Why do I need insurance?
Public Liability Insurance is an absolute necessity in any dog walking or sitting business and is the minimum requirement for our industry. This is the reason why we have made it a requirement to join APDWS, it is there to offer some protection for you and your business as a result of possible claims arising from dog walking or sitting activities.
Claims can easily run into tens of thousands of pounds depending on the type of claim and can be a life changing event for some. Make sure you choose the right level of cover for you and the activities that you are providing.
How much will it cost to get insured?
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It is very difficult to give an accurate idea what insurance will cost for individuals or businesses as there are so many variables. Having had a look around we found qoutes from as little as £52 per annum through to in excess of £100. As with any insurance it is best to shop around, make use of comparison sites to get a wider range of quotes.
What does public liability insurance not cover?
If you use a car to transport dogs as part of your business, you need to add business cover on to your car insurance. You will also need to add this insurance if you drive to clients houses to walk or sit their dogs, as your policy will normally only cover insurance to a single place of work.
If you employ a person to assist you with your business in any capacity then you will need employers liability insurance.
Why does APDWS™ not offer any discounts or recommend any insurance companies?
At the Association of Professional Dog Walkers and Sitters we do not recommend and we are not affiliated with any insurance company. Not every insurance policy is best suited to every business or individual and therefore not any one insurance provider can provide cover for all.
Generally when a business or association is affiliated and or has a wider agreement to provide discounted insurance to their customers or members, they will in turn usually receive a commission for every sale they complete. There are a couple of issues here, the first is that commission has to come from somewhere and that is normally going to be paid as part of the cost of your policy. The second issue that actually concerns us more is that they will usually only recommend the insurance provider that they are affiliated with and this drastically reduces competition and increases costs.