What is business insurance and why should we have it?
At time of writing, there are only two types of insurance that are compulsory here in the UK – these being Vehicle and Employer’s Liability if additional people are involved with the business, be they employees or volunteers.
However, even if there is no additional staff involved, we strongly recommend that any business get themselves a good robust, all round, business insurance cover.
It is important to understand that a professional dog walker is legally responsible and liable for the period a dog is in their care and why we as an organisation request all membership applications are supported with a current pet business insurance cover.
There are many providers on the market, we would recommend you speak with them all to get the best possible cover for you / your business that you can. A standard dog walking business insurance policy would usually cover you for public liability; care, custody and control, non-negligent cover, key cover.
It is worth noting that not all companies automatically provide cover for all pet care related services or small-holding cover, so you would need to discuss with them the services you provide and understand fully what you are covered for.
Dog Walking / Pet Business Insurance
Public Liability
Public liability cover forms a vital part of any Pet Business Insurance policy and can save you and your business from substantial financial problems. If a third-party claims that you have caused them injury or damaged their property, you could find yourself and your business being sued. So, for example, if a dog you were walking was to bite a member of the public and they deem it to be your fault, you could be covered. The same principle would be applied if the damage was caused to a third party’s property. Regardless of whether it was you or a dog you are walking that caused the damage if you are deemed to be blamed in some way, public liability cover may protect you.
Most insurers will provide between £1 million and £10 million worth of public liability cover.
Care, Custody and Control
Provides you with protection should one of your client’s pets get injured, go missing or even die whilst in your care.
Key cover
Many business owners will take charge of a client’s keys to collect dogs for their daily walks. Losing the key to someone’s home has a two-fold effect. Firstly, the cost of a new key and secondly the cost of replacing the locks that would need to be broken to get back into the property. Some policies will cover the replacement of lost keys and damaged locks. Costs involved in setting or resetting intruder alarms. Temporary security protection while the above is arranged.
Group dog walking
Most companies include cover for a maximum of 6 dogs walked together (we as an organisation advocate up to 4, well behaved dogs be walked together).
Additional options
Additional cover options might be available such as, but not limited to Equipment Cover, Personal Accident, Professional Indemnity if you are providing advice, Employers Liability if you intend to take staff on (as noted above, Employers Liability is compulsory in the UK).
Prices may vary depending on what services you provide, your area, how much public liability you need, and of course any add on options.
We are delighted that Protectivity offers our members a 5% discount on pet business insurance (pbi); subject to their terms and conditions. Protectivity already give 10% off their pbi when purchasing online so it will equate to a 15% discount on the current online rates. This 5% discount is exclusive to members of the Professional Dog Walkers Association but is unfortunately not available to current/renewing Protectivity Insurance customers.
Protectivity’s pbi additional 5% discount applies only applies to subscribed PDWA members can only be redeemed online via a link provided in our members area once your account has been created. Protectivity Insurance withholds the right to revoke or change this discount without giving notice, this is out with our control.
Protectivity have supported our members for over 4 years!
Thank you for reading!
