Finding the right insurance for your pet business

Sorting out insurance tends to end up low down on people’s ‘To Do’ lists. For professionals in the pet industry, finding the right insurance to protect your business is a must as it gives you the peace of mind of knowing that if anything goes wrong you have a measure of financial protection.  And fortunately,  it needn’t be difficult or overly time consuming or even expensive!

Whether you’re a pet sitter, dog groomer, pet retailer or animal carer, every pet industry business is unique. Start off by assessing your potential risks, as this will help you identify the type of insurance your business requires.

For example, rather then operating a pet store that only sells stock, perhaps your pet business offers animal grooming services. In which case you may want an insurance policy that not only covers the cost of lost, damaged or stolen stock, but also safeguards against the cost of medical treatment for animals in your care.  If you are a mobile operator you will want to make sure all the tools of your trade are protected as you move around to your clients.

To help discover which insurance policy you might need, ask yourself:

• What type of claim could potentially be brought against my business?
• What are some possible damages or injuries my business, my staff or I might sustain?
• Do you have employees?
• How much would it cost to replace your property, stock or equipment in the event of theft, fire or a natural disaster?
• Could your business survive financially if there was a law suit against you for negligence?

Even when you do everything right in your business, it doesn’t mean that things cannot go wrong!

What types of pet business insurance is available?

There are many types of pet business insurance. Some common products that are considered include:

Public liability

Public liability insurance covers your potential liabilities to third parties for property damage or personal injury as a result of your business-related activities.

For example, you’re a dog walker and one of the dogs in your care decides to go bounding over to another person in the dog park, knocking them over and injuring them you could be up for medical costs for the injured person.

Professional Indemnity

Professional indemnity insurance protects you against financial loses for legal action taken against you or your business for errors, negligent acts or oversights made during the provision of professional services or advice.

For example, if a pet owner decides to take legal action against you for accidentally injuring or losing their animal, this would offer you protection.

Employment practices liability

For businesses that employ staff, employment practices liability provides protection from the financial cost associated with employee claims.  For example, this could be claims for unfair dismissal, harassment and bullying.  This may not be necessary for all businesses, but can easily be added as an option under your Business Insurance.

Theft

Theft insurance safeguards your business against damage and loss of supplies due to theft.  When you consider this cover you need to think about the financial strain that could be put on your business if you were to lose your stock or contents.

General property

General property insurance covers loss or damage to portable or valuable business-related items,  This may be important for a mobile groomer as it would cover your grooming gear, your laptop and other tools of your trade.

Personal accident

Personal accident insurance compensates you for loss of earnings due to an accident or illness that prevents you from performing your job.  If you are in a situation where you depend upon your income, this may be an important option for you to consider as it can help tide you over so you can recover with less financial stress.

Business

Like many insurance policies, business insurance can be tailored to your individual needs. Essentially, business insurance provides peace of mind that your contents and equipment are safe and that major interruptions to your business won’t have lasting financial effect.

Most professionals know the importance of protecting their business and finding suitable insurance is the best way to achieve this. It doesn’t matter what type of pet business you operate, there is an insurance policy to suit your needs, bringing peace of mind to you and your customers.