In 1992, Business Insurers of the Carolinas was approached by a leading pet sitter association to create insurance policies that would thoroughly cover pet sitters. Many of the insurance needs pet sitters require are unique to their profession and so we worked to create policies that would best fit their needs. Since then, we have continued to add and adjust as the industry has expanded and new insurance needs have come to light. Every pet sitter should do their research and search out the right insurance to fit their needs regardless of the company they choose for their coverage. A great place to start is with a primer on the most common coverage and policies.
General Liability Insurance
General Liability Insurance is a form of insurance that protects the policy owner from acts of negligence and/or omissions resulting in bodily injury and/or property damage to another. This specifically covers injury and damage to a third party. It does not cover business owners, employees or contractors.
Business Insurers of the Carolinas offers liability protection (without requiring a membership to any association) through Pet Care Affiliates.The Basic Liability Limits are:
- $2,000,000 General Aggregate
- $2,000,000 Products/Complete Operations
- $1,000,000 Personal & Advertising Injury
- $1,000,000 Each Occurrence
- $300,000 Fire Legal Liability
- $10,000 Medical Payments
- $100 Deductible Per Claim
This policy includes special features that are specific to common claims filed by pet sitters. There is coverage for lost keys whether they are in the possession of the business owner or employees, which provides up to $2500 to replace keys and to re-key customer's locks. There is a $100 deductible on lost key coverage which allows this coverage to apply when multiple keys are lost or stolen at one time. The policy also includes coverage for damage to property in your care, custody or control, including the pet.
Care, Custody or Control Coverage
Care, Custody or Control (CCC) Coverage is the key ingredient to insuring a pet sitter. This provides coverage for the client's pets and personal property in your care, custody or control - which includes pets while in transport in a vehicle, pet taxi and other means. Veterinary medical expenses are also a part of the CCC Coverage and the policy pays claims regardless of the negligence/fault for accidental injuries to pets. The limits for this coverage begin at $10,000 but can be written up to $200,000 depending on the coverage you are most comfortable holding. Please keep in mind when choosing your limit that $10,000 may not be enough to cover all pet injuries. Also keep in mind as you shop around that the PCA liability policy offers the broadest coverage available, unlike other carriers that may limit you with a sublimit of $1,000 or $2,000 per animal, and/or will not cover you unless there is clear negligence on the part of the sitter. Whether or not an act is negligent is a huge gray area and that stipulation may mean you are not covered through another carrier.
Keep in mind as well that under the PCA policy, we cover all independent contractors, employees, and volunteers. Most other insurance companies will only cover employees and volunteers and do not provide coverage for true independent contractors. So if you are insured with another company, please be sure to check with your insurance company/agent. We have had several members switch to the PCA policy after they incurred a claim with another carrier and found out their independent contractor was not covered. So this is worth investigating on your policy.
A Look At the Most Common Claims
Care, Custody or Control Coverage claims are typically where an accident has occurred and a pet was injured. There are many ways in which a pet can be injured even when under the care of the most conscientious pet sitter. For example, we have common claims in which a client's dog got away from the pet sitter and ran into the road where it was hit by a car. Paid claims range from $350-$19,286.
Another extremely common CCC Claim is damage to property. As an example, a sitter flushed too much toilet paper down the toilet, which overflowed after the sitter left the house. When the sitter returned, there was extensive water damage to the floor, ceiling, and contents. Although the damage to the house is considered real property and covered under the basic liability limits, the contents are not, and must be covered under the care, custody or control form. Paid range: $5,044 - $105,474.
Claims which involve pets in the care of a pet sitter injuring a third party are also very common and can be extremely costly. Dog bites are not unusual but other injuries occur as well. One such incident is while in a dog park, a sitter threw a ball for the dog to fetch. The dog ran into a lady causing her to fall. The lady suffered severe injury to her knee which required surgery. Paid range: $3,500-$230,058.
A pet sitter's worst nightmare is probably a Completed Operations Claim. Unfortunately these do happen. For example, a sitter did not write the correct dates on the calendar and subsequently missed a full week of visits to one of her regular clients. The client's dog missed six days of medication and had numerous accidents throughout the house, but was found alive. The paid range for this is $3,500 - $15,000.
Beyond general liability, pet sitters should consider bonding for the coverage of theft, carry commercial auto insurance, and of course, have workers compensation insurance, which is compulsory in most states.
Bonding
The Dishonesty Bond protects you and your customers from loss as a result of theft committed by you or your employees. The definition of employee includes all owners and officers, full and part-time employees, independent contractors, and volunteers. You are covered up to the policy limit of liability for each loss occurrence. There is no aggregate limit of liability.
The bond will apply only after establishment of proof that the accused party has, in fact, committed a criminal act. After payment of the claim to the client up to the limit of the Bond, the insurance company will seek restitution from the guilty party.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Auto liability is not covered under the PCA general liability policy, although coverage is offered by Business Insurers of the Carolinas separately. If you or your employees/independent contractors cause damage to a third party while driving your vehicles(s), the claim would not be covered by the PCA Liability policy. So you may want to consider covering your business with Commercial Auto Insurance, for the purposes of third party damages involving business vehicles.
Commercial Auto Insurance provides several features. The first is Auto Liability Insurance to cover bodily injury or property damage to a third party (person or vehicles) caused by your owned or leased vehicle up to the limit you choose ($300,000 or higher limits recommended). There is also Physical Damage Coverage which includes Comprehensive coverage for "Acts of God" such as wind or hail, a rock hitting your windshield, or theft of the vehicle. And Collision Coverage for damage in which you are at fault and want repaired. For example -if you run your car into a client's garage, liability would cover the garage, and collision would cover the damage your vehicle sustained.
Hired & Non-Owned Liability Coverage covers you in two instances: hired liability would cover liability on a rented or "hired" vehicle and non-owned liability protects your business should your employees drive their own vehicle on behalf of the business. For example, if your employee hits a child on a bike while pulling out of your client's driveway, or an employee is involved in an accident going from one client to the next, and the family were to sue the employee and the business, you would be covered.
Workers Compensation Insurance
While General Liability covers third party claims, Workers Compensation Insurance covers the employer for occupational injuries sustained by employees (and depending on state laws, independent contractors). Again this would not be covered under the PCA Liability policy, but can be purchased separately through Business Insurers of the Carolinas. Claims include on the job injuries that occur "in the course of employment" such as a dog bite, occupational diseases that result from employment (for example Carpel Tunnel or Rabies), and employer's liability that is excluded from employment (for example Spouse or Family member of employee sues alleging employer negligence).
Workers Compensation is compulsory in all states, save Texas, although laws differ depending on each individual state statute. In some states it is required no matter how many employees you have and in others you may not need it unless you have a certain number of employees. State laws also vary on whether independent contractors must be covered—be sure to follow the laws in your state!
Understanding the insurance coverage available to you and your needs is an important component to running a successful business. There is no reason to have more coverage than you need, but you should feel confident that you are covered for any event and accidents that concern you. If you have specific concerns about your policy and what is covered, you should speak with a representative of Business Insurers of the Carolinas to make certain that you understand and have what you need. If you already have insurance through PCA or are thinking about getting it, you can call us anytime. We are here to answer your questions!