Pet Shop Insurance
All pet shops need protection against financial losses caused by potential disasters like fires, break-ins, lawsuits, and more.
Written by
Christine Lacagnina has written thousands of insurance-based articles for TrustedChoice.com by authoring consumable, understandable content.
Reviewed by
Jeff Green has held a variety of sales and management roles at life insurance companies, Wall street firms, and distribution organizations over his 40-year career. He was previously Finra 7,24,66 registered and held life insurance licenses in multiple states. He is a graduate of Stony Brook University.
Pet stores are more than just retail establishments where customers can buy supplies to care for their pets. They also house many different animals, creating more risks and exposures than most retail stores face.
Further, animals can be unpredictable, which increases the risk of injuries or liability claims. Also, power outages or disasters like fires can threaten the animals in your care.
Fortunately, having a solid pet store insurance policy can help protect your business against losses due to these threats and more. An independent insurance agent in your area can help you find the right policy. But first, here's a closer look at pet store insurance.
Fast Pet Shop Industry Stats
When shopping for coverage for your pet store, it can be helpful to first gain an overview of the industry as a whole. Here are a few quick stats about the pet shop industry to help paint a better picture of the market.
- There are 12,685 pet stores in the U.S. as of 2023.
- The number of pet stores in the U.S. has remained fairly steady over the last five years.
- California has the highest number of pet stores in the nation currently, with 2,117 total.
- Pet stores in the U.S. currently employ 134,404 people.
- Pet stores rank 38th in the Retail Trade industry in the U.S. by employment.
- This year, the pet store industry is expected to generate $29.4 billion in revenue.
Clearly, the pet store industry is huge. All these individual shops and employees need coverage against potential disasters that could lead to serious financial losses otherwise.
What Is Pet Store Insurance?
Pet shop insurance is essentially a special type of business insurance policy with coverage tailored to the specific industry. Business insurance policies for pet stores consider the unique risks and exposures involved in running and maintaining a pet store, such as having live inventory on-site at all times.
An independent insurance agent knows exactly which types of coverage your pet store needs and can help you get set up with the right kind of business insurance.
Why Pet Stores Need Commercial Property Insurance
In addition to insuring pet supplies and other retail inventory in your store, the animals for sale must also be insured as business property. If a disaster kills or injures the animals in your store, you may be compensated the amount it would cost to replace them with animals of the same breed. So, your pet shop business insurance must include coverage for commercial property.
Of course, there are exceptions to what's covered under commercial property insurance. For example, if an extended power outage is responsible for animal deaths, whether due to a lack of climate control or failure of pumps to aerate water in fish tanks, it's unlikely that your contents coverage would cover the incident. You'd likely need to have spoilage coverage in this case. This coverage is available with most commercial insurance policies, though you may have to request it specifically.
Special Property Coverage Considerations for Pet Stores
Another example of something that might not be covered by commercial property insurance is an incident of major illness of the animals in your pet store. In this case, you may need inland marine insurance, which protects against losses related to animal mortality. This coverage also protects commercial property and inventory while in transit, so if animals were being driven to your store when an accident occurred, inland marine insurance would likely cover the disaster.
An additional consideration is pets that belong to other people but are left in your care, custody, or control may not be covered by standard business property insurance. If your pet store offers veterinary, grooming, or kenneling services, you may want to discuss bailee's insurance with your independent insurance agent.
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Why Pet Stores Need Commercial Liability Insurance
Obviously, pet stores sell animals, which can sometimes bite or scratch the humans that handle them. This can put your store at risk of being on the wrong side of a lawsuit if an incident occurs where a customer is holding a hamster that bites them and draws blood, for example.
If a customer gets injured in your store, whether due to slipping and falling on wet concrete or being bitten by an animal, commercial general liability (CGL) insurance can cover legal fees and financial damages due to a possible resulting lawsuit. CGL insurance covers lawsuit costs stemming from claims of third-party personal property damage or bodily injury caused by your business.
On the other hand, if an employee is bitten by an animal or gets injured or ill due to job duties or the work environment, coverage for necessary medical treatment and continued wages during missed work would be provided by workers compensation insurance. Having this coverage also exempts your pet store from lawsuits filed by employees or their families for related incidents.
Additional Pet Shop Insurance Coverage to Consider
Your pet store may need other types of coverage in addition to property and liability. A few other common types of business insurance needed by pet stores include:
- Business income insurance: This provides a continued stream of income and pays employee wages during temporary closures due to covered disasters like a fire.
- Commercial flood insurance: If your pet store is located in a flood zone, you may need this special coverage to provide compensation for property repairs or replacement in the event of natural flooding. Natural water damage is excluded by commercial property insurance.
- Employment practices liability insurance: This covers legal defense fees and potential punitive damages if an employee sues your business for illegal practices such as discrimination or sexual harassment.
- Employee dishonesty insurance: This coverage protects your business from financial loss if one of your employees steals from your business or engages in other illegal behavior while working for you.
An independent insurance agent will help you complete your pet store insurance policy with each type of coverage necessary to protect your business's exposures.
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Get Help Finding a Pet Shop Insurance Policy
Local independent insurance agents are experts in helping you shop for pet store insurance policies and compare rates and coverage options. These agents are free to pull quotes from multiple insurance companies to get you the best results.
Also, they'll be there for you down the road if and when claim time comes. They can also help you update or change your coverage if necessary.
https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/number-of-businesses/pet-stores-united-states/#:~:text=There%20are%2012%2C685%20Pet%20Stores,five%20years%20between%202018%20%2D%202023.
https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/employment/pet-stores-united-states/#:~:text=There%20are%20134%2C404%20people%20employed,years%20between%202018%20and%202023.
https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/pet-stores-industry/#:~:text=Pet%20Stores%20revenue%20has%20been,margins%20set%20to%20reach%201.9%25.