The short answer
Pet business insurance usually starts with liability for injuries and damage to people and property, then adds cover for the animals themselves while they are in your care, which standard liability policies often exclude. Depending on the service, it can include lost-key cover, a bond for in-home work, equipment and premises cover, and the right auto insurance for moving pets. A licensed broker shapes it around what you do and how many animals you handle.
- Dog walkers and pet sitters visiting clients' homes
- Groomers working from a salon, a mobile van or a home studio
- Trainers running group classes, private sessions or board-and-train programs
- Kennels, boarding facilities and doggy daycares with staff
- People turning a side business with animals into a registered company
3 licensed brokers in the network handle this. In Alberta, Canada, a request for pet business insurance can be offered to up to three of them, chosen because they are licensed for this line and place. They are test brokers while we are in demo.
See the brokers → Outside Alberta, Canada you can prepare and save a request today; sending opens place by place. Brokers answer with their own quotes. Broker.insure does not quote, advise or take commission.
01 / What it covers
The parts worth understanding
Animals in your care
Injury, illness, loss or death of a client's animal while you are responsible for it. Pets are treated as property, and many liability policies exclude property in your care, custody or control, so this usually needs its own wording, often with a limit per animal.
Bites and injuries to people
A dog you are walking bites a jogger or knocks over a child at the park. This is the third-party liability side, and insurers often ask about breeds, group sizes and how dogs are screened before you accept them.
Damage at a client's home
A sitter leaves a tap running, or a dog chews through a door frame while you are watching it in its own house. Ask how the policy separates damage you cause from damage done by the animal.
Lost keys and bonding
Cover to rekey a client's locks if keys go missing, and a bond or crime cover for theft from a client's home by you or your staff. Clients who hand over keys and alarm codes sometimes ask to see both.
Grooming and training mishaps
Claims that a clipper cut, dryer burn, nail trim or training method injured an animal or caused a behaviour problem. Some policies treat this as professional liability, while others fold it into the animal care cover.
Premises, equipment and business income
Tubs, tables, kennels, crates and a grooming van, plus income lost if a fire or flood closes a daycare or kennel. Disease outbreaks among animals are often excluded, so ask how that is handled.
Vehicles used to move pets
Driving dogs to the park, collecting pets for grooming or running a daycare shuttle is business use. A personal auto policy may not respond, so describe how often animals ride with you and in which vehicle.
02 / Get ready
Bring this, and expect these questions
Gather
- A list of your services: walking, drop-in visits, overnight sitting, boarding, grooming, training or daycare
- The most animals you handle at one time, and the largest group you walk together
- Where animals stay while with you: their own home, your home, a leased facility or a vehicle
- Your client intake form, service agreement and the vaccination proof you ask owners for
- How many client keys, fobs and alarm codes you hold, and how they are labelled and stored
- Staff or subcontractors who work for you, and whether any visit homes alone
- The vehicles used to move animals and who drives each one
- Certifications in grooming, training or pet first aid
- Business licences or kennel permits your municipality has issued, and any limits they set
- Past incidents such as bites, escapes, injuries or client complaints, with dates
A broker will ask
- Which services do you offer, and which brings in most of your revenue?
- How many animals are in your care at once, and do you accept dogs of every size and temperament?
- Do animals ever stay overnight at your home or facility?
- How do you assess new dogs before group walks or daycare?
- How many client keys and access codes do you hold, and where are they kept?
- Do employees or subcontractors go into clients' homes without you?
- Do you drive animals anywhere, and in whose vehicle?
- Has an animal in your care ever been injured, lost or involved in a bite?
Not sure of an answer? Leave it. "Not known yet" is a fine answer, and a broker will help you fill it in.
03 / Build your request
Answer a few questions. Get your own list.
Pick what fits. Your answers shape the list beside them, and they are saved to your request as plain facts a broker can read. "Not sure yet" is always a fine answer.
04 / Three situations
See which one sounds like yours
A solo dog walker with a growing client list
A dog walker in Edmonton takes up to six dogs at a time to an off-leash park and holds keys to nearly thirty homes. One client has asked for proof of insurance and a bond before handing over a garage code.
First steps. List the clients, the keys held and how they are stored, plus the largest group walked together. Ask a broker how the policy treats an injured or lost dog, a bite at the park, lost keys and theft claims, and check whether the city limits how many dogs one walker may take.
A mobile groomer working from a converted van
A groomer bought a van fitted with a tub, dryer and generator and now works in clients' driveways across the suburbs. Her old policy covered a rented salon chair, and she is unsure how the van and the equipment inside it are treated.
First steps. Gather the van's bill of sale, the build-out invoice and a list of grooming equipment. Ask the broker how the vehicle is insured for this use, whether the equipment is covered while parked and in transit, and how a nick, burn or injury to a pet is handled.
A doggy daycare opening in a leased warehouse
Two partners are opening a daycare and boarding business in a leased industrial bay, with five staff, rubber flooring and room for dozens of dogs a day. The landlord wants liability proof, and the partners want to know what happens if a dog is hurt in a play group.
First steps. Bring the lease, the floor plan, the staffing plan and the intake and temperament process. Ask the broker about animal care limits, staff bitten at work alongside workers' compensation, business income if the building closes, and how a contagious illness among dogs is treated.
05 / Words you will hear
The jargon, in plain words
- Care, custody or control
- Policy wording describing property you are responsible for, such as a client's dog. Many liability forms exclude it, which is why pet businesses add separate animal cover.
- Animal bailee cover
- Insurance for animals belonging to others while they are in your keeping, paying for injury, illness or loss within a per-animal limit and the exclusions listed.
- Fidelity bond
- Protection that responds when you or your staff are shown to have stolen from a client. What counts as proof differs between bonds, so read the conditions.
- Lost key cover
- Payment toward rekeying a client's locks or reprogramming their access system after keys or fobs in your care are lost or stolen.
- Temperament assessment
- The process of observing a new dog before admitting it to group walks or daycare. Insurers often ask whether you do one and how it is recorded.
06 / Common mistakes
What trips people up
- Assuming a general liability policy pays for an injured client dog, when animals in your care are often excluded.
- Labelling client keys with names and addresses, which turns one lost key ring into a theft risk for every home on it.
- Driving dogs in a personal vehicle without telling the auto insurer it is used for the business.
- Taking more dogs at once than the policy, a city bylaw or a park rule allows.
- Sending a new helper on home visits without checking that the bond and policy extend to them.
- Skipping a written service agreement that sets out vet authorization and what happens in an emergency.
Ready when you are
Turn this into one clear request.
Save it, add what you know, and choose when to send it. A licensed broker who handles pet business insurance takes it from there.
07 / Questions people ask
Straight answers
Does business liability insurance cover a client's pet that gets hurt?
Often not by itself. Standard liability policies commonly exclude damage to property in your care, custody or control, and animals are treated as property. Pet businesses usually need specific animal care or bailee cover, which may set a limit per animal and exclude certain causes, such as illness from a pre-existing condition. Ask how the wording treats injury, escape and death.
What happens if a dog I am walking bites someone?
A bite to a person, or to an animal that is not in your care, is generally a liability claim, and the injured person may claim against you, the owner or both. Your policy needs to include liability for animals you are handling. Insurers often ask about breeds, group size and bite history, so describe your screening honestly when you apply.
Do pet sitters need a bond?
A bond is not usually a legal requirement, but some clients ask for one before giving a sitter keys and codes. It responds to theft by you or your staff, and some bonds need proof such as a conviction before they pay. Ask the broker whether a bond or third-party crime cover suits your business, and whether it extends to helpers.
Is my car insured when I drive dogs to the park?
That depends on what you told your insurer about how the vehicle is used. Regularly carrying clients' animals for pay is business use, and a policy rated for pleasure or commuting may not respond the same way. Tell the auto insurer or broker how often you drive animals, how many and how far, and ask whether a commercial policy is needed.
Can I run a dog boarding business from my home?
Possibly, but two questions come first. Many municipalities regulate kennels and home businesses, sometimes limiting the number of dogs or requiring a licence. Home insurance policies often exclude or restrict business use, especially animals boarded for pay. Check your municipal rules, tell your home insurer in writing, and bring both answers to a broker.
Does insurance cover a dog that escapes in my care?
Some animal care cover pays for searching for a lost pet, a vet bill after an escape, or the value of an animal that is never recovered, within the policy limits. Not every form includes escape or loss. Ask exactly how lost animals are treated, and keep written records of the leashes, harnesses and gate checks you use.
General information, not insurance advice. Broker.insure is a directory and request service: it is not an insurer and does not quote, bind or advise. Policy terms, availability and what is required where you live depend on your situation and on licensed professionals. Updated 2026-10-31.