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Dog Trainer Insurance 101

2023-06-23

Woman from shoulders down, in a field, training 2 dogs ; Title Text: Dog Trainer Insurance 101

Most trainers will agree that having insurance is a good idea. Although most of us hope we never have to deal with a claim, it is better to err on the side of caution than to go without. Unfortunately, accidents can and do occur, and usually when least expected. Therefore it is typically a good idea to make sure you cover yourself for the exposures unique to your individual business. As each trainer may be a little different from the next, it is important to learn your individual exposures to risk and to close the gaps to your comfort level.

So what are my exposures as a pet dog trainer? Good question! The answer all depends on what you do on a daily basis. For example, if you transport dogs to and from a training facility in your vehicle, you will likely need auto insurance to cover your vehicle. If you own or lease a boarding facility or training equipment, you will likely need property insurance to cover the building and its contents. If you have employees working in your business, you likely need workers' compensation insurance. And if you have none of the above and simply train all day every day, you may only require general liability insurance.

The one insurance policy all trainers should maintain is a general liability insurance policy-preferably one designed for trainers-that includes care, custody, or control coverage. General Liability Insurance is defined as a form of insurance that protects the insured client from claims arising out of bodily injury or property damage to a third party. This means that it protects those insured against claims that a third party might bring against them for bodily injury, property damage, personal or advertising injury, or medical payments. The following is a breakdown of each of the limits of liability common to a commercial general liability policy, along with examples of how they apply to a professional dog trainer. Please note these limits are pretty standard in the insurance industry, regardless of which insurance company you are insured with.

$2,000,000 General Aggregate Limit

$1,000,000 Products/Completed Operations

$1,000,000 Personal & Advertising Injury

$1,000,000 Each Occurrence

$100,000 Fire Legal Liability

$5,000 Medical Payments

The $2,000,000 General Aggregate is the total amount of coverage you have for the year for the third-party claims.

The $1,000,000 Products/Completed Operations limit has two parts. The Products section is meant to cover a tangible product. As a dog trainer, your product is the service or training you offer. The second part is covering the service or "operation" you have rendered to your client when the job is complete. An example of a completed operations claim would be as follows: You are contracted to train and pet-sit a dog for several days while the family is on vacation. Unfortunately, you got the weeks mixed up on your calendar and failed to show up. As a result, the dog suffers from dehydration and chews up the clients' furnishings. Since you failed to show you would be negligent and thereby responsible for the injuries to the pet and the contents of the home.

The $1,000,000 Personal & Advertising Injury limit covers personal injury or advertising injury you cause to another person or company. Some examples of personal injury are false arrest, wrongful eviction, or written material that slanders a person or organization or violates a person's right to privacy. Examples of advertising injury would be oral or written publication of material that slanders a person or organization or discredits a person or organization's products or services. Although claims of this nature very rarely occur to a dog trainer, an example of a claim covered under this limit would be as follows: Trainer A comes up with an advertising slogan that already belongs to trainer B. Although trainer A did not know that the slogan was in existence, it confused a number of trainer B's clients and subsequently hurt trainer B's reputation in the area. Trainer B brings suit against trainer A for damages.

The $1,000,000 Each Occurrence limit is the most applicable limit to a dog training business. It covers you for up to $1,000,000 (or the limit listed on your policy) for any occurrence in which you are found to be legally obligated to pay (by the adjuster or a court of law) for bodily injury or property damage of a third party. An example of a claim where this coverage applies: You are training a client's very hyper puppy in a group class. The hyper puppy gets away from you and jumps up and knocks over another person/observer in the class, who subsequently falls down and breaks his/her wrist. A second example would be as follows: You are working with a dog in a public place such as a park, and the dog gets away from you and subsequently attacks another dog. And a third example: You are working with a dog with aggression issues in the client's backyard. The neighbor comes through the gate unannounced and is subsequently bitten. All of the above are examples of claims that have occurred to APDT members over the years! And in all, the injured party was entitled to compensation under the trainer's policy for their injuries. Please keep in mind that the insurance company does defend you (outside the limit listed) and is only obligated to pay those sums that you are legally obligated to pay.

The $100,000 Fire Legal Limit, sometimes known as tenant legal liability, covers you against fire damage or legal liability that arises in or out of the space you rent. For example, you rent a space in a retail strip mall to hold your training classes. One night, you leave a coffee pot on and it subsequently causes fire to your rented space and the adjacent retail establishments. Since you would be negligent for causing the fire to the adjacent building, it would be covered under each occurrence limit; the rented space that you occupied would be covered under the fire legal limit of $100,000.

The $5,000 Medical Payments is a separate limit of liability used to pay small medical claims regardless of fault. An example of this would be if a friend came by your training facility and began playing roughly with one of the puppies in training. The puppy bites your friend and he/she now needs about 10-12 stitches on the palm of his/her hand. This claim would be paid out of the $5,000 medical payments limit. Should your friend then decide to file suit (in which case he/she ceases to be a friend), then the claim would be covered under each occurrence limit above.

Unfortunately, most general liability policies contain exclusions for personal property in the insured's care, custody, or control. And for many types of businesses, this would be okay; however, for the professional dog trainer, it is perhaps the biggest exposure of all. This is because dogs are considered personal property under the law. Without including this coverage under your general liability policy, you simply have no insurance for the dogs in your care! Fortunately, there are insurance companies that will remove the exclusion by endorsement. In doing so, they provide coverage for personal property and animals in your care, custody, or control and extend this coverage wherever you go to train, and at all points in between, even in your vehicle!

Again, this coverage is perhaps the most important aspect of a dog trainer's liability insurance. The reason for this is that these types of claims typically occur much more frequently than do the large dog bite to a third party. In fact, these types of claims account for 80% of the claims turned in. Although many are very small amounts, we have seen significant vet bills that range from $2,500 to over $10,000 for dogs injured in the trainer's care. Here is a sample list of some of the more recent claims that have occurred in the last few months and have been covered under the care, custody, or control coverage limit:

-Puppy became ill while in the trainer's care and was taken to the vet. It was determined the puppy had ingested some type of toxic substance. Total Paid $660.

-Client's dog was attending a training class and during the break went to get a drink of water. Another client's dog in the class also went to drink and the two dogs got into a scuffle. One of the dogs was taken to the vet and received stitching around the eye. Total Paid $909

-The dog became spooked by another dog in the trainer's care. The dog ran into a grooming table and broke his leg. Total Paid $1,526

-While in the care of the trainer, a small dog was attacked by a larger dog also in the trainer's care. The small dog required surgery to the abdomen. Total Paid $9,750

-Trainer was hired to train and sit the client's dog. On the way back from the park, the client's dog leaped out of the window of the vehicle and was dragged by the leash for several yards. Total Paid $597

Understanding the insurance coverage available to you and your needs is an important component of running a successful business. There is no reason to have more coverage than you need, but you should feel confident that you are covered for any event and accidents that concern you. If you have specific concerns about your policy and what is covered, you should speak with a representative of Business Insurers of the Carolinas to make certain that you understand and have what you need. If you have APDT insurance or are thinking about getting it, you can call us anytime. We are here to answer your questions!

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