Pet Boarding insurance – cost and coverage

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Pet Boarding insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what can happen in the future.

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

Like any business owner, for your Pet Boarding enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

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

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

Pet Boarding Insurance

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

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your Pet Boarding business?

What this means, for any Pet Boarding 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 Pet Boarding business is not harbored by laws in the same way as states are, where legislation can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like New Jersey, 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 duty 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 Pet Boarding operations, you can’t avoid responsibility for the results of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent in advance the money necessary to have your business running as a limited liability company, all of that liability belongs to you alone.

What does Pet Boarding insurance protect you from?

For your Pet Boarding business, the most important types of insurance are meant to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

In addition there are some mandatory kinds of insurance that various states require.

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

The main headings of insurance for your Pet Boarding businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability for your Pet Boarding operations

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

In such a case, they can require compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Pet Boarding business covers you against claims coming from injury to customers or damage to their property.

It protects your Pet Boarding business from the claims themselves and also to any associated court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it will even help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts demand proper liability insurance.

The average level of general liability insurance for your Pet Boarding business would be with a boundary 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 Pet Boarding insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Pet Boarding business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Pet Boarding business for them, you can quickly be involved in a court case.

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 Pet Boarding business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a single claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

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

Product liability insurance for your Pet Boarding business

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

You need to be aware of the explicit laws of product liability in your own state.

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

To cover yourself against any following lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Pet Boarding

Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you need.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Pet Boarding business

Beware! – almost all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any occurrence like theft or accidental damage when the van 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 proper commercial vehicle insurance package.

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

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

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

The necessary value of the insurance is worked-out for the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your requested level of cover of contents.

Tools and Equipment insurance for your Pet Boarding business

Since your Pet Boarding business needs specific 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.

As well, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can eliminate your whole business in one stroke.

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

It is hard to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your Pet Boarding business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance for your Pet Boarding operations

Any Pet Boarding business that owns or rents space in a building needs a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the space, you probably have a substantial capital investment, as well as 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 unexpected occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Pet Boarding business deals in areas of high risk, like California or North Carolina, supplementary coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Rhode Island, where intense cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Pet Boarding business premises, there is a need for more extra 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 Pet Boarding insurance section below to give some indication of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Pet Boarding business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Pet Boarding business

Is your Pet Boarding 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 Pet Boarding – 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 less premiums but still having adequate risk cover.

The key feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase the cover for a defined period – a specific 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 better business activity, get the existing cover raised.

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

Business Owners Policy BOP for your Pet Boarding business

You have the chance 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 incorporating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

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

It is frequently the right choice for small and medium-sized Pet Boarding businesses, such as yours.

There are two limits that will rule whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs do not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle cover.

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

The normal business that is allowed to take a BOP policy must have less than one hundred employees, and not more than five million dollars in annual sales.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your Pet Boarding business employees

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

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

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

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

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

In these states, you may not take out 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 refer to the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

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

Of course, you should always check with an insurance representative what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have collected for the main types of insurance your Pet Boarding businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Equipment insurance $378 – $1031
Public liability insurance $307 – $605
Product liability insurance $324 – $783
Commercial insurance $1030 – $2573
General liability insurance $680 – $1054
Commercial vehicle insurance $1903 – $3231

Cost of insurance for your Pet Boarding operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small freelance Pet Boarding businesses.

In larger states like Texas, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, while in smaller states like Oregon, they usually are about 20%-30% lower.

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

You should talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

As well 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 Pet Boarding operations?

This is a wide term used to describe basic insurance policies designed to protect Pet Boarding business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Pet Boarding business have to have insurance?

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

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

What does a small Pet Boarding business insurance policy cover?

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

The specific cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the best policies for Pet Boarding insurance.

How much will Pet Boarding business insurance cost?

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

You should talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

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