Pet Groomers insurance – cost and types of policies

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

Need General Liability Insurance for Your Pet Groomers Business?
Get Your Free Quote

With the protection provided by insurance against accidents and all the other types 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 Groomers enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.

If your Pet Groomers business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a giant 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 upshots of their actions. 

Pet Groomers Insurance

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for startup businesses to outline 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 Pet Groomers business?

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

Your Pet Groomers 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 duty of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a claimant more than they have sort.

When you are running your Pet Groomers operations, you can’t avoid responsibility for the results of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent beforehand the money necessary to have your business running as a corporation, all of that liability belongs to you as a person.

What does Pet Groomers insurance protect you from?

For your Pet Groomers business, the most important kinds of insurance are designed to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

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

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

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Pet Groomers business is dealing directly with customers, and that means you generally have the danger that some accident can happen to them bodily or else something of theirs can be damaged.

In such a case, they can sue you for compensation.

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

It protects your Pet Groomers business from the claims themselves and as well 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 demand proper liability insurance.

The usual level of general liability insurance for your Pet Groomers business would be with a upper limit 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 Groomers insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Pet Groomers business

In the event where a client alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Pet Groomers business for them, you can quickly be involved in a monetary claim.

Even if the lawsuit against you is ruled in your favor, the cost of defense can be high, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Every small Pet Groomers business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a once-off claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

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

Product liability insurance

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 know the explicit laws of product liability in your own state.

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

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Pet Groomers

Only you can know exactly how much insurance you need.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Pet Groomers business

Be careful! – 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 proper 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 insure the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

As well, 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 a crash.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, require 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 Pet Groomers business needs unique and costly equipment, you know how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The gear may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unpredicted acts.

As well, 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 must have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy any equipment needed to keep your Pet Groomers 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 Groomers business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

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

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

Your physical building location needs to 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 Pet Groomers business operates in areas of high risk, like Florida or South Carolina, extra coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Washington, where unlimited cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Pet Groomers business premises, there is a need for more extra cover than in warmer climes.

Although the level of cover depends completely 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 Groomers insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Pet Groomers business.

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

Is your Pet Groomers business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business variable?

Using short-term insurance makes perfect sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Pet Groomers – 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 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 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 Groomers business

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The usual business that can take out a BOP policy must have less than one hundred employees, and under five million dollars in annual turnover.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your Pet Groomers business employees

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

Workers compensation insurance covers the business against any costs that arise if a worker 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 requirements 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 can’t obtain your workers compensation obligations from private insurance providers.

Workers compensation charges are worked out 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 Groomers 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 collected for the main types of insurance your Pet Groomers businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
General liability insurance $771 – $1040
Commercial vehicle insurance $1832 – $2554
Commercial insurance $887 – $2379
Product liability insurance $220 – $652
Equipment insurance $338 – $1119
Public liability insurance $335 – $657

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

We have calculated these figures for small independent Pet Groomers businesses.

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

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

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

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

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

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Pet Groomers operations?

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

Does my Pet Groomers business have to have insurance?

Some of the types of insurance are not mandatory for you to run 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 Groomers business insurance policy cover?

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

The exact cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the most common policies for Pet Groomers insurance.

How much will Pet Groomers 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 consult with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

Was this helpful? Share it!

Tags:

SBCoverage.com
Enable registration in settings - general