-risk guard dog businesses

Average cost: $41 per month

Our rating: 7/10

Compare Quotes, Get the Best Guard Dog Insurance

Only an informed buying decision will allow you to find the most appropriate coverage for your business at a reasonable price. We recommend you compare quotes before deciding to purchase an insurance policy from any carrier. Use our online quotes generator tool to do so. Click the “Get Quotes” button on this page to start.