Compare dog walking insurance

Insurance for dog walkers pays out if a dog in your charge injures someone, damages property or causes an accident. Most walkers pair public liability with care, custody and control cover, which protects the dogs themselves while you look after them.

Fill in one form on Quotezone to compare quotes side by side, whether you walk a few dogs before work or run a team with vans.

Covers a dog walking business can choose

Dog walking insurance is built from sections, so you pay for the parts that match your work. The ones walkers ask about most are:

• Public liability: claims from people your business injures, or whose property it damages (business.gov.uk). A dog knocking a cyclist off a bike is a typical case.
• Care, custody and control: injury, illness, loss or theft of a client’s dog while it is with you. Check the limit for each dog as well as for each claim.
• Key cover: the cost of changing locks if you lose a client’s house keys.
• Equipment: leads, crates, harnesses and the other kit you rely on each day (business.gov.uk).
• Employers’ liability: a legal duty from the day you first employ someone, with a set minimum level of cover (GOV.UK).

Most policies exclude harm caused on purpose, illness a dog already had and walks with more dogs than you declared. Some also exclude dogs off the lead unless the owner has agreed in writing.

What the law expects of anyone walking dogs

It is against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere, including a public place or a private garden (GOV.UK). The law applies to all dogs, and penalties include an unlimited fine or up to 6 months in prison.

Some public areas in England and Wales are covered by Public Spaces Protection Orders. These can limit how many dogs you have with you, and GOV.UK says that applies to professional walkers too (GOV.UK). Orders differ from one council area to the next.

Scotland has its own law, the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010, which provides for dog control notices (legislation.gov.uk).

In Northern Ireland, the person in charge of a dog is responsible for how it behaves in public. Dogs must be on a lead in designated pedestrian zones and where livestock is present (nidirect).

No law makes public liability compulsory for walkers. Apart from motor cover for any vehicle you drive, the only cover the law requires is employers’ liability once people work for you (business.gov.uk).

Is cover worth having if you only walk dogs part time?

For most paid walkers, yes. One lunge at a passing jogger, or a dog slipping its lead near a road, can lead to a claim however few hours you work. Dog walker insurance is priced on your own activity, so part-time walkers usually pay less.

Will a policy pay the vet if a dog is hurt on a walk?

Only if you have care, custody and control cover, because public liability covers other people and their property. That section can pay vet fees and other costs if a dog you are walking is injured, falls ill or goes missing, up to the policy limit.

Driving dogs to fields and parks

A vehicle used for the business needs motor insurance that covers it, even if it is your own car (business.gov.uk). A policy for social use only may not cover carrying dogs for paying clients.

The Highway Code asks drivers to restrain dogs so they cannot distract you, or be hurt if you stop quickly (Highway Code, rule 57). A fixed crate or dog guard in the back helps with this.

You can compare commercial van insurance for a dedicated dog van, or business car insurance if you use your own car.

Pet sitting, home visits and boarding

Many walkers also feed pets, drop in on cats or keep dogs overnight. Tell insurers about every service, as a walking-only policy may not cover a cat you feed at the owner’s home.

Boarding needs extra thought. In England, councils license home boarding for dogs and dog day care, using guidance from Defra (GOV.UK). Speak to your council before you take dogs in.

Things that change your premium

The price of dog walking insurance depends on how much risk each walk carries. Insurers mostly look at:

• how many dogs you walk at once, and your largest group
• whether dogs go off the lead, and where
• the public liability and care limits you pick
• staff, vans and extra services such as sitting or boarding
• your claims record, and how much excess you will carry

Take a walker who runs group walks for up to six dogs and collects them in a van. They would want public liability, care cover for every dog, key cover and business use on the van.

You might also need

Adding kennels or a grooming room at your own premises? See our kennel and cattery insurance page. If walking is one of several jobs you do, our page on self-employed insurance may fit better.

Start your dog walking insurance quote and see prices for your walks, dogs and kit in one place.