The following companies are known to provide
quality pet sitting insurance. Contact the companies directly for more
details.
If you provide pet sitter insurance,
including care/custody/control, and would like to be listed, please send us an
email.
Disclaimers: Printable Version: Updated 7/2/2009
Professional United Pet Sitters LLC
is NOT affiliated with any pet sitter and dog walker liability
insurance companies, including the ones listed below.
Professional United Pet Sitters LLC does NOT
offer or endorse ANY Pet Sitter insurance, business insurance, health insurance,
or bonding.
Pet
sitter insurance companies are listed below for your convenience only.
No
pet sitter insurance is included with membership to PUPS.
Professional United Pet Sitters LLC, PetSits.Com, Happy At Home Pet Sitters, and
the owners are not liable for errors in or related to information presented
here. Please contact the companies directly for more current information. The
information listed is the limited understanding we have based on the info we’ve
received. It may be right, or it may be inaccurate. Or the insurance may be
changing while we speak. This is just for information purposes only, and we can
not and do not guarantee the accuracy in any way at any time. We are not
personally or professionally affiliated with any insurance listed below. www.PetSits.Com
Note: bonding generally applies only when subject is
convicted of theft in criminal court or proven guilty of a crime.
Restitution may be sought by the insurance company.
Yes
Includes
coverage for Third-Party Bonding.
Yes
Includes
$20,000 Third Party Dishonesty Bond.
Yes
Includes
$5,000 dishonesty bond for hired and incidental employees (including ICs)
Is theft insurance available
No
No
No
Liability limits
$2,000,000 General Liability
$500 Lost Key
$2,000,000 Annual Aggregate
$2,000,000 Each Occurrence
$2,000,000
Personal/Ad Inj
$2,000,000
Products/Completed Ops
$2,000,000
Non-owned auto/Op
$500 Lost Key
$2,000,000 Commercial general liability, including in
client's home
$50,000 pets in your care
$5,000 Business Property, can be increased.
$500 Lost Key
$1,000,000 General Liability
$10,000 for animals in transit
Is care, custody, and control / Animal Bailee included?
(covers if you are liable for damage/death
of a pet - including vet care, property replacement, etc)
Yes
Limit Unknown
Yes
Limit Unknown
Yes
$5,000 per animal
Is there coverage for claims with no pet sitter negligence?
(this can be used if you need to take
the pet to the emergency vet and the client is unwilling to reimburse you
for the visit)
Unknown, Unlikely
Unknown, Unlikely
Unknown, Unlikely
Effective date
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown. Policy start date is July 10, but
partial year policies are prorated.
Note: ICs should always get their own coverage in the
own business name separately through their own business. It is best
for you to also cover them also with your policy through your business.
Yes
You are covered for anyone acting on your behalf.
Yes
Each must be
bondable
Yes
Are under 18 year old employees covered to do pet sits alone?
Unknown
(Yes in
2007)
Unknown
No
Can I bring my kids to sits?
Note - insurance coverage does not include injuries or
damage to the children or the children's property.
Unknown
(Yes in
2007)
Unknown
No
Do I lose coverage if I place a certain # of claims?
No
Unknown
No
Deductible
$500 Property Damage
$500 to business property
$250 for lost key
$250 for
crime or bond issues
$500 for
all claims
Medicating covered
Yes
...but with controls. Contact Binks for further discussion.
Unknown
Yes
Is housesitting (No pets) coverage available/included?
Yes
Must be incidental to overall pet-sitting operations.
Yes
Yes including snow removal and lawn care.
Is pet taxi covered?
Note: No auto-insurance is included - just coverage for
the pet
Yes
Unknown
Yes
Are overnights at the client's home covered?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Is boarding / day care covered at your own home?
Yes
...but if your operations are more like a kennel,
Binks will arrange coverage differently.
Yes
Yes
Is grooming covered?
Yes
Must be incidental to overall pet-sitting operations.
Unknown
Yes
Is poo scooping only service (no pet sitting) covered?
Yes
Must be incidental to overall pet-sitting operations.
Unknown
Probably yes, under lawn care.
Are all animals covered?
Yes
...but if horses or rare/exotic animals are involved, Binks should be
advised.
A sitter was told that they will cover backyard
animals, such as a cow, if and only if there is also an indoor domestic
animal in the home. We have not verified that.
No
Large show
animals and agricultural animals are excluded
Is online listing available
No
A listing
is included with your membership to PSI on their website.
No
No
Insurance Provided By
Unknown
Was ING
Insurance Company of Canada in 2007
Unknown
Unknown, was Aviva Insurance Company of Canada in 2007
Additional Information:
Injury to yourself or your personal belongings (including pets)
As far as we know, no Pet Sitter insurance covers harm to yourself, people you bring along, personal pets you bring along or your personal / business belongings.
If you are hurt in a client's home, this would something that would usually be covered by Worker's Compensation. Many business owning sitters do not have worker's comp for themselves (and some are not allowed to get it in their states to cover THEMSELVES), but must have it for their employees. So you will want to consider looking into a worker's comp plan for yourself to cover injuries acquired on the job. Or start a big savings account for emergencies!
The vast majority of regular health insurance providers do NOT cover injuries acquired while on the job.
You can try to sue a client for injuries acquired do to their negligence. For example, if the roof caves in on your head, you could probably sue for your injuries. The client's personal insurances may cover these situations.
Injuries to yourself acquired from a pet in your care, under a pet sitting contract, may be entirely your responsibility. Some states regulate that once you agree to take control of the pet by caring for it, you are entirely responsible for injuries caused by the pet to others or yourself. Your Pet Sitter insurance will cover injuries to others (up to the limit), but not to your own person. Other states have different standards, so you could try to sue the owner and hope for the best.
As a side note, if a client pet (or any wild animal for that matter) bites you and you report it to a doctor, by law most if not all have to report it to the state. Police will likely come to take information, and may take the dog/cat, no matter what the circumstances. Vicious and dangerous hearings may result. So obviously, don't lie and tell a doctor your own pet bit you to hide the truth!
Another side note - if you get bit and need a stitch or 2 and some antibiotics, it will cost lots - a lot more than you expect if you are used to having health insurance. So just step back and rethink twice if you are a little nervous about any animal. It's certainly not worth the cost!
Negligence Required
Pet Sitter insurance generally covers you ONLY if you were negligent in your duties. If something is beyond your control, you are not covered or liable. For example, if a broken sink starts to leak and you haven't touched it, you are not responsible. There are a lot of fuzzy areas, and the pet sitter insurances above (at least the first 2) have a good track record of sorting out fuzzy items.
Exception: PSA does include limited vet coverage for non-negligent
situations as listed in the chart.
Considering a Claim
Consider placing a claim even if you think you are not covered. Adjusters have the job of finding out what your coverage really is, so it can't hurt to file a claim (unless you are filing many and are about to get dropped).
Potential Areas Covered: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New
Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia,
Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories,
Nunavut, and Yukon.
