Quick Answer
Most small dog daycares pay about $640 to $810 a year for general liability — roughly $53 to $68 a month — or about $1,100 to $1,700 a year for a business owner’s policy (BOP), which bundles general liability with property and business income coverage. Add workers’ compensation at roughly $1,000 to $1,500 a year once you have staff.
Those ranges come from two published national data sets: the median premiums an online small business insurance marketplace reports for kennels and dog daycares, and the averages The Hartford publishes for its small business customers in the dog boarding industry.
Put together, a small daycare with a few employees should budget roughly $2,100 to $3,200 a year for a BOP plus workers’ compensation. That is simple arithmetic on the published figures, not a quote — a facility with 60 dogs a day and a dozen handlers will pay more, and a two-person operation may pay less.
Here are the national numbers, what moves your price up or down, and the practical ways to bring it back down.
Dog Daycare Insurance Costs at a Glance
Published national figures for kennels, boarding, and dog daycare businesses.
The marketplace general liability and BOP figures assume $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate limits, and the BOP figure assumes a $500 deductible.
Read these with one caveat. Both are figures for small businesses, and neither source breaks out daycare from boarding. The marketplace’s customer base is mostly businesses with fewer than five employees. Treat the table as a starting benchmark, not a ceiling.
It is also worth knowing where daycare sits in the pet industry. Across all pet care businesses, the same marketplace reports medians of $513 a year for general liability, $1,031 for a BOP and $1,160 for workers’ compensation. Kennels and daycares run higher on every line — group care of other people’s dogs carries more exposure than most pet services.
What Drives the Cost of Dog Daycare Insurance
Two daycares in the same town can get very different quotes. These are the factors underwriters weigh most.
What the Price Includes — and What It Doesn’t
A BOP packages three coverages most daycares need: general liability, commercial property and business income. General liability pays when a client, visitor or passerby is injured — or their property damaged — because of your business, plus your legal defense. Property covers your building contents and equipment. Business income replaces lost revenue if a covered loss, such as a fire, forces you to close.
Three costs the headline number usually leaves out.
1. Injury to the Dogs in Your Care
General liability does not cover damage to property in your care, custody or control, and dogs count as property. If one dog injures another in group play, you need animal bailee coverage, also called care, custody and control. How you get it varies by carrier: Travelers includes boarding kennel liability as standard in its BOP for pet care businesses, including daycares, while other markets sell it as an endorsement priced separately. Neither published data set puts a price on it.
2. Your Employees
A handler bitten on the job is a workers’ compensation claim, not a general liability one. Most states require workers’ compensation once you have employees, and it is often the line that surprises daycare owners — in the marketplace data it costs more than the BOP.
About $53 to $68 a month for general liability, or about $92 to $141 a month for a business owner’s policy, based on published national figures. Workers’ compensation adds roughly $86 to $124 a month for a small staff.
3. Vehicles
If you run pickup and drop-off, personal auto policies typically exclude business use. Commercial auto is the most expensive line in the table above.
A warning about the cheapest quotes. Some programs marketed to pet professionals advertise prices under $200 a year — but one widely marketed program built for sitters and walkers carries animal liability limits of $100,000 per incident and bailee limits of $2,500 per incident. That can suit a solo sitter. It is rarely enough for a facility with a dozen dogs in a playroom.
Seven Ways to Lower Your Dog Daycare Insurance Cost
- Bundle into a BOP. Buying general liability, property and business income together is usually cheaper than buying them separately.
- Choose a deductible you can actually absorb. A higher deductible lowers the premium — as long as you could pay it tomorrow.
- Classify payroll correctly. Workers’ compensation is priced by job class. Front-desk and office payroll should not be rated as dog-handling payroll.
- Document your safety program. Written temperament testing, playgroup rules and staff-to-dog ratios make you easier to underwrite.
- Protect your claims history. Prevention is the cheapest coverage you will ever buy; claims affect what you pay for years.
- Right-size limits instead of stripping coverage. Dropping animal bailee to save a few hundred dollars leaves your most likely claim uninsured.
- Re-market at renewal through an independent agent. Compare animal coverage and limits side by side, not just the premium.
One honest caveat: most of these savings work through underwriting and claims history rather than a line-item discount on the quote. They are real, but they show up over several renewals.
Operating in New York?
Expect to land at the upper end of the national ranges or above. New York’s claim costs run well above average — its average dog bite liability claim was the highest of any state in 2025. Our New York dog daycare cost guide breaks down what daycares there should budget and why.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does dog daycare insurance cost per month?
About $53 to $68 a month for general liability, or about $92 to $141 a month for a business owner’s policy, based on published national figures. Workers’ compensation adds roughly $86 to $124 a month for a small staff.
Do I need a BOP or just general liability?
If you lease or own a facility with equipment, a BOP is usually the better value: it adds property and business income coverage to general liability, and many landlords require property coverage anyway. Standalone general liability fits a business with little property to protect.
Does dog daycare insurance cover injuries to the dogs?
Not under general liability alone. Injury to an animal in your care is covered by animal bailee, or care, custody and control, coverage. Some carriers include it in a pet care BOP; others sell it as an endorsement. Ask to see the limits in writing.
Is workers’ compensation required for a dog daycare?
In most states, yes, once you have employees. Rules vary by state, including how owners and part-time staff are treated, so confirm your state’s requirement before you hire.
Why is my quote higher than the national average?
Averages are built mostly from small businesses. Higher daily headcount, open group play, more handlers, a high-cost state, added services like boarding or transport, higher limits or a prior claim will all push a quote above the benchmark.
Is dog daycare insurance more expensive than other pet business insurance?
Usually. In published marketplace data, kennels and daycares pay more than the pet care industry overall on general liability, BOP and workers’ compensation.
Get a Number Built for Your Facility
National averages tell you whether a quote is in the right neighborhood. They cannot tell you whether it covers the dogs in your playroom, the handler at your gate or the van in your lot.
Before your next renewal, check three things: your general liability limit, whether animal bailee coverage is on the policy, and whether your workers’ compensation reflects current payroll.
Call us at (714) 695-1127 or start a quote online. We insure pet businesses, and we will show you exactly what your premium buys — and what it doesn’t.