The following companies are known to provide
quality pet sitting insurance in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland. Contact the companies directly for more
details.
If you provide pet sitter insurance,
including care/custody/control, and would like to be listed, please send us an
email.
Disclaimers: Printable Version: Updated 7/30/2009
Professional United Pet Sitters LLC
is NOT affiliated with any pet sitter and dog walker liability
insurance companies, including the ones listed below.
Professional United Pet Sitters LLC does NOT
offer or endorse ANY Pet Sitter insurance, business insurance, health insurance,
or bonding.
Pet
sitter insurance companies are listed below for your convenience only.
No
pet sitter insurance is included with membership to PUPS.
Professional United Pet Sitters LLC, PetSits.Com, Happy At Home Pet Sitters, and
the owners are not liable for errors in or related to information presented
here. Please contact the companies directly for more current information. The
information listed is the limited understanding we have based on the info we’ve
received. It may be right, or it may be inaccurate. Or the insurance may be
changing while we speak. This is just for information purposes only, and we can
not and do not guarantee the accuracy in any way at any time. We are not
personally or professionally affiliated with any insurance listed below. www.PetSits.Com
£120* for renewals. £370 'one off' registration fee
for new members. Additional membership for spouse at same address is
£74, or a partner
at a different address for
£84. Fees includes
membership to NARP and insurance.
Agency Membership:
Same as above plus
£200 agency fee,
and
£28.80 each
additional staff.
£10 transfer fee
for each stall change.
VAT @ 15% where indicated.
Public
Liability from £109
Professional Indemnity from
£94.50
Employers Liability from £78.7
All petsitting including visits, but excluding staying in client's home:
£49 for agency petsitters
£79 for independent petsitters
£127 for agencies
All petsitting including staying in client's home.
£59 for agency petsitters:
£95 for independent petsitters
£151 for agencies
Unknown
was from
£135 in 2007
Is there a discount available for certification?
No
No
No
No
Is bonding available?
No
No
No
No
Is theft insurance available
No
Limited - Covers if an animal is lost or stolen
while in the care, custody, and control of the pet sitter and is not
returned within 60 days.
Limited - Covers if an animal is lost or stolen
while in the care, custody, and control of the pet sitter and is not
returned within 60 days.
No
Liability limits
£2,000,000 any one
claim
£5,000 for pets in your care
Public
Liability
£2,000,000 plus legal for property and injury (can be increased).
£250/day witness compensation
£10,000 heath and safety
Employers Liability
£10,000,000 any one cause
£10,000 breach of health and safety
Care, Custody, Control
£5,000 any one incident
£10,000 per period
Lost Key
£2,000
Professional Indemnity
£100,000 any one period
£250/day witness compensation
Public Liability
£2,000,000 - any one accident or series of accidents arising from a single cause
Care, Custody, Control
£5,000 any one accident or series of accidents arising from a single cause
Lost Key
Up to £10,000, one event
Employer's Liability
starts at £5,000,000
Public Liability starts at
£2,000,000
£5,000 care, custody, control
Up to
£1,000 lost key, one event
Is care, custody, and control / Animal Bailee included?
(covers if you are liable for damage/death
of a pet - including vet care, property replacement, etc)
Unknown
Yes
Yes
Yes
Is there coverage for claims with no pet sitter negligence?
Unknown, unlikely
No
No
Unknown, unlikely
Effective date
Unknown
An induction visit at your home
is required.
Immediate cover available, or a confirmed date in the
future.
Immediate cover availale, or a confirmed date in the future.
Note: ICs should always get their own coverage in the
own business name separately through their own business. It is best
for you to also cover them also with your policy through your business.
Additional fees (as listed above) are required for
each covered staff, spouse, or partner.
Optional
Can cover
spouse's, volunteers or employees for an extra cost.
Family members/partners over 16 years old included.
Additional fees (as listed above) are required for each petsitter belonging to an agency.
Optional
Employers
Liability available
Are under 18 year old employees covered to do pet sits alone?
Unknown
No
Yes
Unknown
Can I bring my kids to sits?
Note - insurance coverage does not include injuries or
damage to the children or the children's property.
Unknown
No
No
Unknown
Do I lose coverage if I place a certain # of claims?
Unknown
No
No
Unknown
Excess / Deductible
£250 pet injury/loss/damage
£50 Care, custody, control
£250 Third party property damage
£200 Professional
indemnity
£50 Lost key
£50 Care, custody, control
£250 Third party property damage
$250 for damage to 3rd party property
Medicating covered
Unknown
Only if letter provided from the clients.
No
Unknown
Is housesitting (No pets) coverage available/included?
Unknown
It can be included as long as the pet sitting work
exceeds housesitting.
Yes
..as long
as it is occasional only
Yes
..as long
as it is occasional only
Is pet taxi covered?
Note: No auto-insurance is included - just coverage for
the pet
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Are overnights at the client's home covered?
Unknown
Yes
Yes
Yes
Is boarding / day care covered at your own home?
Unknown, probably yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Is grooming covered?
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Is poo scooping only service (no pet sitting) covered?
Unknown
It can be included as long as the pet sitting work
exceeds this service.
No
Unknown
Are all animals covered?
No
Dangerous
pets and poisonous snakes are excluded
Yes as long as not commercial and not under D.W.A.A
No Farm animals excluded
Yes
Commercial
herds are excluded, but small numbers of farm animals (including horses) in
domestic settings are included.
Is online listing available
Yes
No
Online contact for clients to petsitters via Petsitters Alliance
No
Insurance Provided By
Unknown
Sterling Insurance Company Limited
Charrington (962) Limited on behalf of Lloyd's Syndicate 4444 at Lloyds of London
Charrington Limited on behalf of Lloyd's Syndicate No
1607
Additional Information:
Injury to yourself or your personal belongings (including pets)
As far as we know, no Pet Sitter insurance covers harm to yourself, people you bring along, personal pets you bring along or your personal / business belongings.
If you are hurt in a client's home, this would something that would usually be covered by Worker's Compensation. Many business owning sitters do not have worker's comp for themselves (and some are not allowed to get it in their states to cover THEMSELVES), but must have it for their employees. So you will want to consider looking into a worker's comp plan for yourself to cover injuries acquired on the job. Or start a big savings account for emergencies!
The vast majority of regular health insurance providers do NOT cover injuries acquired while on the job.
You can try to sue a client for injuries acquired do to their negligence. For example, if the roof caves in on your head, you could probably sue for your injuries. The client's personal insurances may cover these situations.
Injuries to yourself acquired from a pet in your care, under a pet sitting contract, may be entirely your responsibility. Some states regulate that once you agree to take control of the pet by caring for it, you are entirely responsible for injuries caused by the pet to others or yourself. Your Pet Sitter insurance will cover injuries to others (up to the limit), but not to your own person. Other states have different standards, so you could try to sue the owner and hope for the best.
As a side note, if a client pet (or any wild animal for that matter) bites you and you report it to a doctor, by law most if not all have to report it to the state. Police will likely come to take information, and may take the dog/cat, no matter what the circumstances. Vicious and dangerous hearings may result. So obviously, don't lie and tell a doctor your own pet bit you to hide the truth!
Another side note - if you get bit and need a stitch or 2 and some antibiotics, it will cost lots - a lot more than you expect if you are used to having health insurance. So just step back and rethink twice if you are a little nervous about any animal. It's certainly not worth the cost!
Negligence Required
Pet Sitter insurance generally covers you ONLY if you were negligent in your duties. If something is beyond your control, you are not covered or liable. For example, if a broken sink starts to leak and you haven't touched it, you are not responsible. There are a lot of fuzzy areas, and the pet sitter insurances above (at least the first 2) have a good track record of sorting out fuzzy items.
Considering a Claim
Consider placing a claim even if you think you are not covered. Adjusters have the job of finding out what your coverage really is, so it can't hurt to file a claim (unless you are filing many and are about to get dropped).
Potential Areas Covered: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales,
Midlands, London, Yorkshire, Great Britain, United Kingdom, U.K.
