Insurance for Pet Care Services and Animal-Related Businesses
What is pet care business insurance?
Pet care business insurance is a type of small business insurance designed to protect businesses that work with domestic animals – including veterinarians, groomers, boarding facilities, pet daycares, pet sitters and pet stores – from the financial impact of accidents, injuries and property damage.
Most pet care businesses start with foundational coverage for general liability, commercial property, and business income protection, with additional coverages available based on the complexity and day-to-day operations of the business.
What types of pet care businesses need coverage?
Businesses that earn income by working with domestic pets – whether operating from a storefront, a client’s home or a veterinary facility – can face liability, property and employee injury exposures. Types of pet care businesses that need coverage include:
- Pet sitters, including those working in client homes.
- Grooming salons operating in storefronts or mobile settings.
- Pet daycares or boarding facilities that house animals overnight.
- Pet stores and pet supplies wholesalers.
- Veterinarians.
Common small business risks the pet care industry faces
A dog bite, a slip on a wet grooming floor or a fire that forces a boarding facility to close temporarily – pet care businesses encounter risks every day that can result in claims, lost income and unexpected costs. Common risks for pet care businesses include:
- Incidents involving animals in their care.
- Injuries to customers or third parties.
- Injuries to employees.
- Damage to client property.
- Damage to business contents or owned property.
- Business interruption when operations are disrupted.
- Employee theft or dishonesty.
- Auto-related risks for mobile services.
- Spoilage or equipment issues.
Products & solutions
What insurance coverage do pet care businesses need?
A business owner’s policy (BOP) is the foundation of insurance coverage for most pet care businesses, bundling general liability, commercial property and business income coverage into a single, streamlined policy. The sections below explain what each coverage does and why it matters.
General liability insurance
General liability insurance helps cover legal defense costs, judgments and settlements if a customer or third party is injured on the premises or if a pet care professional unintentionally causes damage to someone else’s property. For pet care businesses, exposure is constant – a client injured during a facility visit or claims that a pet damaged a neighbor’s property are among the common situations this coverage is designed to address.
Property insurance
Property insurance helps cover the costs to repair or replace a pet care business’s physical assets – including grooming equipment, kennels, cages, signage and inventory – from covered losses like fire, theft or certain natural disasters.
Business income insurance
Business income insurance helps replace lost revenue and cover ongoing expenses if a covered event forces a temporary suspension of operations. For pet care businesses, even a short closure – whether from a fire, an equipment failure, storm damage or other covered loss – makes this coverage an important part of maintaining continuity while repairs are underway.
Employee theft
Employee theft coverage helps protect a pet care business from financial losses caused by theft or fraudulent acts committed by employees – including staff who regularly enter client homes, handle cash transactions or have unsupervised access to client property.
Add-on BOP coverage
A BOP allows small businesses to add optional insurance coverages to a base policy. For pet care businesses, some of these protections, such as pet grooming liability and boarding kennel liability, are automatically included in a Travelers BOP depending on the type of services offered.
Boarding kennel liability
This coverage helps protect pet care businesses from the costs of claims involving injury to cats, dogs and other domestic animals in their care. For pet daycares and overnight boarding facilities, boarding kennel liability coverage comes standard in a Travelers BOP for pet care businesses – no separate add-on required.
Business income – mobile operations vehicle
This option can help cover loss of income when a mobile operations vehicle is out of service due to a covered loss. For mobile groomers and pet care professionals who depend on a specially equipped vehicle to generate revenue, this endorsement can help replace lost income while the vehicle is repaired.
Pet grooming liability
Pet grooming liability coverage helps protect pet care businesses from claims arising from injuries caused by an error, omission or a failure to provide domestic pet grooming services. This coverage is available to pet care businesses and can help address claims that fall outside standard general liability coverage. For pet grooming salons, this coverage is automatically included in a Travelers BOP for pet care businesses.
Veterinarians professional liability
This option can help cover legal defense costs and damages arising from claims that a professional error or omission caused harm to a patient. For veterinarians and veterinary technicians, where a delayed diagnosis or treatment decision can result in significant financial and legal exposure or while serving as a member of a professional accreditation board, this add-on delivers an important layer of professional protection.
Animal floater
Animal floater protection can help cover accidental injury, death, damage, theft or escape of domestic animals belonging to others that are in a pet care business’s care or on its premises. For boarding facilities, groomers and veterinary practices responsible for animals, this add-on can help address losses that fall outside standard BOP coverage.
Optional coverages tailored for pet care businesses
Beyond core coverage, Travelers offers optional coverages pet care businesses can add to their standard base policies to suit their specific operations and risk profile.
Commercial auto insurance
Commercial auto insurance options can help cover vehicles used for business purposes – such as mobile grooming vans and pet transport vehicles – against liability and physical damage claims. Personal auto policies typically exclude business use, making this coverage essential for pet care businesses that operate on the road.
Cyber liability insurance
In the case of a data breach or cyberattack on a pet care business’s systems, cyber liability insurance helps cover the related costs, including data recovery, legal fees, breach notification and credit monitoring. For pet care businesses that process client payments and/or manage online booking systems, this coverage can help limit the financial impact of a cyber incident.
Travelers Power PacSM and Power Pac PremierSM
Power Pac and Power Pac Premier are optional coverage packages that expand the protections included in a standard BOP. Power Pac includes more than 40 coverage features and higher limits for businesses with more complex insurance needs.
Workers compensation insurance
Workers compensation insurance is a standalone policy, separate from a BOP, which can help cover medical expenses and lost wages for employees injured on the job. In most states, it is required by law for businesses with employees.
Theft of clients’ property crime coverage
This option can help cover loss of or damage to money, securities or other clients’ property caused by an employee theft while on client premises. For pet sitters, dog walkers and other pet care professionals who regularly work inside client homes, this add-on can help address employee theft claims that fall outside standard coverage.
Xtend Endorsement®
The Xtend Endorsement is a package of general liability enhancements that includes a broadened named insured, a blanket waiver of subrogation and increased supplementary payments to help offset the costs of investigating and settling claims.
Employment practices liability insurance (EPL)
EPL helps protect pet care businesses from employment-related claims such as wrongful termination, discrimination or harassment. As pet care businesses grow and hire staff, EPL coverage can help reduce financial exposure from employment-related disputes.
Umbrella insurance
Umbrella insurance can provide an additional layer of liability protection above the limits of underlying policies, helping address high-cost claims that exceed primary coverage limits.
Common claim scenarios in pet care
The scenarios below illustrate how liability, property and employee injury risks play out in practice and how the right coverage can help respond.
Scenario 1: General liability insurance
A dog in a boarding facility injures another animal during supervised play. The injured animal requires emergency veterinary care, and the owner files a claim for medical costs and related damages.
What it means for a business: When animals share a space, incidents are unpredictable. Boarding kennel endorsement to general liability coverage can help respond to the claim and cover associated legal defense costs and settlements.
Scenario 2: Property and business income insurance
A fire in a pet supply wholesaler’s warehouse damages a large inventory of dry goods and forces the facility to close for several days while repairs are completed.
What it means for a business: Commercial property coverage can help cover the cost of damaged stock, while business income coverage can help replace revenue lost during the closure.
Scenario 3: Workers compensation insurance
A pet sitter is bitten while caring for a client’s dog, requiring medical treatment and time away from work.
What it means for a business: Pet care work carries real physical risk. Workers compensation coverage can help cover medical expenses and lost wages during recovery so that an on-the-job injury doesn’t sideline the business along with the employee.
How does Travelers support pet care businesses?
With more than 170 years of experience, Travelers brings deep industry expertise and consistent support to pet care businesses of all sizes:
- 24/7 claims reporting for fast incident response.
- Proactive risk control resources to reduce losses.
- MyTravelers® for Business – access the online self-service platform 24/7 to easily manage policies and payments.
- Flexible billing options, including payroll-linked workers compensation.
#1
in commercial multi-peril.1
#1
in claims responsiveness.2
Pet care business owners can contact a Travelers agent to discuss the risks facing their operation and find the right small business insurance coverage.
Sources
1 S&P Global Market Intelligence, 2024 U.S. Statutory Direct Written Premium
2 Travelers Agent Claim Satisfaction Study (National Accounts, Middle Market & Small Commercial), July 2025
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