In this episode of “Bella In Your Business”, we are joined by David Pearsall, Vice President at Business Insurers of the Carolinas, which specializes in commercial insurance, including businesses providing pet services. David joins Bella for the first of what will be many episodes dealing with insurance for those in the pet sitting industry. This episode focuses on the the 15 most common pet sitting insurance claims.
Bella asks the age old question of how to know when you should or should not put in a pet sitting insurance claim?
David discusses the factors insurance companies look at when deciding on writing or renewing your policy and how you can use those factors to make that call. Though, he emphasizes that you should also keep in mind that what may appear to be a small claim may eventually turn out to be a big one.
Yikes!
David kicks off the Top 15 by discussing the Top 5 most frequent pet sitting insurance claims (see below). As part of it, he discusses the differences between Animal Care, Custody, and Control policies.
David also mentions that the contents of the client’s home are usually excluded from most general liability policies, but some policies, like the one offered by the association, may have endorsements covering that.
If you, your employee, or one of the animals in your care is attacked by a third-party animal, try to get the information about that animal’s owner. More than likely, they will be liable for the incident.
There sure are a lot of pet sitting insurance claims!
Then, David covers the
Top 5 most frequent third-party claims (also below).
He mentions how often people are injured when two dogs are fighting. He stresses that you should NEVER try to get between two fighting dogs. It will more than likely end badly. He suggests using methods such as loud noises or water hoses to break it up.
Bites to children is big on the list as well. David recommends that you emphasize to your employees or independent contractors that it is their responsibility to keep other people, especially children, away from the dogs in their care as even the most well-tempered dog may bite if it is spooked or the child provokes it.
Another big claim on the list is property damage to clients’ homes. David recommends sitters be cognizant of things like water faucets and running toilets. He also suggests that sitters really know their cleaning supplies as there have been many claims related to sitters using a cleaner on a floor that ultimately ruins the finish.
David then talks about the Top 5 Workman’s Comp pet sitting insurance claims (also below).
He says the key thing is to get your employee taken care of and back to work as quickly as possible. David says that if you or your employee has an accident or is injured, call the workman’s comp insurer as soon as possible! The sooner they are involved the better your overall outcome is likely to be. He also suggests that you should have a relationship with a clinic where you send employees with non-life threatening emergencies as they are much less expensive and patients are often seen much more quickly there than in a hospital emergency room.
Here the Top 5 lists:
Top 5 Pet Related Claims
- Ingesting something foreign. (Example: medicine, toys)
- Dog bitten by another dog owned by third party
- Dog bitten by another dog in the sitter’s care
- Scratches and injuries (to animal) due to running into or stepping on things.
- Pet damages to the contents of homes.
Top 5 Third-Party Claims
- Dog in a sitter’s care attacks or bites another dog
- Dog bites a person (other than you or your employee)
- Water damage. (Example: Sitter leaving the water on in a client’s home)
- Dog runs into or undercuts a person (other than you or your employee)
- Damages to the client’s home. (Example: Sitter causes a fire in a client’s home)
Top 5 Workman’s Comp Claims
- Dog or cat bite to hands or arms
- Slips, trips, and falls
- Slips and falls on stairs
- Dog bites to other body parts
- Dogs at play..odd injuries. (Example: Dog jumps up and knocks out a sitter’s tooth)
Here is David’s contact information:
David Pearsall, CIC, CWCA
Business Insurers of the Carolinas
PO Box 2536, Chapel Hill, NC 27515
1-800-962-4611 x214
[email protected]
Transcript:
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Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where Bella will discuss anything and everything about your pet sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready, Bella’s got your chute. Let’s jump. Hello, this is Bella from Jump Consulting, and I welcome everyone who’s listening or watching. I have the honor and pleasure of doing the first of many series to come with the one and only David Pearsall from Business Insurers of the Carolinas. If you’re a pet sitter in the industry, I am sure you’ve heard of Business Insurers of the Carolinas. And we have David here today to talk about the 15 most common pet sitting claims. This is something that he deals with day in and day out. I’ve had personal dealings with him, and I’m so pleased and excited, David, to see you face to face and actually be talking to you today. So welcome and thank you.
David: Thanks, Bella. I appreciate you having me on today. I’m excited. It’s the first time I’ve ever done a blab and I’m looking forward to doing many more and hopefully this one will be successful. People will learn something and get something out of it. As you mentioned, the top 15 claims, when I look at the claims, we have so many and so many to choose from. So I opted to break it out into different categories. So hopefully everyone in the pet sitting industry, I’m certain, will understand when I start going into them.
Bella: I love the three topics that we have. It’s liability, pet claims, and workman’s compensation. I think before we jump into them, I would speculate, because I’ve had the same kind of questions before, David. And your illustrations will probably give the answer, but, you know, something happens in business and we say, will insurance cover it? Should I put in a claim? Should I pay it out of pocket? What do I do? Am I going to get penalized for putting in a claim? Is it worth it? Or am I going to get in trouble? There are so many things. So like we have this insurance, but we’re not quite sure what or when or how to use it. So I think these illustrations you’re about to give are really going to help jog people’s memories.
David: Ideally, that’s what insurance is for. You have an accident. You need to look and certainly you want to check with your insurer and see if it’s covered. One thing I’ll let you know, because we work with many, many different insurance companies in our office and have throughout my career. Certainly everybody knows we work with the associations, so we have the association liability policies, but we also work with all the national carriers from Travelers to CNA to Hartford and so forth and so on. What most insurance companies will look at is two things. They’ll look at your frequency, meaning how many claims you have, and they’ll also look at your loss ratio. Usually it’s not premium; you pay in each year. If you take that and you take the claims that you have paid out on your behalf, most insurance companies want to run a profitable business, just like most pet sitters want to run a profitable business. So that’s what they look at.
Bella: I know that makes sense. That’s something people can relate to because every pet sitter understands running profitably.
David: Exactly. The first category is liability claims. Those are the ones that are most frequent. Those can include a lot of things: dog bites, property damage, or anything that involves a third party.
Bella: Right, so that could be like if a pet sitter is walking a client’s dog and that dog gets loose and bites another dog or person?
David: Correct. We’ve seen so many variations of that. Let’s start there. A pet sitter could be walking a dog, and maybe the leash breaks or the dog pulls and knocks someone down. That’s a liability claim. Another one could be when a sitter accidentally leaves a door open and a client’s cat gets out. Even if the cat is later found, the client may file a claim for emotional distress or vet bills.
Bella: Wow. I can imagine that happens more often than people realize.
David: Absolutely. The most common one that stands out, though, is dog bites. We’ve had cases where the pet sitter was walking a dog, and another dog approached and attacked. Sometimes the sitter gets bitten trying to break it up. Other times, the dog they’re walking bites someone else. Either way, there’s liability.
Bella: So what happens then? If my sitter is walking a client’s dog and that dog bites another person, who’s responsible—the sitter, the company, or the client?
David: The short answer is: potentially all of them. That’s why liability coverage exists—to defend you and pay claims if you’re legally liable. Typically, we’d see the client’s homeowner’s insurance step in for the dog owner, but as the business, you could still be named in the suit.
Bella: So it’s like the legal version of “better safe than sorry.”
David: Exactly. It’s always better to report it and let the carrier investigate. Even if it turns out to be minor, they can advise you on next steps. Some pet sitters hesitate to file claims because they’re worried their premiums will increase, but withholding a claim and having it worsen later can cost much more.
Bella: That’s good to know. So what are some other common liability examples?
David: Damaged property is another big one. Think about when a pet sitter forgets to turn off a faucet and floods the home, or the sitter accidentally breaks something expensive. We had one where a sitter closed a door behind her without realizing the cat was in it—fortunately the cat was fine, but the door had to be replaced. Sometimes it’s not even an accident involving a pet. We’ve seen cases where a sitter walked through a client’s home with wet shoes, slipped, and grabbed a shelf on the way down, pulling it and everything on it down.
Bella: Oh no!
David: Exactly. Things like that happen. But as long as they’re reported properly, they’re manageable. Another interesting case we see quite often is when a sitter forgets to lock a door. The client comes home, realizes the door was left unlocked, and immediately feels unsafe. Even if nothing was stolen, the client may file a claim for negligence or emotional distress. Sometimes it’s small, sometimes it’s large—but it’s always preventable with strong checklists and habits.
Bella: That’s such a good reminder for sitters to have systems in place. So, with all of these examples, would these be covered by liability insurance?
David: Yes, generally speaking. Liability coverage is designed to protect you when your business is found legally responsible for property damage or bodily injury to others. So, if you accidentally damage a client’s home or a dog under your care bites someone, your policy would typically respond—subject to limits and exclusions, of course.
Bella: Okay, that’s the first category—liability. What’s next?
David: The second category is pet claims, which is a big one for pet sitters and dog walkers. This is where things can get tricky, because we’re talking about the pets themselves being injured, lost, or even, unfortunately, passing away while under the sitter’s care.
Bella: Oh boy, yeah, that’s every sitter’s nightmare.
David: It really is. I’ve seen claims where a pet sitter left a gate open and a dog ran into the street and got hit by a car. Others involve injuries during walks—dogs pulling, slipping their collars, or fighting with other dogs. We’ve also seen cases where sitters fed pets something they shouldn’t have, or failed to administer medication correctly.
Bella: That’s heartbreaking.
David: It is. What’s important to remember here is that not all liability policies automatically include care, custody, and control coverage, which is what you need for pets in your care. Many general business liability policies exclude damage to property in your care—and since pets are considered property in legal terms, you’d need a policy specifically designed for pet professionals that includes this coverage.
Bella: So, the pet sitting policies that are tailored for our industry already have that baked in, right?
David: Exactly. The association policies we offer, for example, include that care, custody, and control coverage for pets, so you’re protected if something happens to a client’s pet while it’s in your care.
Bella: Okay, that’s reassuring. So tell me some specific examples you’ve seen with pet-related claims.
David: Sure. One of the most common is dog-on-dog incidents. For instance, a sitter is walking a client’s dog and another dog approaches—sometimes on a leash, sometimes not—and they get into a fight. The client’s dog gets injured, and there’s a vet bill. That’s a classic pet claim. Another example is indoor accidents—like a cat knocking over a candle that starts a small fire, or a dog chewing on furniture while the sitter is there.
Bella: Wow, so it’s not just outdoor incidents.
David: Exactly. Anything that happens while the pet is in your care could be a claim. We’ve even seen cases where sitters accidentally stepped on small pets or closed a door on a tail. Those can be emotional and expensive situations, and that’s where the right policy helps.
Bella: Okay, that makes sense. So, the third category is worker’s compensation, right?
David: Yes. This one’s especially important for pet sitters with employees. Worker’s comp covers injuries to your employees while they’re working. In our industry, that could mean anything from being bitten by a dog to slipping on ice while walking pets.
Bella: Oh, I can imagine that happens a lot.
David: It does. The most common worker’s comp claims we see involve dog bites, scratches, falls, and even car accidents while traveling between clients’ homes. One memorable example was a sitter who slipped on a client’s wet tile floor, broke her wrist, and couldn’t work for several weeks. That claim covered her medical expenses and a portion of her lost wages.
Bella: So, what about people who use independent contractors instead of employees?
David: That’s a great question. Worker’s compensation generally applies to employees, not independent contractors. However, some states are very strict about defining what constitutes an employee. If your independent contractor is working exclusively for you, wearing your uniform, following your schedule, and representing your brand, the state may determine they’re effectively an employee. If that happens and they get injured, you could still be held responsible for their medical costs.
Bella: So even if I call them a contractor, the state could disagree and treat them like an employee?
David: Exactly. And that’s one of the biggest misconceptions in this industry. It’s important to understand your state’s definition of an employee versus an independent contractor. We always recommend talking to your insurance agent and your accountant about this.
Bella: That’s so helpful. Are there any unusual claims you’ve seen with worker’s comp?
David: Oh yes. We had one where a sitter was bit by a cat while giving it medication. It became infected, and she needed a hospital stay. Another one involved a sitter who tripped over a dog toy and tore a ligament. Both were covered under worker’s comp.
Bella: Ouch. So, it sounds like worker’s comp is just as crucial as liability coverage.
David: It really is. It not only protects your team, but it protects you as the business owner. Without it, you could be personally liable for medical expenses or lost wages if someone gets hurt while working for you.
Bella: That’s huge. So, to wrap up, what’s the best advice you’d give pet sitters about handling claims in general?
David: I’d say, don’t be afraid to report incidents early. Even if you’re not sure it will turn into a claim, let your insurance provider know right away. They can guide you on whether it needs to be filed formally or just documented. Keeping open communication and being proactive is key.
Bella: That’s such solid advice. Thank you so much, David. This has been so helpful. I’m sure our listeners are taking notes right now!
David: My pleasure, Bella. Thanks for having me.
Bella: Absolutely. And if anyone wants to learn more or get in touch with you, how can they do that?
David: They can contact me at Business Insurers of the Carolinas. Our website is business-insurers.com, and I’m always happy to answer questions for pet sitters.
Bella: Perfect. Thank you again, David, and thank you to everyone listening. This has been another episode of Bella in Your Business.
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