Pet Sitting Insurance and Bonding: Quotes From Only $5

It’s impossible to leave pets on their own and without pet sitters, owners will find it hard to be away from their pets to work, take a trip, or visit friends and family. 

From extended stays to brief daily checks, pet owners can rely on pet sitters to take care of their pets. The average income of those providing pet sitting services is $12.68 per hour and $26,000 annually for each client.  And to ensure they continue to make clients happy, many pet sitting businesses and independent pet sitters decide to get pet sitting business insurance

Insurance can help you if trouble happens. For example, you can still be held liable even if a pet you’re currently watching over gets injured by the dog groomer. The same is also true if the pet suddenly gets sick.

Today, we’ll teach you how helpful small business insurance is for pet sitters and pet sitting companies by explaining the basics of pet sitting insurance and bonding, outlining the common policies for pet sitters and pet sitting companies, and providing a comparison of pet sitting insurance rates. We’ll also review the most popular carriers.

Pet Sitting Insurance and Bonding: The Basics

Pet sitting business insurance is a policy that’s designed to cover specific risks associated with pet sitting, for example:

• Property damage lawsuits
• Personal injury lawsuits
• Damage or loss of commercial property
• Employee injuries

Pet sitting insurance ensures that you can take care of costly claims against your business. It will also help you recover financial losses.

Getting this insurance is very essential and you’ll never know what could go wrong. For example, a simple accident could easily turn into a problematic legal fiasco. Without insurance, paying for attorney fees, other legal costs, and compensation might cost $500,000 – $1 million. 

Additionally, having pet sitting insurance helps as it will make finding clients easier. For example, dog boarding facilities might require you to get a $1 million general liability policy. The reason why clients only work with pet sitters having insurance is that they also want to be covered in case something goes wrong.

But still, know that pet sitting business insurance can’t provide help all of the time. And so, it’s also important to get a bond. 

How Bonding Helps Your Pet Sitting Business

In addition to pet sitters’ insurance, you must also purchase a bond. There are different types of bonds but the most common types, when it comes to pet sitting, are 

• Dishonesty bond
• Surety bond

You use a dishonesty bond to pay the client in case your employee committed theft,  which is never covered in liability insurance. On the other hand, a surety bond ensures your pet sitting company can reimburse the losses of the client if services aren’t completed or not provided well. 

Having a bond makes you more trustworthy. In fact, many pet owners won’t even hire an un-bonded pet sitting business in the first place as they see a lack of bonding as unprofessional and non-commitment to quality service.

Hopefully, by now, you have a better understanding of how pet sitting insurance works and why it’s important to get a bond for pet sitting business. Now, it’s time to show you the different policies business insurance companies offer in their pet minding insurance. 

I Provide Pet Sitting and Home Boarding Services. Is Pet Sitting Insurance Enough?

Pet sitting insurance might exclude home boarding activities. This is why, even though it seems redundant, you’ll need to invest in a pet boarding insurance package. 

Liability Insurance for Pet Sitters 

Pet sitting business insurance offers liability insurance for pet sitters as basic protection from exposures. In a nutshell, the purpose of liability insurance is to pay for legal fees and compensation to the aggrieved party. There are four types of liability insurance carriers offer in their pet sitter insurance :

• General liability insurance
• Public liability insurance
• Professional liability insurance (e&o insurance)

General Liability Insurance for Pet Sitters

General liability insurance is the most common type of coverage for pet sitters. This policy covers personal injury and property damage lawsuits. Insurance companies underwrite general liability insurance to cover the following perils:

• Vandalism of the client’s property
• Injuries or death of the client’s pet under your watch
• Injuries to the client

Having general liability insurance for dog walkers and pet sitters will be extremely helpful. It’s because incidents that it covers can be very costly. Here’s an example:

• Doggie Love, a pet-sitting agency, received a $1 million lawsuit after one of its employees allegedly caused the death of a client’s french bulldog

Independent pet sitters and pet sitting companies decide to get general liability insurance before anything else. You should too. It’s because this policy is comprehensive and comes with a lot of optional coverages such as:

• Products and completed operations
• Advertising injury coverage
• Rented premises liability coverage

Products and completed operations will cover third-party personal injuries or property damage caused by a completed product or service. For example, if the client’s pet suddenly becomes sick after you looked after it, products and completed operations will protect you if the client files a claim later on. 

Your pet sitting business might be accused of inflicting advertising or reputational harm. In this situation, advertising injury coverage can help. Advertising injury coverage will cover costs if your business is sued for slander, libel, false advertising, or copyright infringement. 

Public Liability Insurance for Pet Sitters

Just like general liability insurance, public liability insurance will take care of personal injuries or property damage your pet sitting business might inflict on clients, vendors, visitors, and other third parties. 

Public liability insurance is very limited in terms of the perils it covers. Unlike general liability, it doesn’t come with optional coverages you can avail for more protection. But it’s cheaper. That’s why this is the ideal coverage if you’re just starting. 

Errors and Omissions Insurance for Pet Sitters

Errors and omissions insurance is what provides coverage if a client suffers from economic loss because of your negligence or mistake.  Know that clients can hold you legally responsible. In the pet sitting business, there’s negligence or mistake when:

• There’s a failure to provide care to the pet that the usual pet sitter would have provided
• There’s inaction when the pet became ill while under your watch
• You intentionally hurt the client’s pet out of frustration or any other personal reason
• There’s a failure to exercise due caution while handling a pet to prevent people from getting injured

So how does errors and omissions insurance work in practice? Errors and omissions insurance will cover attorney fees, other legal costs, and compensatory payments on your behalf. Note that perils covered aren’t negligence and mistake only. Errors and omissions will also help if the client files a claim because your business committed:

• Misrepresentation
• Violation of good faith and fair dealing
• Sharing of the client’s confidential information with another party

Having errors and omissions insurance for pet sitting service is a good decision because claims due to negligence or any other related acts don’t only happen in theory.  Here are some real-life examples:

• A person from Los Angeles filed a negligence lawsuit against Rover, a pet walking and pet sitting company, after their dog was killed
• Owners Amy and Sean Houston, filed a negligence lawsuit against Rover after their french bulldog drowned while under the company’s pet sitter’s care. The couple demanded Rover to pay for cremation and reimburse the cost of the french bulldog, which amounts to $2,000.

How Much Coverage Can You Get from Errors and Omissions Insurance?

Similar to the errors and omissions insurance of pet training insurance packages, the errors and omissions insurance of pet sitting insurance packages has a $1 million-$2 million per occurrence and aggregate limit. 

Lost Key Liability Insurance

Some clients will hire your pet sitting business to look after their pet for days and will leave the key to their residence to your employees. Your employee might lose the key and the client will surely file a claim. Insurance companies offer lost key liability insurance that covers this peril. 

You’ll have to pay the clients who had their keys lost. In connection, the function of lost key liability insurance is to provide money you can use to satisfy such responsibility. In addition, lost key liability insurance will also cover payments to locksmiths if ever clients want you to unlock their doors yourself. 

Other Business Insurance for Pet Sitting Businesses 

Commercial Auto Insurance

If you’re using a vehicle to take clients’ pets to different places, then it’s a good idea to get commercial auto insurance.  There are many things that commercial auto insurance can do for your business. The following are the protection it provides:

• Auto liability coverage – Covers medical payments to injured third parties and damaged property as caused by a vehicular accident in which your pet sitting business’s vehicle is at fault
• Physical damage coverage – This has two forms: collision and comprehensive. Collision physical damage coverage will take care of repair or replacement costs if your business’s vehicle incurred damage after crashing into an object or another vehicle. Comprehensive physical damage coverage will cover repair or replacement costs if fire, hail, storm, vandalism, theft, and other covered perils damaged the vehicle
• Medical payments/personal injury protection – This will cover the medical expenses of the injured driver and passengers. Coverage applies even if the accident is caused by your vehicle.

Commercial Property Insurance

The commercial building your pet sitting business is leasing or owning needs to be insured too. To do so, you’ll have to invest in commercial property insurance. Commercial property insurance has two primary functions:

• Reimburse losses if your commercial building is destroyed by fire, extreme weather, and other related perils
• Reimburse losses if your commercial building is damaged by fire, extreme weather, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils

Insurance companies include stocks and contents coverage in the commercial property insurance for pet sitting businesses. Stocks and contents coverage will reimburse your losses if CCTV cameras, office furniture, computers, documents, and other valuables become damaged or lost due to fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils. 

Workers Compensation Insurance

Your employees might get injured while looking after a client’s pet. And so, it’s smart if you also get workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ compensation insurance will cover expenses for treatment, hospitalization, rehabilitation, and lost income compensation. Lost income compensation will be equal to two-thirds or 67% of the average weekly wage. Workers’ compensation insurance will also provide death benefits to dependents if the employee dies because of his/her work-related injury or disease. 

Cat Sitting Insurance

Tailored cat sitting insurance offers liability policies such as general liability insurance and E&O insurance. If you’re a pet sitting business specializing in cats, then this insurance coverage is a better option. An insurance package related to this is cattery insurance.

Dog Walking Insurance

If you’re a dog walker, then you won’t qualify for pet sitting insurance. Dog walking and pet sitting are not the same.  The table below summarizes the differences between a dog walker and a pet sitter:

Dog walking insurance is the best coverage if walking dogs is your specialty. Just like pet sitter insurance, insurance for dog walking has liability policies. You can make this more comprehensive through endorsements.

Related read: How Much Do Dog Walkers Earn and How to Boost Income?

Liability Insurance for Dog Walkers

Carriers offer liability insurance for dog walkers, which offer protection because the dog being walked bit someone, injured another person’s dog, or got injured while walking. Specific liability policies dog walkers choose to get are general liability insurance, errors and omissions insurance, and public liability insurance.

Pet Sitting Insurance Comparison: Average Cost 

• The average pet sitting insurance cost for a $1 million general liability policy is $26 per month or $312 per year
• Errors and omissions insurance is $27 a month or $324 a year
• Lost key liability policy in pet sitting business insurance costs $18 a month or $216 a year

We’ve also included a handy table below that outlines the average general liability rates of top companies for pet sitters insurance. Check it out as it will help with pet sitting insurance comparison.

Keep in mind that these are just the average rates obtained from comparing consumer data across the country. Your actual pet insurance quote may be cheaper or more expensive depending on your location, number of employees, and annual income. 

However, the list should give you a good idea of how much to spend on pet walking insurance and figure out which companies to approach for cheap rates.

How Much Does Dog Walking Insurance Cost?

The average dog walking insurance cost is $33 per month or $396 per year for general liability coverage. 

Best Pet Sitting Insurance Companies

If you use our custom quote generator to find pet sitting insurance coverage, it’s very likely that several of the companies listed in the table above will contact you with competitive pricing and insurance rates. With some background about each pet sitting insurance carrier, you can ask pertinent questions that might help to lower your rates and make coverage comprehensive. And so, in this section, we’ll provide a brief review of the best pet sitting insurance companies. Let’s talk about their cons, pros, and the pricing for a $1 million general liability coverage. 

CoverWallet Pet Sitting Insurance

Why Get Insured By CoverWallet?

• Cancel a policy anytime
• Compare quotes to find the best coverage
• Online policy management with the MyCoverWallet app

Why Take CoverWallet with a Grain of Salt?

• Not an insurance company but an insurance broker

CoverWallet is an insurance broker with an online quotes comparison platform you can use to find insurance companies providing coverage for pet sitting businesses. All you have to do is provide basic details about your business and CoverWallet will then send accurate insurance quotes for an informed buying decision. 

Thimble Pet Sitting Insurance

Why Get Insured by Thimble?

• On-demand short-term pet sitting insurance for hours, days, weeks, or months

Why Take Thimble with a Grain of Salt?

• You can only contact customer service online

Thimble offers pet sitting insurance that includes general liability insurance and professional liability insurance. Avail this company’s services if you want to have coverage for only hours, days, weeks, or months. 

Geico Pet Sitting Insurance

Why Get Insured By Geico?

• Easy pet sitting insurance
• You can bundle your pet sitting policy with other Geico policies
• Manage your policy through Geico’s easy-to-use app
• Insurance policies in Geico pet sitting insurance can be as cheap as $1 a day

Why Take Geico with a Grain of Salt?

• Might be more expensive than going with a dedicated pet sitting insurance provider

Geico is the nation’s second-largest commercial auto insurance company. It also offers business insurance products of its partners to customers. Try qualifying for Geico’s pet sitting business insurance which provides coverage if a client’s pet becomes sick or gets involved in an accident. Also, you will like the Geico mobile app which allows for the seamless and convenient management of insurance policies.

Pet Sitters International Insurance

Why Get Insured by Pet Sitters International Insurance?

• Dedicated pet sitting insurance company
• Get access to pet sitting resources through your PSI club membership
• Cheap rates for those who qualify
• Insures volunteer pet sitters, full-time or part-time pet sitters, and independent contractors

Why Take Pet Sitters International with a Grain of Salt?

• Doesn’t have a smartphone app, so handling your billing and claims may be difficult
• Insurance application and claims filing is done through telephone calls and email

Pet Sitters International is more than just an insurance company. It’s a club that’s dedicated to providing education and resources to pet sitters. This insurance company claims to offer the broadest coverage of all carriers that offer insurance for pet sitters.

State Farm Pet Sitting Insurance

Why Get Insured by State Farm?

• Excellent customer service ratings
• Allows customers to bundle policies
• State Farm agents are anywhere in the United States, so it’s easy to get in touch about claims
• Online claims tracker
• Dedicated telephone lines for each type of claim
• Smartphone app to help you manage your insurance policy

Why Take State Farm with a Grain of Salt?

• State Farm doesn’t insure independent pet sitters

State Farm is the biggest insurance company in the United States and it offers coverage for just about every type of business you could think of. The company covers pet sitters through its animal care and veterinary services insurance having commercial property insurance, liability insurance, accidental injury to animals coverage, loss of income coverage, and spoilage coverage.

Pet Sitter Association Insurance

Why Get Insured by Pet Sitter Association Insurance?

• PSA membership will connect you with new clients.
• Incredible rates on pet sitters insurance.
• Customized policies for your pet sitting or pet care business

Why Take Pet Sitter Association Insurance with a Grain of Salt?

• No in-person agents or smartphone app to manage your policy

Like Pet Sitters International, Pet Sitter Association requires membership from customers. As a member, you’ll be added to their business directory, which can help you secure new clients. You’ll also receive special pricing for PSA insurance. Customers can also customize policies for pet sitters, dog walkers, groomers, and more.

Pet Care Business Insurance

Why Get Insured by Pet Care?

• Dedicated pet care business insurer
• Great rates for simple policies

Why Take Pet Care Insurance with a Grain of Salt?

• Some customers reported that Pet Care is unresponsive when it comes to insurance cancellation

Based out of Utah, Pet Care Insurance offers competitive pricing for insurance policies and is dedicated to covering small pet care businesses. Whether you’re a pet sitter, groomer, dog walker, trainer, or even a poop remover, Pet Care Insurance has small business insurance policies starting as low as $140 per month and averaging around $197 for pet sitting businesses.

References:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021, September 8). Animal Care and Service Workers : Occupational outlook handbook. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved February 10, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/animal-care-and-service-workers.htm
  
• Naimah, N. (2010, July 15). Dog Sitters sued for $1M after French bulldog dies, says report. CBS News. Retrieved February 10, 2022, from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dog-sitters-sued-for-1m-after-french-bulldog-dies-says-report/
  
• Moreno, J. (2018, February 27). ‘Baywatch’ Star, Seattle Pet Company sued over dog’s death. KOMO. Retrieved February 10, 2022, from https://komonews.com/news/local/baywatch-star-seattle-pet-company-sued-over-dogs-death
  
• Chatman, S. (2019, May 7). Family demands answers after puppy drowns in pet sitter’s pool. NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved February 10, 2022, from https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/family-demands-answers-after-puppy-drowns-in-pet-sitters-pool/250613/
  
• VetInfo. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2022, from https://www.vetinfo.com/pet-sitting-insurance.html