Dog Walking and Pet Sitting Business Insurance UK: What You Actually Need to Know

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The Gap in Standard Public Liability

A dog bolts into the road, a cat knocks over a television, a set of keys goes missing. Any of those can cost more than a month’s takings, and most general business policies leave pet care businesses exposed in a way that only becomes obvious at claim stage.

This explains where the gap is, what cover closes it, the motor insurance problem, and when you need a licence from your council.

Why Public Liability Is Not Enough

Public liability covers injury or damage you cause to third parties, meaning people and property that are not yours. That phrase does the damage.

Most policies exclude property in your care, custody and control. An animal in your charge is in your care, custody and control. So is a client’s house key, and so, in many wordings, is the home you are sitting in.

So if a dog you are walking damages a stranger’s car or fence, standard public liability usually responds. If the dog injures itself, runs off, or wrecks the client’s kitchen while you are there, you may have no cover at all.

That is the whole reason pet care needs sector-specific cover rather than a generic policy with the word “liability” on it.

The Cover You Actually Need

Care, Custody and Control Liability

The essential extension. It covers loss, injury or damage involving animals in your care: a dog hurt on a walk, a cat that escapes, damage done in a client’s home.

Check the care, custody and control limit separately from the public liability limit. They are usually different numbers, and the care limit is often far lower than people assume.

Vet Fees

If an animal in your care is hurt, the bill arrives immediately. The owner’s own pet insurance may not pay where negligence is alleged, and may leave you facing a liability claim as well.

Some specialist policies include vet fees cover for animals in your care, which is your liability for the bill rather than a substitute for the owner’s policy. Check whether it is standard or an add-on, and the limit per animal per incident.

Key Cover

Lose a client’s keys and at minimum they need locks changed. At worst you are dealing with a break-in. Key cover pays for lock replacement and recutting, and for anyone doing regular house visits it earns its place.

Public Liability, Still

You need it as the foundation. A dog that trips a pedestrian, knocks over an elderly person or causes a road accident is a public liability claim, as is damage to third-party property not in your care.

£1 million is the floor, £2 million or £5 million is more typical and rarely much dearer. Daycare venues and grooming salons that refer work may specify a level before partnering with you.

Two risks specific to this trade sit here. If a dog in your charge worries livestock, the farmer’s claim can be substantial, and rural walking makes that a live exposure. And under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 the person in charge of a dog that is dangerously out of control can be prosecuted, which includes a walker rather than only the owner, and applies on private property as well as in public. Insurance does not answer a criminal charge: legal expenses cover is the policy that funds a defence.

Employers’ Liability

If you employ anyone, including part-time or casual helpers, it is compulsory under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. Minimum £5 million, usually issued at £10 million, with an FCA and PRA authorised insurer. Penalties run to £2,500 for each day uninsured and up to £1,000 for failing to display or produce the certificate.

Exemptions exist for an unincorporated business whose employees are all close relatives, and for a company whose only employee owns at least half the shares. Using self-employed helpers is a grey area: if they work under your direction using your equipment, insurers commonly treat them as employees anyway.

The Motor Insurance Problem

If you carry animals in your vehicle for work, even just to the park and back, your personal motor policy almost certainly does not cover it. Personal policies exclude business use, and transporting clients’ animals for payment is business use. An accident discovered to have happened during work can mean a refused claim.

You need motor cover rated for the work. Business use, sometimes sold as class 1, is the usual starting point, though some insurers treat carrying clients’ animals as requiring commercial cover. Ask the question specifically, in those words, and get the answer in writing.

A pet care policy that mentions transporting animals does not replace a correctly rated motor policy. They cover different things.

One regulatory point. Transporting animals in connection with an economic activity can require transporter authorisation from APHA where journeys exceed 65km. Most walking rounds fall well under that, but collection rounds covering a wide rural area may not, so check if your routes are long.

Licensing: When You Need One

Dog walking itself is not a licensable activity in England, Wales or Scotland. You do not need a council licence to walk dogs commercially.

That changes the moment you board or provide day care. Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) Regulations 2018 in England, these need a licence from your local authority:

• Home boarding, keeping other people’s dogs in your home overnight
• Dog day care, provided as a business, which is licensable regardless of how few dogs you take
• Boarding kennels and catteries
• Selling animals as pets
• Breeding dogs

Licences come with minimum standards for welfare, facilities, staffing and records, and councils issue a star rating that determines how long the licence lasts and what you pay. Inspections apply. Operating unlicensed where a licence is required is a criminal offence.

Insurers commonly ask for proof of licence before covering boarding or daycare, and a claim arising from unlicensed activity can be refused.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own regimes. Check the current position with your council rather than relying on a summary.

Local Rules on Walking

Separately from licensing, many councils use public spaces protection orders to limit how many dogs one person may walk at once, commonly between four and six, and some require a permit for commercial dog walking in particular parks. Check the orders for the areas you actually walk in, since they vary between neighbouring councils.

FAQ

Do I legally need insurance to walk dogs?

No, but clients, booking platforms and partner businesses generally expect it, and the exposure from a road accident caused by a loose dog is the kind that ends a business.

What is the difference between dog walker and pet sitter insurance?

Most specialist insurers write one policy covering both. Sitting carries more exposure inside a client’s home, which is where key cover and care, custody and control matter most. Walking carries more public liability exposure. If you do both, buy a policy that names both.

Does home insurance cover boarding dogs at my house?

Almost certainly not. Home policies exclude business activity, and undeclared business use can affect the whole policy rather than just the claim. Tell your home insurer, and expect to need an endorsement or a specialist home boarding policy, as well as the council licence.

Are trade bodies worth joining?

They can be. Associations such as NarpsUK offer member benefits that sometimes include access to group insurance and professional development, and membership reassures clients. It supplements proper cover rather than replacing it.

A dog in my care bit someone. What happens?

Two separate processes. The civil claim goes to your insurer. The criminal side, under the Dangerous Dogs Act, attaches to the person in charge at the time, which may be you rather than the owner. Notify your insurer immediately, do not admit liability, and take legal advice early.

Dog Walking and Pet Sitting Insurance: The Bottom Line

The care, custody and control exclusion is the gap that matters. Standard public liability will not cover the animal you were looking after, the keys you were holding or the house you were sitting in.

At minimum, look for public liability at £1 million or more, a care, custody and control extension with its own limit checked, key cover if you hold keys, vet fees cover for animals in your charge, and motor insurance actually rated for carrying clients’ animals.

If you board or run day care, get the licence before you take the booking, and tell your insurer exactly what services you provide. A specialist pet care insurer will understand the risks better than a generalist with bolt-ons, and the difference shows at claim stage rather than at quote stage.

This article is general information about insurance and UK regulation, not advice, and it does not take account of your circumstances. Licensing requirements, local orders and policy wordings vary and change. Check the current position with your local council and speak to an FCA-authorised broker before relying on anything here.