What is Dog Day Care Insurance?

Dog day care insurance is an insurance policy that covers just about any liability or incident that may occur in the process of opening and running your business. It is sometimes referred to as animal boarding insurance or kennel insurance.

Dog day care insurance is designed to protect you as a business owner, your employees, your clients, and the animals. You can customize your plan to suit your business’s needs and protect the business you’ve worked so hard to build.

The Importance of Dog Day Care Insurance

Of course, every business owner hopes to avoid emergencies, accidents, or liabilities. However, with so many factors in play at a dog daycare, there are a number of risks that you should be prepared for before they occur. Read on to find out more about some of those risks.

Client or Animal Injuries

Any business should have insurance to cover the cost of compensating an injured client or customer. Whether your client slips on a wet floor and injures their back or is attacked by a dog staying on your property, they have the right to sue your company. Typically, lawsuits of this nature will include medical bills and missed income as a result of their injury.

When you’re working not just with people but also with animals, you have to consider the animals’ wellbeing, too. If a dog gets hurt or sick under your care, you are at risk of yet another lawsuit.

Property Damage

You never know when an accident or emergency could cause detrimental damage to your property. Bad wiring or unmonitored appliances could lead to a fire. Cracked or frozen plumbing could lead to a leak or even a flood.

Not only do you have to pay to repair any damaged property but your business will lose money in the days or weeks it is closed for repair. Without insurance, your business may suffer massive financial blows in the face of property damage.

Employee Injuries

According to the National Safety Council, one employee is injured at their place of work every seven seconds. No matter how hard you and your staff work to prevent workplace injuries, accidents can still occur.

If there’s one thing dog daycare owners know, it’s that dogs can be temperamental, especially when confined in the same area as other dogs. Your employees are trained to handle dogs and recognize warning signs but that doesn’t mean that they’ll always be prepared for the unexpected.

If one of your employees gets injured while on the job, it is most likely your responsibility to cover their out-of-pocket medical expenses. In addition, they will need compensation for the hours missed while they are treated for and recovering from their workplace injury.

Now that you have a few examples of why it’s important to have dog day care insurance, let’s talk about some of the specifics. Below you will find a breakdown of the different types of dog daycare insurance and what they cover.

General Liability

General liability insurance protects your dog day care from any third party claims arising from property damage or personal injuries. In other words, this covers lawsuits against your business filed by clients. These lawsuits are viable in court if the injury or damaged property is the result of the negligence of you or your employees.

Commericial Property

Commercial property insurance protects any and all physical assets of your dog day care. This may include kennels, grooming tables, and outdoor equipment, for example. It also includes your building and infrastructure.

Commercial property insurance is designed to cover the cost of damage incurred by things like fires, explosions, and theft. In other words, it will help you pay for the replacement or repair of your commercial property.

Commercial Auto

Do you use business-owned or business-leased vehicles at your dog day care? If any of these vehicles are involved in the injury or property damage of a third party, your business will be held accountable for the expenses. Commercial auto insurance will help you cover the fines you receive in a legal settlement.

Even if your business does not own or lease a vehicle, non-owned auto coverage may be a good idea. This will protect your business in the event that one of your employees injures a third party or damages a third party’s vehicle while on your business’s property.

Workers Compensation

Once you start hiring employees, it’s important that you check your state’s laws regarding workers’ compensation insurance. Nearly every state requires that you have it. However, they have different laws regarding how many employees you can hire before you are legally required to purchase a workers’ compensation insurance plan.

Workers compensation insurance will cover things like medical bills and lost income your employees may accrue in the event of a workplace injury. Basically, you are asking them to take a risk by working in your building and with your clients’ dogs several days a week. It is your responsibility to provide the appropriate benefits they need to afford any injuries they receive in taking that risk.

Business Income

After a fire or electrical explosion, your business may have to shut down for a few days or weeks. Commercial property insurance will help you pay for the repairs. Business income insurance will help you make up some of the income you’ve lost in the time that your business has been closed.

While business income is always important, it is especially crucial in the early years. You may not be turning a huge profit right away, and any lost income will push your dog day care further into the red.

Tenant Improvements

Tenant improvements insurance is a good asset whether you own or lease your dog day care’s building. If you are leasing the space, you will want to go over your lease to determine what kind of tenant improvements insurance you need.

Tenant improvements insurance will help you pay for any changes or renovations made in order to improve the building. This could include, for example, replacing old pipes or installing a new HVAC system. It could also include renovations like adding a new bathroom or knocking down walls.

If you are leasing, the person responsible for paying for these kinds of improvements will depend on your lease. It will also depend on who technically “owns” the improvements as well as other factors you will have to determine with your landlord.

Animal Bailee

Animal bailee will help your dog day care cover the cost of treating or locating an injured or lost dog. If a client’s dog becomes injured or lost while under your care, you will be responsible for paying some of the resultant expenses. This can include veterinary bills as well as advertising or reward payments for lost dogs.

Employment Practice Liability Insurance

Employment practice liability insurance is the only coverage designed to protect you against claims of bad business practices, as opposed to injury or damaged property. It is to be used in the event that an employee or client files a claim against your business for something like discrimination, harassment, or wrongful termination.

Getting Insured by Agents Who Know the Dog Day Care Industry

If you are starting a dog day care business, it’s important that you receive your dog daycare insurance from agents who understand your industry. An experienced agent can help you decide which policies are best for your business and how much coverage you should receive.

If you’re wondering about dog daycare insurance cost, get in contact with us and we can send you a free quote based on your predicted needs.

Work with Pet Business Insurance and you’ll be guaranteed good service from experienced agents who care about you and your dog day care business.