Pet Boarding & Daycare Insurance Coverage Checklist
The coverages a pet boarding & daycare business may carry — core, prevalent, and situational — why each matters, and the gap most often missed.
Pull out your current policy and check the box next to any coverage you can confirm is already in place — anything unchecked is worth a quick conversation with your advisor. Coverage checklist for boarding kennels, dog daycares, and pet resorts. Priorities reflect typical exposure for this class; confirm against capacity, overnight staffing, and services.
Tick each coverage you can confirm you carry — anything left unticked is a good question for your next policy review.
| Have it? | Coverage | Why this business needs it | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animal Bailee (Care, Custody & Control) | Covers injury, illness, death, or loss of customers' pets in your care — GL excludes them. Check the per-animal sublimit. | Core | |
| Commercial General Liability | Covers customer injuries, including bites during drop-off and pickup. | Core | |
| Commercial Property & Business Income | Covers the building and equipment, plus lost income after a fire or closure for disease. | Core | |
| Workers' Compensation | Required in most states; bites, lifting, and slips on wet floors are common. | Core | |
| Professional Liability | Covers claims over training, behavior advice, or failure to follow care instructions. | Situational | |
| Commercial / Hired Auto | Covers pet taxi and transport of animals. | Situational | |
| Umbrella / Excess Liability | Adds limits for a catastrophic event, such as a fire with many animals. | Prevalent |
The coverage gap most often missed
The most commonly missed exposure for this class is an overnight fire with no one on site. Kennel fires have killed every animal in the building — 18 dogs in Minnesota and about 30 each in Illinois and Michigan — often with alarms sounding and no one to hear them. A single fire can exhaust an animal bailee limit many times over, and per-animal sublimits are often far below what owners will claim. Confirm the bailee limit fits a full facility, and consider overnight staff, monitored detection, and sprinklers.
Send us the checklist and we'll review your pet boarding & daycare coverage line by line, then market it across multiple carriers that compete for your account.
Related: Pet Boarding & Daycare Insurance · Pet Boarding & Daycare Supplemental (apply) · All coverage checklists
Frequently asked questions
What insurance does a pet boarding & daycare business need?
The core coverages for a pet boarding & daycare business are Animal Bailee (Care, Custody & Control), Commercial General Liability, Commercial Property & Business Income, Workers' Compensation. This checklist also lists the prevalent and situational coverages worth considering, with a plain-English note on why each matters.
Is this checklist insurance advice?
No. It is a free educational tool to help you have a more informed conversation with a licensed professional. It affords no coverage and is not insurance, legal, or financial advice — only your actual policy language governs what is and isn't covered.
Can Cory Washington & Co. review my pet boarding & daycare coverage?
Yes. Share your checklist and we'll review your program line by line, market your account across multiple carriers, and explain the trade-offs in plain English. Cory Washington & Co. LLC is licensed in all 50 states.
This checklist is a free educational tool from Cory Washington & Co. to help you review your own coverage and have a more informed conversation with a licensed insurance professional. It is general information only — not insurance, legal, or financial advice, and not a recommendation to buy, change, or cancel any policy. Coverage terms, availability, limits, and requirements vary by policy, carrier, and state, and only the language in your actual policy governs what is and isn’t covered. Checking or leaving blank any item above does not indicate that you are adequately insured or under-insured. Using this checklist does not create a client, agency, or fiduciary relationship. Always consult a licensed professional about your specific situation.