Animal Caretakers Insurance – Cost and Coverage

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Animal Caretakers insurance must be included in the list because you can’t always know exactly what could happen in the future.

With the protection provided by insurance against accidents and all the other sorts of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unwanted happens.

Like any business owner, for your Animal Caretakers enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

If your Animal Caretakers business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a tremendous chance not just of losing some money but of a final wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the results of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for small businesses to highlight what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where available, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your Animal Caretakers business?

What this means, for any Animal Caretakers business owner, is that if some customer claims that your actions caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your Animal Caretakers business is not harbored by laws in the same way as states are, where edicts can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Montana, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount a court can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the right of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a person more than they have claimed.

When you are running your Animal Caretakers operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the results of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent beforehand the money necessary to have your business running as an LLC, all of that liability belongs to you as an individual.

What does Animal Caretakers insurance protect you from?

For your Animal Caretakers business, the most important types of insurance are designed to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

Also there are some official kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will outline the most important points any Animal Caretakers business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main types of insurance for your Animal Caretakers businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Animal Caretakers business is dealing directly with members of the public, and that means you usually have the danger that some accident can happen to them themselves or else something of theirs can be damaged.

In such a case, they can demand compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Animal Caretakers business protects you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.

It protects your Animal Caretakers business from the claims themselves and also to any follow-on court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it can also help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts require proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your Animal Caretakers business would be with a cap of $1 million for a single event and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your Animal Caretakers insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Animal Caretakers business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Animal Caretakers business for them, you can quickly be involved in a law suit.

Even if the case against you is decided in your favor, the cost of defense can be large, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Every small Animal Caretakers business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover an individual claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of Animal Caretakers insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Animal Caretakers operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that customers may claim that what they received didn’t meet your description of function, or that your advice was basically incorrect.

You need to know the specific laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held culpable for damages caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any possible lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Animal Caretakers

Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you should get.

Best advice is to consult with experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for guidance.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Animal Caretakers business

Take care! – almost all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any happening like theft or accidental damage when the vehicle is being used for business purposes.

The right way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a direct commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial truck policies guarantee the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

Also, in case of any accident, the truck itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is covered if your car is involved in an accident.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, insist on this type of insurance.

The necessary value of the insurance is calculated on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your intended level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Animal Caretakers business needs unique and expensive equipment, you can appreciate how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The tools may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unforeseen acts.

In addition, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can wipe-out your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specific gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy whatever needed to keep your Animal Caretakers business running.

It is impossible to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s really dependent on how much you have invested in your Animal Caretakers business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Animal Caretakers business that owns or rents space in a building should have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the property, you certainly have a substantial capital investment, along with a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Any physical building location must carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against natural occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Animal Caretakers business operates in areas of high risk, like Texas or North Carolina, additional coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Illinois, where intense cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Animal Caretakers business premises, there is a need for more supplementary cover than in warmer climes.

Because the level of cover depends mainly on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of Animal Caretakers insurance section below to give some indication of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Animal Caretakers business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Animal Caretakers business

Is your Animal Caretakers business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business fluctuating?

Using short-term insurance makes perfect sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Animal Caretakers – are special policies where you can cover a designated period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having lower premiums but still having identical risk cover.

The key feature of short-term insurance is that you buy the cover for a defined period – a nominated date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of larger business activity, get the existing cover improved.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your Animal Caretakers business

You have the option to combine several of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP combines commercial property and public liability insurance by packaging these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will protect you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized Animal Caretakers businesses, such as yours.

There are some limits that will dictate whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs will not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle policies.

Also, the size of your business will determine whether you are allowed to take out BOP cover.

The normal business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have fewer than one hundred employees, and maximum five million dollars in annual revenue.

As well, you must separately take out the required worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your Animal Caretakers business employees

In most states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Animal Caretakers business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the business against any costs that arise if any hired hand experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits include medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s laws in this regard can leave you as the employer having to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only authorize coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you cannot obtain your workers compensation obligations from private insurance corporations.

Workers compensation rates are computed based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must consult the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every Animal Caretakers insurance level is unique, there are enough examples of usual quotes from insurance companies for us to give appropriate guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with a broker what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have gathered for the main types of insurance your Animal Caretakers businesses needs.

Cost of insurance for your Animal Caretakers operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small freelance Animal Caretakers businesses.

In larger states like New York, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, whereas in smaller states like New Mexico, they usually are about 20%-30% less.

The location and size and type of your Animal Caretakers business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should discuss with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

Also you can let the internet do the work for you by enquiring about insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another useful source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your city.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Animal Caretakers operations?

This is a general term used to describe standard insurance policies designed to protect Animal Caretakers business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Animal Caretakers business have to have insurance?

Some of the forms of insurance are not mandatory for you to run your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Several other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small Animal Caretakers business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides protection against lawsuits or claims filed by a client for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The precise cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the recommended policies for Animal Caretakers insurance.

How much will Animal Caretakers business insurance cost?

On top of the size of the business, several other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should consult with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

You can search for more information insurance for Animal Caretakers, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

Related Industries:

Animal Keeper insurance – cost and coverage Animal Trainer insurance – cost and coverage animal husbandry insurance – cost and coverage Animal Breeders Insurance – Cost and Coverage Animal Trainers Insurance – Cost and Coverage Animal Shelters insurance – cost and types of policies Animal Care Technician insurance – cost and types of policies Animal Caregiver insurance – cost and types of policies Animal Caretaker insurance – cost and types of policies Animal Control Officer insurance – cost and types of policies Animal Technician insurance – what kind and at what cost Animal Rescue Insurance – What Kind and at What Cost