A Complete Guide to Dog Gym Insurance

If you are looking to purchase insurance for your dog gym or mobile dog running service, you may not know what type of insurance you need or be aware that you need insurance. 

There are risks associated with all types of businesses, but owning a dog gym or a mobile dog gym has the added concern of injuries that dogs can incur while being exercised or trained. 

Read on below to learn more about what dog gym insurance and mobile dog gym insurance are and how you can purchase them. 

Dog Gym Insurance vs. Mobile Dog Gym Insurance

As a mobile dog gym business owner, you are looking at protecting your business with a General Liability and Commercial Auto Insurance policy. The main difference between dog gym insurance and mobile dog gym insurance is that mobile dog gym insurance has the added commercial auto insurance coverage.

Since your mobile dog gym business is conducted in a vehicle, you will need to purchase commercial auto insurance on your vehicle. Along with mobile equipment that will include conversion cost that were incurred to outfit your vehicle; AC unit, mobile treadmills, safety walls, etc.

Types of Dog Gym Insurance and Mobile Dog Gym Insurance

Dog gyms will need to carry various kinds of insurance to be adequately covered. Below is what most owners will need to have over their dog gym:

  • General liability insurance
  • Pet Professional Liability Insurance
  • Commercial property insurance
  • Cyber liability insurance
  • Workers’ compensation insurance
  • Animal bailee coverage
  • Business Income – Off Premises

Mobile dog gym insurance carries the same coverages listed for a dog gym. Still, it has the added coverage of commercial auto coverage that covers over the vehicle in the event of an accident. 

General Liability Protection

General liability protection covers any claims that most dog gym or mobile dog running services get when injuries or damage to property are involved. For example, suppose an employee is training a dog in the facility with the dog’s owner, and the dog’s owner slips and falls. In that case, general liability insurance will cover their injury claim. 

This coverage also covers dog gym owners for any settlements or judgments from lawsuits that customers or clients have presented.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Workers’ compensation, also known as workers’ comp, can help cover an employee’s treatment medical expenses and lost wages if they are injured on the job. It will also cover them if they become disabled on the job due to a work-related accident.

Another reason to have this coverage over your business is to prevent any out-of-pocket expenses that may come from the death of an employee. Workers’ comp will cover the funeral cost and any legal costs if their family tries to sue your business for negligence. 

Cyber Liability Insurance

Although most businesses are concerned with covering injuries or damage to property, there is another coverage that they may not be aware of: cyber liability insurance. 

Cyber liability covers any technological attacks such as data breaches or hacking. These attacks typically happen when a hacker gets into your system and plants a virus that exposes sensitive and private information such as your client’s names, addresses, and payment information.

If there is ever a data breach, cyber liability coverage can help pay for your business to hire a public relations firm and offer credit monitoring services to those who have been affected by the data breach.

This coverage can also help pay for your business income that is lost because of the data breach, and it can also help settle a ransom if someone takes your business’s data and demands a ransom for it to be released. 

Animal Bailee Coverage

Animal bailee coverage is Is one of the most important coverages on your general liability policy because it helps pay for any expenses if an animal were to get hurt while in your care. This coverage also helps pay for expenses if an animal were lost while under your gym’s care. 

What is covered?

  • Veterinary bills
  • Advertising for lost animals
  • Reward costs for a lost animal

Another example of animal bailee coverage is that if a dog were hurt in a training session after jumping off or over equipment, animal bailee insurance would cover their injuries. 

Property Insurance

Commercial property insurance covers the building of your business and the equipment inside that you own or rent. This includes all types of dog gym equipment such as iPads used for reservations and for tracking each dog’s progress, detachable ramps used to help dogs into the mobile dog gyms, motivational toys to keep the dogs intrigued and focused on treadmills, etc. 

On average, each treadmill purchased for dog gyms or mobile dog gyms can cost about $6,000 each, and most gyms have at least two at the standard size for bigger dogs and one for the smaller dogs. 

Other equipment or items inside your business that are covered include: 

  • Treadmill
  • AC Unit
  • Generator
  • Crates
  • Dog kennels
  • Collars
  • Leashes
  • All other training equipment
  • Grooming tables (if offered)

This insurance can also cover any damages caused to your property done by the animals, employees, or clients. This can extend to a fire in your building, with all your equipment and the building itself being damaged. 

If there were to be a burglary in your building and you notice missing furniture, iPads, computers, or anything else inside your building that the thieves may have stolen, your business property insurance will cover that. 

Income Off-Premises coverage

Income off-premises coverage may also be known as business income insurance. This coverage helps your business replace lost income due to theft, property used to perform regular dog gym exercise operations, fire damage, or anything else that causes your business to become unusable. 

This coverage goes by many names and can also be called “income protection insurance” or “business interruption coverage.” If your business has to close because it is inoperable, this coverage will help cover costs until it is up and running again.

In addition, it will allow you to continue paying your monthly bills and payroll while your building is under construction. 

Business Owner’s Policy

A business owner’s policy, also known as BOP, is a policy that combines business liability and property insurance into one policy. The idea behind a BOP policy is that it is a custom-made insurance policy that is meant to fit different industry-specific businesses.

Because most companies face similar risks, BOP can offer the basic coverages that all businesses typically get, but it also adds the option to add other things like business income for off-premises or cyber liability insurance. 

How to Get Dog Gym Insurance and Mobile Dog Gym Insurance

It is always best to do your research before getting your insurance for a dog gym or mobile dog gym to make sure that you are getting the best coverage for your business.

There are many brokers and insurance companies that offer insurance for your business. Still, we here at Choice Plus IS offer competitive rates, and we are very knowledgeable of what coverages you need to keep your business covered. 

When Should I Get Dog Gym Insurance or Mobile Dog Gym Insurance?

It would be best to get dog gym insurance or mobile dog gym insurance as soon as possible, preferably before opening your business. It is ideal for getting your insurance before you take on clients to prevent any potential lawsuits or issues.

If there were to be an accident or an incident in your business before you obtain insurance, you would be held liable for any out-of-pocket expenses.

How Much Will Dog Gym Insurance or Mobile Dog Gym Insurance Cost?

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to trying to figure out the cost of dog gym insurance policies or mobile dog gym insurance policies. The cost of your premium or overall policy will depend on the risk associated with your company, your number of employees, the location of your business, and the coverage limits that you choose. 

You also want to take into consideration the length of your coverage; you can opt for it to be a month-to-month type of policy, or you can have it extended by a set number of months. 

Bottom Line

The purpose of these mobile dog gyms are an opportunity for dogs to exercise who may live in an environment that is too hot or cold for their owner to exercise them outdoors. It also provides an opportunity for the dog owner with a busier than normal work schedule that lives in an urban area where dog parks may not be the most effective option.

Almost all pet parents care a lot about their pets, and they trust you to keep them safe, but accidents happen. When those accidents happen, those owners may sue you for the damages incurred to their precious dog.

The right dog gym insurance or mobile dog gym insurance is vital to ensure that you have more than enough to take care of the pet and keep your business intact. 

When you open your dog gym or mobile dog gym, make sure to contact us to make sure that you are adequately insured.