Animal hospitals are responsible for a wide range of services, including medical services, immunizations and check-ups, surgical procedures and dentistry services, along with grooming and other services provided. Your animal hospital may accept pets like dogs, cats and birds, or livestock such as pigs, horses, cattle, sheep, goats and chickens. Naturally, your biggest business risks are related to the services you provide, making professional liability crucial. To cover this and other risks, get business insurance to protect your business.
Types of Animal Hospital Insurance
To fully protect your animal hospital, you need more than one type of business insurance policy. The following policies are the most important for your type of business.
Animal Hospital General Liability Insurance
One of the most important policies for an animal hospital is general liability insurance. This is a basic insurance policy most businesses have, but it is also an essential one. With general liability, you have three areas of coverage: premises liability, products liability and completed operations. Products liability is protection for any products you sell, such as a new dog collar that tears apart and causes their dog to go running off, which may result in an injury to the dog or other damages. Completed operations is for any services you provide, other than your veterinarian services. Premises liability is important because if someone is injured in your animal hospital, such as a customer getting scratched by another customer’s cat, they can sue you for damages.
Animal Hospital Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability also goes by the name errors and omissions, and covers your veterinary and medical services as a professional. It is an essential animal hospital insurance policy to have. Keep in mind that if there is a problem or mistake made with the services you provide that cause injury, loss or damage, it is covered by professional liability. For example, if there are complications during a surgery that further makes the animal ill, professional liability covers any medical or legal costs.
Animal Hospital Bailees Customer Insurance
Your animal hospital also needs coverage for animals left in your care while providing veterinary services. If the animal is injured or dies while in your care, Bailees coverage will reimburse the customer for their loss.
Animal Hospital Business Auto
If you use your own vehicle to pick up supplies from a vendor, visit farms to take care of livestock, you need a business auto insurance policy. It includes basic coverage from accidents, such as bodily injury and damage to the vehicles involved. If you choose to add theft or vandalism, it gives you even more protection.
Animal Hospital Business Property
Unexpected events occur every day, and unfortunately many of them can’t be prevented and come with little warning. In order to protect your business assets from the damage, you need a business property insurance policy. For instance, if there is a flood that destroys your expensive equipment, the business property insurance policy helps make any necessary repairs. Since you can’t take care of the animals until repairs are completed, this policy is vital.
Animal Hospital Cyber Liability Insurance
If you sell any of your products online or have a website to advertise your services, you should also have a cyber liability policy. This type of insurance is for protection against cyber crimes, such as hackers stealing personal information, causing a virus or spyware on your website, or other types of crimes. If a hacker does commit the crime, you don’t suffer financially as a result.
Animal Hospital Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ compensation is required by law in most states, therefore all your employees should have this protection. Your veterinarians and staff are especially at risk of injury from the animals, such as a cat scratch, dog bite or other injuries. If they do get bitten by a dog, their medical costs are covered by the worker’s compensation policy.
Animal Hospital Crime Insurance
Crime insurance is protection from a variety of crimes, such as dishonest employee practices, theft, shoplifting or vandalism. For your animal hospital, it protects you from loss if someone commits fraud, an employee embezzles money or someone vandalizes your property.
Now that you know about the most important animal hospital insurance policies, you can provide your business with optimal coverage. Keep in mind insurance policies to cover different liabilities, your employees and your business assets.
