Are you a dog walker? Dog walking may seem quite risk-free as a profession especially when you are doing it all by yourself and without employing more people.
However, like any other business, it is prone to risk and things can go wrong even if you are extremely careful. Thus, it is essential to protect your business with the help of insurance.
Make sure you get the following insurance:
1) Liability insurance
You should not operate your dog walking business without liability insurance. This one is the most important insurance policy for this kind of a business.
Read More>> Professional Dog Walker Licence
Liability insurance covers you when a member of the public demands compensation from you stating that they have been injured or their property has been damaged due to your carelessness. Apart from covering the compensation made to the claimant, this insurance also covers the other costs like the loss of the claimant’s income due to the incident. This way you will stay financially secure happens what may. The insurance company will take care of the compensation and the additional costs.
Usually, compensation claims are difficult to settle as they can get too heavy on your pocket. Small businesses need liability insurance or else it is difficult to pay compensation claims for even minor injuries as the amount can easily exceed £1,000.
Along with covering compensation, the insurance also covers the litigation fee involved in the issue. So, you need not pay the lawyers you hire for the matter from your own pocket. The liability insurance takes care of all the legal costs on your behalf.
Read More: Dog Walker Public Liability Insurance
The two kinds of liability insurance are the following:
- Public liability insurance
- Employer’s liability insurance
Every dog walking business need to have a public liability insurance policy so that when a third party makes a compensation claim, you stay protected. Along with that, you also need employer’s liability insurance. Anyone who has employed people in his or her business needs to have an employer’s liability insurance. It is required by the law. It will protect you when one of your employees is injured during work hours and demands compensation from you feeling that you, the business owner, are responsible for the incident. If you don’t have this insurance and have employed people, you will be in trouble as you have to pay a heavy fine.
Read More>> Approved Professional Dog Walkers
2) Personal accident and sickness insurance
You never know when life takes an ugly turn. It is best to stay prepared for the worst. If you have been injured in an accident or are terribly ill and cannot work, a personal accident & sickness insurance will come to your rescue. When you have this insurance, you can focus on your recovery without worrying about the expenses. This insurance coverage will give you a weekly benefit if you are unable to work temporarily. However, if the case is too severe and you won’t be able to work permanently, you will be paid a lump sum. You will be paid a lump sum upon unfortunate cases like the loss of life or disabling injuries like the loss of a limb.
3) Legal expenses insurance
Getting involved in a legal battle can cost you a bomb. If you have a legal expenses insurance policy already, then you are safe. It will help you by covering the legal costs involved in the legal matter. Litigation fee can be too much for your pocket. The insurance covers the following legal actions:
- Disputes with neighbours and clients
- Tax inspections
- Disputes related to contracts
- Issues like criminal charges
4) Property insurance
When you have a dog walking business, the chances of having a lot of business property is very unlikely. However, you will have office equipment to manage your business and can be of great value. You won’t be in a position to carry out your business without this office equipment and hence you need to protect it from accidental damage and theft. Hence, you need to have a property insurance policy that covers you against losses and helps you when things go wrong.
So, these were the essential insurance covers that you need to have if you are a dog walker and have employed many people under you.