Pet Sitting Insurance – Do You Have The Right Policy?

When you started pet sitting you were probably advised to invest in an insurance policy (or just knew you need to!) to cover yourself if the worst happens – the clients pets are injured or lost, or the client’s home is damaged. You may have shopped around for the right coverage – or perhaps you went with the coverage offered by the one of the pet sitting associations. Since you purchased your insurance have you started to offer other add on services, or hired employees or contract sitters? Have you re-assessed your insurance needs and checked that the insurance you have covers all liability in your current business? To be safe make sure you can answer these questions about your policy: 1. Are your coverage limits high enough to cover the loss of pets and property of your current clients? 2. Does your insurance cover your sitting contractors and employees? 3. If you hold any events such as open houses, play days, or yappy hour does your insurance cover you if a pet or person is injured at the event? 4. Does your insurance cover you for walking multiple dogs or doing group doggie hikes or other excursions? 5. Are you covered if one of your clients pets injures another pet or person whilst out walking or at a dog park? 6. Does your policy cover you if you are caring for pets in your own home, or the homes of your employees or contractors? 7. Does your insurance premium increase with the more you earn in your business? If so, is the insurance that you currently purchase the lowest price available to you? 8. Is your insurance dependent on you remaining a member of a pet sitting association? What happens if you choose not to renew your membership or you lose your membership? Make sure you check up on your insurance coverage by checking with your agent and asking questions. There are now many insurance options for pet sitters including Mourer-Foster’s Kennel Proprogram and Pet Sitters Associates LLC. Do some shopping around to make sure you have the right coverage and that you are not paying too much! For those of you who are members of the Assocation of Pet Sitting Excellence - you can now ask Dennis Stowers of Mourer-Foster your insurance questions on our forums. Dennis will be joining us regularly to answer member questions.

Owning a pet business does not guarantee you success, but it is generally not difficult to set up your own pet business adn many who own pet businesses love the hard working lifestyle and the closeness to pets. You will have to compete with those who may be better trained, may have lower cost structures and those who “pretend” to have your skills and experience when they do not. (eg not all those who advertise themselves as groomers are actually Groomers).

There are also key skills that all dog industry professionals should possess. Here are some of the most critical skills and abilities for those hoping to work with dogs professionally: Basic Dog Handling and Training Skills, ability to recognize behavioral signals.

Animals can be somewhat unpredictable when they are under stress or in an unfamiliar environment, like when they visit the veterinary office or the grooming salon, so it is important to be attentive and stay aware of the animal you are handling at all times.