Hi Rot Mommy, let me try and answer your questions:

1. liability bond: This protects your owners from their homes being robbed. If you or someone working for you (assuming you cover them in your bond) is prosecuted for robbing their homes they would have financial protection from the bond.

2. insurance: This can cover you in many ways - if you break the clients door lock and need to call a locksmith you might be able to get this bill covered - if the dog you are walking damages property or God forbid injures another person or dog, you might be covered by your insurance if you're not found to be negligent in your actions.

Hopefully you'll never have to use the bond or insurance but highly recommend having it still. Having it will give you piece of mind (one lawsuit could end the company/bankrupt someone who is not insured) and as you said everyone boasts of being insured and bonded so most clients look for that.

Do you need advice on where to get bonded and insured? And do you have any other questions?

PS: I've moved this discussion to the legal and professional category, thanks!

"if you break the clients door lock and need to call a locksmith you might be able to get this bill covered"

This has already happened to me if you can believe it! My client knew it was a flimsy key to begin with and did not blame me at all.

Hi HollywoodSteve, ayy, yeah, I know what you mean, locks, keys, etc. can be so annoying sometimes. I think we've all had a key break at some point. Glad things worked out, those guys can run a few hundred dollars.

PS: if you guys ever have a key break in half in a door try and get the broken piece out of the door (if you can't easily get it out try and use a magnet!) and a locksmith can sometimes create a key from the two pieces!

I'm glad someone else asked about this, I've been wondering the same thing. I'm just starting out too and think protecting myself would be a good idea, there are WAY too many lawsuit-happy people out there. I also see a lot of ads stating that they are "licensed". Is there a license for pet care? How does a person go about getting licensed, insured and bonded for pet care, and, are all 3 necessary? I live in Washington state if that makes a difference. Thanks, both for the topic and for starting this forum! :)

Hi auntangie,

Thanks for posting and you need to be a member of either NAPPS or PSI to get insured and bonded. I personally use NAPPS and they have been fine but again you're not getting much from these two groups than the ability of being able to get insured/bonded.

You can join up for NAPPS here: http://www.petsitters.org/index.cfm?section=BecomeMem&content=Categories

and for PSI here: https://www.petsit.com/members/register_step1.php

Once you are a member of one of these two groups you can get insurance and your bond here: http://www.business-insurers.com/petinsurance.php

It will probably cost you $300-$400 to register but if you compare that cost vs. a potential lawsuit always hanging over your head????

I hope this helps, thanks!

There is NOT a license for pet care services. It is a Business License. So when someone states they are Licensed it just means they have been licensed with their county or state.

You do not have to join NAPPS or PSI or any other group out there to get bonded or insured. I do not belong to any of those groups and got a great deal on being bonded and insured through Mourer-Foster.

I did a lot of research on what my company has to offer and going through the groups and it was much cheaper going on my own.

The 3 most important things I would say to have before you start is PET CPR/First Aid Certified, Insurance & Bonding. These are the 3 keys your clients will look for in you..can you protect their pet, can they trust you in their home...and if you break or are accused of stealing something are you protected to cover their expenses

Hi Pack Leader, great points and thanks for the resources. Personally I would still recommend someone goes with PSI and NAPPS based on their name recognitions. In regards to bonding and insurance I have found them to be considered almost synonymous with bonding and insurance for our industry and I think clients are comforted to see their icons on your website. I can also speak to the fact that they covered me in a pretty serious lawsuit so I do feel comfortable recommending them.

Hi Pack Leader, nice points. I do think someone should become a member of NAPPS and PSI no matter who they get insurance with for the name recognition alone. Clients seems to be very familiar with their icons and being a member is cheap and brings trust from your prospective clients. In regards to insurance thanks for bringing up there are alternatives out there. My recommendation was based on my personal experience with the insurer NAPPS uses. They protected me in a very serious lawsuit and I've been happy with them. I've also been told by people I know in insurance that they are very solid for what we do. Thanks for the additional resource!

I've been insured through Pet Sitters Associates (PSA) (http://www.petsitllc.com/) for about three years now and I've been very pleased with them. They just began offering a bond, as well as insurance, within the last year. They may not offer as much professional support as NAPPS or PSI, but their insurance is affordable and solid.

Cool,thanks for the feedback, will check them out!

I've done a lot of research on insurance options and it's true you don't have to be part of a group to get insurance (though you do have to be part of NAPPS or PSI to get insurance through them). Mourer-Foster has insurance specifically for pet care professionals without requiring membership to an organization (though I agree, being part of NAPPS and/or PSI is worthwhile on its own). Insurance through NAPPS, PSI, or Mourer-Foster all include "care, custody, and control" which most insurances do NOT include. My understanding is that "care, custody, and control" means that the pet and the contents of the home are covered. This clause is key to being adequately covered... so if a person goes outside of these three insurance companies, look for the "care, custody, and control" and make sure it's not excluded.

Ah, I didn't include PSA. I looked up their insurance and the "care, custody, and control" for the pet is included, but it's and extra $100 to include the home.

Nice points and on update on my experiences with insurance. I've had another biting incident that might become a legal situation. Some people seem to think a release from their clients from liability will protect them if they ever get sued and are not found negligent etc. But this is often not the case and you can still be sued and often will be because you have insurance and/or your client does have a large net worth. But getting a release from your clients involving aggressive dogs still might be very helpful in regards to the costs you might experience from a lawsuit. But at the end of the day discuss this with a lawyer who knows your states laws (:

Good points... which I'm sure are also found in your book which one day will actually be published :-) (I'm just impatient, as I think the info in it will be hugely helpful.) Sorry to hear about the biting incident- what a bummer.

Thanks appreciate that and yes the publishing industry can be a long process ); sorry, actually working on a follow up book too (:

My service contract basically absolves my company of all liability except that arising from proven negligence on our part. People need to accept responsibility for their own dogs. There are so many irresponsible and lazy dog owners who never make any effort whatsoever to deal with their dog's aggression issues, so you see them wrestling to keep their 10 year old retriever under control as it tries to attack every dog it passes in the street etc.

Every now and then I'll get a call from an owner like this requesting services. "I should tell you, he has aggression issues, he may try to attack the walker when they come into the apartment, he's bitten people and other dogs before, if you see a dog coming you have to cross the street, if another dog gets into elevator all hell breaks loose, can you guys handle a dog like this?"

Short answer: no! I've also had clients tell me their dog was good natured and friendly, which has subsequently turned out to be the polar opposite of the truth. In such cases I will always tell the client we cannot work with their dog and point them toward a trainer or behaviorist who specializes in aggression. Even though the client signs a contract to accept responsibility, I still cannot risk a walker getting hurt when working for me. I've seen what an attack can do to a walker, it can sap their confidence with dogs and force them to quit work.

Good points Willy! I do think no matter what we have our clients sign we are still left open to lawsuits but with insurance we'd be covered there and with an agreement like yours you might be able to protect yourself from costs, deductibles, etc.

I'm an IC dog walker working for someone else and he seems to think that bonding and insurance are only good for the client's piece of mind... that if you actually filed a claim, you would be dropped.  So even though I and the other walkers am covered under his policies, he pays for damages out of pocket.

Has anyone heard of people being dropped for filing claims?

Check out the insurance comparison charts (google it) and look at the different policies and what their deductibles and increases are after a claim. Most do not charge more after a claim and I've honestly not heard of anyone having their rates increased or being dropped after a claim. This is probably because our level of reporting incidents is a lot less than a company that insures motor vehicles :) Most of the little things that happen, we kind of take care of on our own. I've had keys break in doors and luckily used chewing gum and a credit card to get them out. I've also lost keys and had to get replacements and usually took care of that when the owners were home from work. Imagine if walkers and companies reported every little thing? It'd be a mess!

Good advice @deafdogwalker and I think information on this topic has changes even since the conversation was first posted. It seems our type of insurance/bonding is becoming easier to attain and it would be nice to avoid the pointless pet memberships yearly to be able to ascertain insurance? I'm going to start a new post where we can post alternative options.