Dog walking insurance in the UK: What cover do you need?

You might not think dog walking is a particularly risky business. But, dogs can get loose, cause accidents or even bite.

That's where dog walking insurance comes in. This covers most things from legal issues to protecting your canine clients, as well as all your belongings.

If you use a dog walker, your pet insurance can help if your dog gets an injury on their walk, through no fault of the dog walker's. For example, a cut paw.

In this guide, we'll look at the specifics of dog walking insurance, what it covers and what to look out for when you're buying a policy.

Do existing pet insurance policies offer any protection?

Yes, your pet insurance can cover vet treatment costs if your dog gets injured out on a dog walk. It comes in handy if your dog has an injury through no fault of your dog walker's.

For example, if the dog cuts their paw on a bramble. This is just one of those things that happens on a walk, so your dog walker wouldn't have to use their insurance for this.

The dog walker's insurance only steps in if they were at fault. For example, if the lead they were using snapped and your dog got an injury.

Your dog walker's third-party insurance kicks in as soon as they're in control of your dog, so really that's as soon as they clip on the lead. Their third-party cover would kick in if your dog escaped and damaged someone's property, for example.

What is dog walking insurance?

Dog walking insurance is a specialist type of insurance that financially protects your dog walking business. At a glance, it covers:

• Legal issues related to dog walking, for example if a dog got loose and bit someone
• Damages to other people's property
• Income protection if you're injured while dog walking
• Your equipment
• Your employees if you have them (this isn't included as standard, you have to add it to your policy)
• Vet or legal fees if a dog you're walking gets injured, lost or stolen

Think of it as a sort of financial safety net if something goes wrong.

Dog walking insurance often includes public liability as standard. This cover is vital for anyone working with dogs — it protects you from legal costs if a dog causes injury or damage to a member of the public.

Do you need public liability insurance as a dog walker?

Most professional dog walkers have public liability insurance. It should be an essential part of your tool kit as a dog walker. It protects you financially if, for example, your dog was to slip their lead and bite someone. Or simply trip someone up and cause them an injury.

Without it, you'd have to pay the legal fees or compensation yourself. These could run into the thousands, or even millions.

Although it's not a legal requirement in all cases, it shows you're professional and have a level of responsibility. Your client might expect you to have public liability too and ask for proof of it.

Some councils and publicly-owned parks need you to have public liability if you want to use their facilities. Public liability might be mandatory if you're part of a dog-walking membership too.

As a ballpark figure, some dog walking insurance policies offer up to £10 million in public liability cover.

What other types of insurance might dog walkers need?

We've covered public liability, here's some other types of insurance that you might want to think about:

Employers' liability

If you've got other dog walkers working for you, employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. It covers your staff if they get injured or unwell because of the work they do for you as well as legal costs, compensation and other damages. Some dog walking insurance policies offer up to £10 million of cover for this, but it starts at about £1 million.

Care, custody and control

This is sometimes known as animal liability cover. It's different from public liability because it can cover the cost or legal action if a dog in your care is injured, gets lost or dies.

If you're walking pedigree or working dogs, this type of insurance can cover their vet bills and their value if they die.

This isn't always included as standard on dog walking policies, but it's worth considering. Some policies cover up to £100,000, with a limit of £25,000 per animal.

Personal accident insurance

Personal accident insurance can help if you've had a specific type of injury. This pays out a lump-sum, typically of up to £25,000, to cover your loss of earnings while you recover. There's a condition though - you must have got the injury while you were walking your client's dogs.

Equipment cover

You can add this to your business policy to cover equipment like harnesses, crates and any safety gear. If you do day care (and you have your licence), this can cover your home too.

Vehicle cover for your business

Standard car insurance only covers you for social driving or commuting to your work place. If you use a car to transport dogs, you need business car insurance or business van insurance. You might also need to get specialist 'animal transit cover'. This isn't usually included on dog walking insurance policies, you'd need to arrange this separately.

Can you get dog walking insurance as part of business pet insurance?

Yes, dog walking insurance can be part of pet business insurance. So if you have multiple dog-related businesses, like grooming, day care or training, a pet business policy can be useful.

Most of the insurance types we listed above are included as standard on a pet business policy. You can also add extra cover to your policy so it's even more comprehensive. The choice is yours.

If dog walking is your only business though, you can just get a policy to cover dog walking. That way, you're not paying for more cover than you need.

How much does dog walking insurance cost in the UK?

The price of your insurance depends on:

• Where you are
• How many dogs you walk
• Your business
• What you want to protect with your insurance

What should you look for in a dog walking insurance policy?

It's definitely worth finding a policy that specifically covers dog walking or pet related businesses. That's because they're tailored for people who work with dogs.

You should look for dog walking insurance that covers:

• Public liability
• Employers' liability (essential and legal if you have employees)
• Care, custody and control
• Personal accident cover
• Equipment cover
• Vehicle insurance (specifically for business use)

This isn't an exhaustive list, your dog walking insurance company might offer even more features than this. But these are the essentials that are worth getting. Most pet businesses will offer these as standard, or you can add them on.

When you're looking for dog walking insurance, make sure you check how much cover you get for each of the insurance types. For example, for equipment, you might be covered for up to £250 as standard.

As a dog walker, £250 might be ample. But if you do grooming too, it might not be enough to cover your equipment. So you might want to add up to £30,000. But this can hike up the price of your insurance.

Some dog walking insurance policies have conditions too, for example:

• You're only allowed to walk a maximum of 6 dogs at a time.
• You can't walk dogs that are classified as dangerous under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
• You're not covered for animals with pre-existing medical conditions.
• You're not covered for injuries to your own animals from animals you're looking after.
• Non-domestic animals - such as wild or exotic species - aren't included.
• If you do dog boarding too, then your insurance won't cover you unless you have a licence.

You can compare dog walking insurance with us. Visit our self-employed insurance page, get a quote and state that you're a dog walker.

We'll show you a list of dog walking insurance policies so you can choose the right one for you and your business.