Pet Groomer Insurance
If you own a pet grooming business, you provide an invaluable service to passionate pet owners. At the same time, as a business owner, you face risks that can hinder your success or even force you out of business.
In order to protect your reputation and your livelihood, you need tailored business insurance that addresses your unique exposures. A local independent insurance agent can help you get the coverage you need.
Why Do You Need Pet Groomer Insurance?
Pet groomers are highly sought-after professionals who help pet owners keep their special companions clean and healthy. While you are entrusted with bathing, brushing, nail clipping, and a variety of other services, you face numerous exposures to liability claims. An injured or lost pet could result in serious damage to your reputation, as well as a lawsuit that could put you out of business forever.
You need comprehensive, tailored pet groomer insurance to help protect your livelihood.
What Does Pet Groomer Liability Insurance Cover?
Pet groomers must address the public liability risks associated with the general public and unpredictable pets coming into contact and sharing space on their premises. Commercial general liability insurance provides broad liability protection for third-party bodily injury and property damage. It pays for your legal defense, third-party medical bills, settlements, and judgments. CGL insurance also Includes coverage for claims of advertising liability, libel, and slander.
Some examples of incidents where pet groomers liability insurance can help you include:
- Slips and falls on your premises.
- A customer is bitten by another customer’s dog.
- A dog gets loose from your building, runs into the street, and causes a car crash.
You may also need a variety of other special liability policies or coverage endorsements in order to make sure that all of your exposures are mitigated.
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What Does Pet Groomer Property Insurance Cover?
Pet groomers need commercial property insurance to repair or replace lost, stolen, or damaged property in instances of fire, certain weather events, smoke, theft, or vandalism. Even if you rent your space, you still need property coverage for the contents of your space, including office furniture, waiting room furniture or fixtures, grooming and washing stations, shampooing and grooming tools, leashes, kennels and crates, and other contents on your premises.
Your business property policy should also include business interruption coverage, which provides income protection if you must temporarily cease operations due to a covered loss (a property loss due to a fire, a severe weather event, etc.).
You might be eligible for a business owners policy (BOP). The BOP is a convenient package policy that includes commercial liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and business interruption insurance. If you qualify for a BOP, you can still add endorsements or purchase any additional coverage that you might need.
What Is Animal Bailee’s Coverage?
What if an animal in your care runs away or is stolen, lost, or injured?
Animal bailee’s coverage is insurance designed for pet groomers and others in the pet services industry that temporarily take possession of other people’s pets, with the expectation that they will be returned unharmed.
Animal bailee’s coverage provides protection where your standard property policy does not. Your business property policy will not pay for costs related to the injury, death, or loss of a customer’s pet, or other people’s property that is in your care, custody, or control. Bailee’s coverage may pay for resulting veterinary costs if an animal is injured or becomes ill while in your care, and may even pay for costs related to lawsuits after such an incident.
Do Pet Groomers Need Professional Liability Insurance?
Pet groomers might also need pet groomers professional liability insurance, or errors and omissions insurance. This is tailored liability coverage that protects you if a client claims you have been negligent in providing professional services. For example:
- A customer claims that a show dog doesn’t win a prize because of a poor haircut.
Regardless of whether you are at fault, you will still need to pay for your legal defense. Pet groomers professional liability insurance will help with those costs, as well as any settlements or judgments that you are required to pay.
Talk with your independent insurance agent about whether you need professional liability coverage.
Do Mobile Pet Groomers Need Special Insurance Policies?
Mobile pet grooming services are becoming increasingly popular. Mobile pet groomers are unique businesses with a special set of risks that are different from groomers with storefronts.
Your van or trailer and the equipment inside it are irreplaceable; without them, you’d have no business. You are susceptible to break-ins, accidents, vandalism, theft, weather events, and more. You need insurance coverage to protect your grooming van and equipment, as well as liability insurance just like other pet groomers.
- Commercial general liability insurance is necessary for broad liability protection.
- Bailee’s coverage protects you if animals are injured, lost, or stolen while in your care.
- Professional liability insurance protects you from claims of negligence, errors, and omissions in your services.
- Commercial auto insurance protects your mobile grooming van in the event of accidents and other collisions (e.g., you hit a customers’ mailbox, a tree falls on your van), theft, vandalism, and weather events (e.g., hail, windstorm). It pays for repairs to your vehicle as well as medical bills, legal fees, and settlements or judgments that you are required to pay.
- Inland marine insurance protects grooming equipment and other business property inside your van, and in some cases the van itself. Standard commercial property insurance does not cover your business property while it is mobile; rather, you need inland marine insurance to protect the tools and other equipment you use in your work every day (commercial auto insurance does not cover this equipment either).
Do You Need Any Other Pet Groomer Insurance?
Pet groomers may face additional risks. Any groomer who has employees is likely to need workers’ compensation insurance to protect employees who are injured on the job. Your employees face all kinds of risks, from dealing with multiple, unpredictable pets, to slips, falls, and repetitive motion injuries. This valuable insurance protection is required for most businesses that have employees, and will keep you from being sued if an employee is injured while working for you.
You may also want to look into commercial umbrella insurance, or excess liability insurance. It provides an extra layer of liability protection above and beyond the limits of your general liability policy and certain other liability policies. It kicks in and provides coverage when those other applicable policies have been exhausted. If you are involved in a significant claim or lawsuit, this coverage can be the difference between staying in business and closing up shop for good.
Commercial auto insurance needs will vary among pet groomers. If your business owns autos of any kind, you need commercial auto insurance. What’s more, if you or any employees drive personal vehicles for business purposes, you need non-owned auto liability coverage.
Talk to your independent insurance agent about how vehicles and driving are involved in your day-to-day operations in order to obtain the best coverage for your needs.
How Much Does Pet Groomer Insurance Cost?
In general, pet groomer insurance costs will vary depending on the size of your business, the number of employees you have, the amount and value of your commercial property, the location of your business, and a variety of other variables.
Mobile pet groomers will have different insurance needs and costs than groomers who operate from a brick-and-mortar location.
An independent insurance agent can guide you though your options so you get coverage that meets your needs and budget.
Benefits of an Independent Insurance Agent
Independent insurance agents simplify the search process for finding the right pet groomer insurance. They’ll walk you through some handpicked policy options and explain the details.
Most importantly, they’ll be there for you when claim time comes. They know the ins and outs of the process and will make sure your claim is handled appropriately.
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Our independent agents shop around to find you the best coverage.
The Lowdown on Online Quotes
Online quotes can be tempting. They are fast and easy to get—but are they accurate? And are you getting quotes for the right coverage? For business owners, choosing speed over accuracy can cost you.
Online quotes can’t and don’t see the whole picture. They can leave out important coverage that will leave you devastated if something unexpected happens. And they can leave out cost-saving opportunities that an agent can help you take advantage of.
Instead of getting an online quote, find an independent insurance agent now, and get one-on-one consultation and affordable options for the best coverage for your unique needs.
TrustedChoice.com Article | Reviewed by Paul Martin
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