You don’t know what you don’t know until it’s too late.
This old platitude is particularly true when it comes to pet groomer insurance and liability risks. For small businesses and sole proprietors, however, this statement isn’t just true—it can also be expensive.
If your insurance purchasing decisions are based on what you know—whether it’s that you’ve never had an incident in 5 years, or that you simply just don’t see how your services can accidentally harm pets—this adage could spell doom for your business.
Whether or not you’re the world’s best groomer, the truth is that accidents can happen. Sometimes, these are even completely out of your control. You can do everything right, and a pet can still get injured on your table.
1. It Shows That You’re Responsible & Professional
Getting liability insurance for your grooming business doesn’t mean you aren’t a good groomer. In fact, it demonstrates to potential clients that you’re a responsible one who understands the risks. And groomers who understands risks are better able to take precautions that will prevent them.
In addition, it also indicates that you take your job seriously. Most people don’t insure their hobbies, but they do insure their businesses. That’s because people need their livelihood to survive, so they don’t want to jeopardize it if they’re hit with a claim. And, if they’re not willing to jeopardize it that way, it stands to reason that they’re also less likely to jeopardize it with risky behaviors. To a potential client, that helps them trust you with their beloved furry family member.
12 Additional Reasons Why You Need Liability Insurance
To further illustrate our point, here is a list of additional reasons why you should get liability insurance coverage (continued from the first reason given above) for your pet grooming business:
- Dogs can get strangled by grooming table leashes
- Clipper burns
- Burns on pets placed in box dryers
- Broken bones after a pet jumps or falls off the table
- Toxic products or allergic reactions to products
- A toenail cut too short that gets infected
- Stroke or heart attack during the appointment
- Cuts & other injuries sustained when a pet twitches or jerks its legs without warning
- Skin disorders aggravated by grooming techniques or procedures
- Breathing problems caused (or made worse) by grooming
- Elderly dogs with unknown or undisclosed issues that come to light during the appointment
- Animal fights caused by two pets that don’t get along
All of the above reasons are actual scenarios that have happened with pets during a grooming appointment. They aren’t what-if scenarios. Without insurance coverage, would your business be able to handle the cost of claims for these incidences?
At PCI, we know you love the pets you serve. We love them, too. That’s why we’re here to help you learn more about how you can protect them—and yourself.
Getting the right insurance coverage is just one way to gain this protection. What other solutions have you used to help prevent the above scenarios (or any others not listed)? Please comment and share!
