Pet Business Insurance

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dog groomer grooming a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dog

As a pet business owner, your focus is providing top-quality care for our furry best friends, whether you specialize in grooming, pet sitting, or dog training. That’s why you make every effort to ensure animals’ safety and care. But at the same time, you know that something could always go wrong.

Thimble’s Pet Business Insurance offers game-changing flexibility made just for pet care professionals. It’s business insurance that works when you need it.

Who is covered under a pet business insurance policy?

Pet business insurance from Thimble is customized to meet your needs. We cover the following professions and activities:

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Types of insurance pet businesses need

As a small business owner, your business is your livelihood, and taking care of people’s pets exposes you to significant risk. Unfortunately, people can be litigious, especially regarding the bonds they share with their animal companions.

If someone takes you to court, the cost of an attorney can be enough to hurt your business’s financial health, even if the court eventually clears you of wrongdoing.

That’s why most pet businesses need several kinds of insurance, including:

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General Liability Insurance

General liability insurance or “CGL” provides coverage against third-party claims for damages because of property damage, bodily injury, and personal and advertising injury. That means the everyday accidents that can happen on the job: slip and falls, flying tools, or spilling coffee on a customer’s laptop—you get the idea. CGL is one of the most basic types of insurance for small businesses.

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Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability insurance, also called errors & omissions (E&O) insurance, covers claims of financial loss as a result of providing—or failing to provide—professional services properly.

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Business Equipment Protection

Business Equipment Protection is a type of first-party insurance that covers business equipment that you own, rent or borrow and is used in connection with your business. (Other insurance companies for small businesses call it inland marine insurance, but we like to keep things clear and simple.)

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Commercial Property Insurance

Commercial property insurance covers costs because of direct physical loss or damage to your building or your contents in situations like a fire or windstorm. Even your accounts receivable can be protected by commercial property coverage.

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General liability insurance

A must-have for almost every pet business owner, general liability insurance can provide the investigation, legal defense, and settlements for third-party claims related to scenarios like the following:

Non-employee bodily injury

Imagine that you’re a dog walker who’s taken the dogs to the park. Should they accidentally injure a third party, you could be held liable for their medical costs. (However, to cover the costs of any injuries or illnesses that your employees sustain while on the job, you need workers’ compensation.)

Property damage

Say you’re a dog sitter for a particularly boisterous pup. Should the puppy chew and destroy your client’s baseboards, you could be held liable for the property damage.

Personal and advertising injury

There are several circumstances where your advertising could get you in hot water. If you take inspiration from another ad, you could be sued for copyright infringement. Likewise, if you disparage a competitor’s services, they could sue you for libel. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there!

Loss or injury to a pet

Most general liability insurance does not cover the loss or injury of a pet under your control. However, Thimble’s damage to customer’s property coverage (aka animal bailee coverage) helps cover your costs if a client’s animal incurs an injury or gets lost while in your care.

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Professional liability insurance

Professional liability insurance is useful for some types of pet businesses. This coverage provides investigation and defense for claims and pays damages where a client claims your advice led to their financial loss. When it comes to pet businesses, dog groomers and trainers can benefit from professional liability insurance.

For example, as a dog trainer, you help prepare your client’s aspiring show dog for an upcoming tournament. Unfortunately, you can’t get them up to speed in agility or obedience within the timetable you proposed. Should the pooch be unable to compete, the owners could accuse you of affecting their ability to win their category, sell breeding rights, and make future earnings. You could be held liable for their financial loss.

In summary, if you give your clients professional advice or render services that could impact them financially, you likely need professional liability insurance.

Equipment insurance

While general liability insurance can cover damage to third-party property (clients’ and bystanders’ property), it doesn’t cover damage to your property. While most pet care providers don’t require expensive equipment, some business owners may choose to purchase additional coverage to protect their equipment.

Called inland marine insurance in standard insurance terms, or simply Business Equipment Protection at Thimble, this coverage protects against accidental damage, loss, or theft to the equipment you own or lease that goes with you to jobs or otherwise on the road.

For example, a mobile dog grooming business owner may choose to purchase Business Equipment Protection to help protect the tools of the trade that travel with them.

When selecting a policy, look for blanket coverage, which doesn’t require you to specifically list the equipment you want to be covered in your policy details. (If you have to list the equipment, that is called “scheduled property coverage.”)

Commercial property insurance

If you own or lease a physical building for your business, you likely need commercial property insurance. This coverage protects your owned first-party property (aka your physical business assets).

After all, any damage to the premises of your pet hotel or dog training facility could limit your ability to open and grow your business. Likewise, it can be expensive to replace the valuable equipment inside if it’s lost, damaged, or stolen.

If you lease a building, your landlord may require that you get insurance to cover the landlord’s liability interest, so check with your landlord. If you own your building, secure your investment by making sure you’ve properly covered it with the right insurance coverage.

Pet Business Insurance FAQs

Why choose Thimble for Pet Business Insurance

As a pet business owner, you never want to end up in the dog house, especially when you could have stayed out with the right business insurance.

At Thimble, we’ve created insurance that works for pet business owners with the coverage you need and when you need it.

While most general liability coverage excludes loss and damage to pets, we know this is a top concern for pet business owners. That’s why we include animal bailee coverage as part of our Pet Business Insurance.

Our on-demand Pet Business Insurance is fast, easy, and flexible. Purchase coverage by the hour, day, week, or month so that you’re only paying when you’re on the clock with your pet business.

Hopefully, the claws don’t come out in your client interactions. But if they do, you’ll be well-prepared to preserve your business’ long-term health with pet business insurance.

Ready to get started?

Just click “Get a Quote” or download the Thimble app, answer a few questions, and we’ll generate an instant quote. Click to purchase your policy and we’ll send it and your Certificate of Insurance (COI) to your inbox. In fact, we’ll send you as many COIs as you need and when you need them at no additional cost. At Thimble, we’re both bark and bite about helping you protect your business.

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