Proper Insurance For The Professional Pet Sitter
Do you feel like you are stuck in a dead-end job, going nowhere in life? Maybe you are just starting out and need something to get you up and going. Maybe you are looking to earn a little extra cash on the side. Perhaps, you need to supplement your income while this pandemic passes. Whatever the situation is, pet sitting is one of your best options. Similar to that of babysitting, pet sitting offers more of a laid back environment and atmosphere. Not only this, but it is a field that you can jump right into. You don’t need any special skills, degrees, or training, although the experience does come in handy.
That all being, it certainly doesn’t mean that the industry doesn’t come along without risks. It certainly does and you’ll need the right pet care insurance policies in place to protect against those risks. What are these risks and what policies can help mitigate the potential damages?
A Look At The Risks
Before you learn about the different types of policies available to you as a professional pet sitter, you’ll need to learn about the risks. While there are so many risks, it’d be nearly impossible to list them all here, but knowing the most important ones will be the best start. Your biggest and first risk is a lawsuit. That being said, a lawsuit can come in many different forms. It can come from your employees, it can come from customers, and it could even come from pedestrians passing by on your property. Canada is a cold place with a lot of cold weather.
Ice, sleet, and snow are not uncommon to the area. Just imagine if a customer slips and falls on a path of unsalted ice while dropping off a pet. Regardless of how serious the injury is, they can sue. If a pet escapes while under your care, customers can sue. If someone passing by is injured by one of the animals you are sitting, they can sue. A lawsuit might seem like a minor thing, but these cases can sometimes end up in the court system for years and months. The longer they stay in the system, the more money it’ll cost you in the long run.
You can see how immense this risk alone is, and it is just one of the potentials. There is also a chance that the customer’s property can get damaged while on your property. There is always the chance of an injured pet while under your care. There are all things that could also lead to a potential lawsuit and medical expenses. So, without a doubt, a lawsuit is your biggest risk because it could force you to shut down your doors. Shutting down your business would not only affect you, your employees, and your customers, but it would be disastrous to your family. Especially if you are the sole or main provider of income.
General Liability Insurance Helps
You learned about the risk of a pet getting injured while under your care. Even if it is an accident and you are willing to pay the medical expenses, the customer still has the option of taking the case to court. Even just paying the medical expenses alone would do a lot of financial damage to some companies. How much do you think a broken dog leg is going for these days? You are looking at potentially thousands. Couple this with a few more injuries, and it’d be easy to see how any small pet sitting business could go broke from such incidents.
Luckily, this is exactly where general liability insurance helps out. It’ll not only pay the medical-related expenses in the above situations, but it’ll cover any court-related costs. Need a lawyer? It’ll help you find one and pay for the retainers in the process. General liability insurance also protects in the event that the customer’s property is damaged while on your property. If a customer’s vehicle is damaged while sitting on your property, this policy will cover those damages as well as the potential lawsuit that might follow. Anything from something as small as a pet carrier to something as big a vehicle, this policy will offer the protection that you need.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance Helps
It would be entirely possible for you to run a pet sitting shop all by yourself. This is especially true if you were doing it out of your home. The only problem is that you would expand. You’d only even bring in as much money as you are currently bringing in. While this is fine with some individuals, there are others that want to grow and open more shops. They want to maximize in the industry. And there is plenty of room to grow in an industry like this.
That being said, growing will require bringing on employees. Unfortunately, while bringing on employees is a natural part of growing and expanding, it will put you are more risks. Not only will you be at risk of your employees making mistakes on the job, but you’ll be at risk of employees getting injured on the job. This is something that happens a lot more often than you’d imagine. Even in the pet sitting business. Isn’t it possible that an employee could be physically assaulted and permanently injured by a dog you are watching?
Sure, it is, and it happens all the time. This is where workers’ comp offers the help and protection that you need. It’ll not only cover the medical-related expenses with the incident, but it’ll cover rehab costs and lawsuits if the employee wants to sue. There are some providers like ProfessionalsCoverage that even offer plans that cover an employee’s lost wages. Whatever the situation, if you are going to have employees, this is a policy that you’ll not want to skimp on. Make sure you get the maximum protection.
Errors And Omissions Insurance Helps
Errors and omissions insurance or professional liability is one that any business can benefit from. Whether you are in the pet sitting business, pet grooming, or pet surgical industry, you’ll need errors and omissions insurance. Why? Because it protects against potential mistakes that you can make. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in business, how good you are, or how much you know, there is always the potential for mistakes. Mistakes that customers could claim as negligence. The point is, these claims will eventually lead back to your biggest threat, a lawsuit.
Something as simple as a customer claiming that you did not deliver on the services provided could result in a lawsuit or financial repercussions. Anything that costs your customers clients financially will end up costing you financially. This is the type of protection that errors and omissions insurance offers and why it is pertinent for any Canadian business.
How Much Will Insurance Cost Your Business
Anyone can clearly see that the above policies are pertinent for professional pet sitters. The real question now becomes how much are they going to cost you. The only problem is that this is a tricky question with a tricky answer, given that different providers base their rates on different factors. Some might base their rates on the number of employees you currently have, while some might base the rates on the types of services that you offer. This is why when you get quotes for the same policies from different providers, they’ll be different.
This is just another reason that getting quotes is so important. It’ll help you compare prices amongst all the providers available. Just remember, the cheapest isn’t always your best option.
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Other Types of Pet Care Insurance We Provide:
If your business is not mentioned below, have no worries. Our insurance markets can provide liability coverage for the majority of pet care industries.