Dog Walking Insurance
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Why Compare Dog Walking Insurance At SimplyQuote.co.uk?
Comparing dog walking insurance helps you find suitable protection at a fair price by showing how different insurers assess your work, your risks, and your daily responsibilities. It gives you a clear, side by side view so you can choose cover that genuinely fits your business.
Dog walking insurance is typically built around public liability cover, the protection that responds if a dog in your care injures someone or causes damage to property. Because each insurer approaches liability risk differently, comparing policies becomes essential. The comparison process is delivered in partnership with Quotezone, which enables SimplyQuote to present options from a range of UK insurers without influencing the order of results.
Insurers assess a surprising mix of factors. One may place weight on your professional experience, another on how many dogs you walk together, and others on whether you offer related services like pet sitting or home visits. Seeing these variations side by side helps explain why prices differ and prevents you from choosing a policy that looks affordable but leaves gaps when you need support.
The quote journey is deliberately simple. You provide a small amount of information, review the policies available, and choose the level of protection that fits how you work. For a business built on trust, routine, and client expectation, comparison offers a clear route to securing cover that reflects the genuine risks involved in caring for other people’s dogs.
What Do I Need to Get a Quote?
To get a dog walking insurance quote, you only need a few details about how your business operates. Insurers use this information to understand your risks and provide accurate pricing.
Most of the questions you will be asked are simple and relate to the practical side of your work. They help insurers understand the level of responsibility you take on each day and the situations they may be covering.
You will usually need to provide:
- Your experience as a dog walker and whether you work full time or part time
- The maximum number of dogs you walk at the same time
- The areas you operate in, particularly if you cover multiple neighbourhoods
- Any additional services you offer, such as pet sitting or home visits
- Whether you hold clients’ keys or enter properties during collections
- The equipment you use, especially if you transport dogs in a vehicle
These details allow insurers to tailor the quote to your business, rather than presenting a generic policy that does not reflect the way you actually work. If you plan to expand your services or take on more dogs in future, it can help to consider this when reviewing quotes so your cover remains suitable as your business grows.
Why Do I Need Dog Walking Insurance Cover?
You need dog walking insurance because you are responsible for a client’s dog while it is in your care. If the dog injures someone, damages property, or is harmed during a walk, insurance protects you from the financial consequences.
Most policies are built around public liability. This covers situations where a dog causes an accident or injures a member of the public. Even well-behaved dogs can react unpredictably, and owners increasingly expect walkers to have proper cover in place.
Insurance also matters when something happens to the dog itself. If a dog slips a lead, reacts to another animal, or becomes injured on a walk, care, custody and control cover can help with the costs. It adds a layer of reassurance when you manage multiple dogs or varied walking environments.
Many walkers handle keys, enter clients’ homes, or offer simple pet sitting. These activities introduce risks unrelated to the walk itself. If property is damaged, a key is lost, or emergency action is needed, insurance helps protect you from unexpected bills.
For a service built on trust, accidents do not need to be frequent to be disruptive. Insurance gives you stability, helping you work confidently and maintain a reliable business if something goes wrong.
What Does Dog Walking Insurance Cover Include?
Dog walking insurance usually includes public liability, cover for injury or illness to dogs in your care, and protection for key handling or accidental damage to a client’s property. Optional extras can also be added depending on how your business operates.
Most insurers build their policies around the situations dog walkers face day to day. The core elements are designed to protect you if something unexpected happens during a walk or while visiting a client’s home.
Typical cover includes:
- Public liability for injury to others or damage to property caused by a dog you are walking
- Care, custody and control cover for illness or injury affecting a dog while it is your responsibility
- Key cover if you lose a client’s keys or need to replace locks urgently
- Accidental damage to a client’s property during a collection, drop off, or home visit
- Optional personal accident cover for the walker if you are injured carrying out your work
- Optional equipment cover for items you rely on, such as leads, harnesses, or transport crates
- Optional cover for transporting dogs, depending on the insurer and how you work
Not every dog walking business needs every type of protection, which is why comparison helps. The right combination of cover depends on whether you walk dogs individually or in groups, collect keys, offer home visits, or provide wider pet care services. A tailored approach prevents you paying for features that do not reflect the way you operate.
What’s Not Covered?
Dog walking insurance will not usually cover deliberate harm, unlicensed activities, or incidents that fall outside your stated business activities. Most exclusions relate to situations where the risk cannot be properly assessed or controlled by the insurer.
Each policy has its own boundaries, but insurers tend to exclude similar types of events. These exclusions are important because they show where your responsibility ends and where separate cover, or a different type of policy, may be required.
Common exclusions include:
- Deliberate or reckless behaviour that leads to injury or damage
- Incidents that occur outside the activities you declared when taking out the policy
- Walking more dogs at once than your policy allows
- Claims involving banned or dangerous breeds that are not covered under the policy
- Property damage unrelated to your work or occurring outside an agreed visit
- Pre existing injuries or illnesses affecting a dog before the walk
- Theft of equipment left unattended in public places
- Using a vehicle to transport dogs without the correct add on or suitable cover
Exclusions are not designed to limit professional dog walkers but to ensure the policy reflects the risks you have chosen to take on. Reviewing these boundaries carefully helps you avoid accidental gaps, particularly if you expand your services or take on new responsibilities as your business grows.
How Much Does Dog Walking Insurance Cost?
Dog walking insurance typically starts from around £54 a year for a sole trader needing basic public liability cover. Costs increase as you add more services, walk more dogs, or require wider protection.
Most insurers follow similar pricing patterns, though the final premium depends on how your business operates. A sole trader offering simple, individual walks sits at the lower end of the scale. Once you introduce group walks, home visits, or additional pet care services, the insurer adjusts the premium to reflect the broader responsibilities involved.
Typical price ranges include:
- Around £54 to £60 per year for basic public liability as a sole trader
- Around £78 per year for partnerships that share responsibility between two people
- Around £160 to £165 per year for limited companies, particularly those with two directors or wider activities
- Additional costs when adding care, custody and control, key cover, equipment protection, personal accident cover, or any form of pet transport
These figures act as a guide. Two walkers charging the same rate to clients can easily fall into different price brackets depending on how many dogs they walk together, the environments they work in, and whether they hold keys or enter clients’ homes. Adding optional extras will increase the premium, but they also help shape a policy that mirrors the way you work.
Comparing quotes is the simplest way to see where you fit within these ranges. Insurers assess risk differently, so it is common for two similar policies to be priced quite far apart.
How Can I Save Money On Dog Walking Insurance?
You can save money on dog walking insurance by comparing quotes, choosing only the cover you genuinely need, and presenting a clear, low risk working profile to insurers. Small adjustments in how you operate can also help reduce your premium.
Most insurers base their pricing on how predictable and manageable your risks appear. This means the way you structure your service, the information you give, and the cover options you select all influence what you pay.
Ways to reduce costs include:
- Keeping group walk numbers within safe, clearly defined limits
- Declaring only the services you genuinely offer, rather than adding optional extras by default
- Choosing a higher excess if it fits your risk tolerance
- Maintaining a clean claims history where possible
- Demonstrating experience or training that supports safer handling
- Avoiding unnecessary add ons, especially if you do not transport dogs or enter client homes regularly
- Reviewing your cover annually to ensure it still reflects your business model
Savings come from accuracy rather than cutting corners. If you walk dogs individually, work in quieter areas, or avoid high risk activities, your premium naturally reflects that lower exposure. On the other hand, choosing the cheapest option without considering gaps in protection can cost more in the long run. A balanced approach, backed by comparison, helps you secure suitable cover at a fair price.
How To Compare Dog Walking Insurance Quotes At SimplyQuote
Comparing dog walking insurance quotes is the fastest way to find suitable protection at a fair price. With simplyquote.co.uk, the process is straightforward and designed to reflect the way professional dog walkers operate.
How It Works:
- Enter Your Details – Provide key information about your dog walking business, including how many dogs you walk, where you work, and any additional services such as home visits or pet sitting.
- Choose Your Cover Requirements – Select your preferred level of public liability and add any extras you might need, such as care, custody and control cover, key cover, or equipment protection.
- Compare Quotes from Multiple Insurers – Review tailored options from a range of UK providers and compare the differences in pricing, cover limits, and optional add ons.
- Select and Purchase Your Policy – Choose the policy that fits your needs and complete your purchase online, receiving confirmation of cover immediately.
Because dog walkers often work to fixed routines and client schedules, SimplyQuote, working in partnership with Quotezone, makes it possible to secure insurance in minutes. This allows you to arrange or update your cover quickly without interrupting your day.
Whether you are starting out or expanding your client list, the platform offers a simple way to find a policy that reflects your responsibilities and the risks you manage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Even single-dog walks carry risks. Public liability and care, custody and control cover still apply because accidents, injuries, or property damage can happen with any dog.
While it isn’t a legal requirement, most clients expect walkers to be insured. Many will not hire a walker without public liability cover, especially for regular work or walks involving access to their home.
You may need extended cover that protects you while inside a client’s home and while caring for pets outside walking hours. Some insurers include this as an add on, while others treat it as a separate activity.
It can, but insurers expect you to use your professional judgement and follow local rules. Some policies require written permission from the owner before allowing off lead exercise.
Policies may cover injuries resulting from unexpected altercations, but only if you followed safe handling practices and stayed within your stated dog limits. Exclusions can apply if the situation could reasonably have been avoided.
Some insurers do, while others exclude dogs with known aggression or special behavioural risks. You must disclose behavioural information accurately, or a claim may be declined.
Yes, provided you choose a policy that includes transport cover. Standard car insurance rarely covers the commercial transport of animals, so an add on or specialist cover is often required.
Many policies include key cover, which pays for lock replacements, new keys, or emergency access. This is helpful if you regularly collect dogs while owners are out.
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