Dog Walking Insurance
Compare Dog Walking Insurance Quotes
Insurance designed for professional dog walkers in the UK.
Compare insurance quotes from UK’s leading public liability insurers including:
What Is Dog Walking Insurance?
Dog walking insurance is a package of cover designed for people who walk dogs professionally. It typically combines public liability with cover for the animals in your care and optional extras like key cover or equipment protection.
Most policies are built around public liability, which pays out if a dog you’re walking injures a member of the public or damages their property. Cover levels typically range from £1 million to £10 million.
Care, custody and control is the other core element, covering vet bills and owner claims if a dog is injured, falls ill, or dies while in your care. It’s separate from pet insurance, which the dog’s owner arranges independently.
Beyond those two, most insurers offer optional extras like key cover (if you lose a client’s house keys) and equipment cover for leads, harnesses, GPS trackers, and transport crates.
How To Compare Dog Walking Insurance Quotes
Comparing dog walking insurance quotes takes a few minutes and shows you how different insurers price the same risks. SimplyQuote, working with Quotezone, lets you see options from multiple UK providers in one place.
Enter your details
Provide info about your dog walking business, including how many dogs you walk, the services you offer, and whether you work alone or with staff.
Compare your quotes
Review tailored quotes from a range of UK insurers. Each quote shows the cover included, optional extras available, and the annual or monthly premium.
Check policy details
Look beyond the price. Check the excess, the cover limits for care, custody and control, whether breed restrictions apply, and how many dogs per walk the policy allows.
Buy online
Choose the policy that fits and complete your purchase online. Cover can start the same day, so you won’t need to delay any bookings while you wait for paperwork.
Do You Need Dog Walking Insurance?
There’s no law that says you must have dog walking insurance, but working without it is a serious financial risk. A single claim from an injured pedestrian or a damaged vehicle could cost thousands.
When it’s expected
Most pet owners now ask to see proof of insurance before handing over their dog, and platforms that connect walkers with clients often require it too. If you’re registered as self-employed and earning money from walking dogs, cover is a practical requirement even if it’s not a legal one.
Your legal obligations
If you employ staff, even part-time helpers or holiday cover, you’re legally required to hold employers’ liability insurance with a minimum of £5 million cover.
Under the Animals Act 1971, the keeper of an animal can be held liable for damage it causes. When you accept a dog into your care, you take on a level of responsibility that mirrors ownership.
What Does Dog Walking Insurance Cover?
A typical dog walking insurance policy covers public liability, the dogs in your care, and common risks like losing a client’s keys. You can add optional extras depending on how your business operates.
| Cover Type | What It Protects | Typical Limit |
| Public liability | Injury to the public or property damage caused by a dog you’re walking | £1m to £10m |
| Care, custody and control | Vet bills or owner claims if a dog is injured, falls ill, or dies in your care | £1,000 to £10,000 per dog |
| Key cover | Replacing locks and keys if a client’s keys are lost or stolen | £500 to £1,000 |
| Equipment cover | Theft or damage to leads, harnesses, crates, and GPS trackers | £500 to £2,000 |
| Personal accident | Your own medical costs if you’re injured while working | Up to £50,000 |
| Employers’ liability | Claims from staff you employ, including part-time helpers | £5m minimum (legal requirement) |
Not every walker needs every type of cover. If you work alone and don’t handle keys, you can keep costs down by choosing only public liability and care, custody and control.
What Isn’t Covered by Dog Walking Insurance?
Most policies exclude deliberate harm, unlicensed activities, and incidents that fall outside what you declared when you took out the policy. Exclusions exist to keep premiums fair by removing risks the insurer can’t properly assess.
Common exclusions
Walking more dogs at once than your policy allows is one of the most common gaps. If your policy covers groups of four and you walk six, any claim during that walk could be rejected.
Pre-existing injuries or illnesses in a dog are also excluded. If a dog had a known condition before you collected it, the insurer won’t cover treatment costs that arise during the walk.
Breed restrictions
Some insurers exclude breeds listed under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, while others cover all breeds but charge a higher premium. Check the breed exclusions before you accept a new client’s dog.
Vehicle use
Transporting dogs in your car isn’t automatically covered. You’ll need a specific add-on or separate commercial vehicle insurance if you drive dogs to and from walking locations.
How Much Does Dog Walking Insurance Cost?
Dog walking insurance starts from around £60 per year for a sole trader needing basic public liability cover. Most professional dog walkers pay between £60 and £200 per year depending on their business structure and the cover they choose.
| Business Type | Typical Annual Cost | What’s Usually Included |
| Sole trader (basic PLI) | £60 to £80 | Public liability only |
| Sole trader (full cover) | £80 to £120 | PLI + care, custody and control + key cover |
| Partnership | From around £100 | PLI + care, custody and control for two people |
| Limited company | £160 to £380 | PLI + EL + care, custody and control + extras |
For a detailed breakdown of public liability insurance costs across all industries, see our full pricing guide.
What Affects The Cost Of Dog Walking Insurance?
Insurers set your premium based on how much risk your business presents. The more dogs you walk, the wider the services you offer, and the more staff you employ, the higher the cost.
Number of dogs per walk
Walking six dogs at once creates more risk than walking one. Insurers price this difference into your premium because group walks increase the chance of an escaped animal or an injury.
Additional services
If you offer pet sitting, home visits, or boarding alongside walking, your policy needs to reflect those activities. Each service introduces different risks.
A walker who also runs a pet care service from home will pay more than someone who only walks dogs in local parks.
Business structure
Sole traders pay the least. Partnerships cost more because two people share responsibility.
Limited companies with employees need employers’ liability on top of everything else, which pushes the total premium higher.
Location and claims history
Urban walkers in busy areas typically pay slightly more than rural walkers. A clean claims history keeps your premium low, while previous claims signal higher risk to the insurer.
How To Save Money On Dog Walking Insurance
You can reduce your premium by only insuring the services you actually offer, keeping group sizes manageable, and comparing quotes from multiple insurers.
Only pay for what you use
If you don’t handle clients’ keys, drop the key cover, and if you don’t transport dogs, skip the vehicle add-on. Stripping out unused extras can cut your premium by 15-20%.
Reduce your risk profile
Smaller group walks mean lower risk, which means lower premiums. Some councils also set limits on how many dogs one person can walk at once, so check your local authority’s rules. Every claim pushes your next renewal up, so carrying out a basic risk assessment for each walking route and checking leads and harnesses regularly both help keep costs down.
Compare quotes annually
Don’t auto-renew without checking what else is available. Comparing business insurance quotes takes a few minutes and you might find the same cover for 20-30% less from a different provider.
What’s Needed To Get A Dog Walking Insurance Quote?
You’ll need basic details about your business: how many dogs you walk, where you operate, whether you work alone, and what services you offer beyond walking.
Insurers ask whether you’re a sole trader, partnership, or limited company. They also want to know how long you’ve been trading and whether you have any previous claims.
You’ll be asked about the maximum number of dogs you walk at once, the areas you cover, and whether you offer pet sitting, home visits, or boarding.
It helps to decide your preferred level of public liability cover before you start so you can compare like-for-like quotes more quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Even a single dog can bite a pedestrian, damage a parked car, or run into traffic, so public liability cover applies regardless of group size.
No, but most clients expect it, and platforms that match walkers with pet owners typically require it. Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ anyone.
Most dog walkers choose £1 million or £2 million, with higher limits available if you work with large groups or in busy public spaces. See our guide on whether you need public liability insurance for more detail.
Most policies cover off-lead walks, but some restrict cover to dogs walked on a lead in public areas. Check the policy wording before letting any dog off the lead during a walk.
Care, custody and control cover typically pays for vet treatment if a dog in your care is injured in a fight. Public liability covers you if the dog you’re walking injures another person’s pet.
Yes, but you may need a specific transport add-on or separate commercial vehicle cover. Standard dog walking policies don’t always include vehicle use.
Most policies don’t exclude dogs based on behaviour alone, but if a dog has a known history of aggression and you didn’t disclose it, the insurer could reject a claim.
Public liability covers physical injury and property damage, while professional indemnity covers financial losses caused by advice or services you provide. Most dog walkers only need public liability.
Yes, if you add key cover to your policy. It typically pays for replacement locks and keys if a client’s house keys are lost or stolen while in your possession.
Not usually, as most policies let you add pet sitting, home visits, and boarding as extras under one policy. If your services are very different, such as dog walking and event work, you might need separate cover.
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