Liability insurance for a self-employed animal carer
Walking, pet sitting and caring for animals at their home: as soon as you take a client's animal out, strict liability for what it does passes to you. And you often hold the key to the house as well.
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The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert.nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
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In brief
As long as the owner walks his own dog, he is liable under Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code as the keeper for what the animal does. If you take the dog out in the course of your business, that liability shifts under Article 6:181 of the Dutch Civil Code to you. If the dog runs into the road and a collision follows, or bites another dog or a passer-by, you are the party to be addressed. That applies even if you did nothing wrong: this is strict liability, not fault-based liability.
At the same time, the animal itself is property in your care. If the dog is injured on a fence, disappears into the woods or is hurt in a group, that is excluded as standard under the liability policy. For this work, that is the most important restriction. Ask expressly whether the insurer will include animals entrusted to you and on what terms, and set out in your own terms of business what you do and do not accept.
The third risk is the client's home. When pet sitting at a client's house you hold a key, you run water and you use appliances. A tap left running, a forgotten hob or a cat slipping out of the door produces damage for which you are held liable. Watch the wording 'property that you hire, use or have in your care' here: that exclusion can also catch the home you are staying in temporarily. Losing the key and replacing lock cylinders is, moreover, pure financial loss and not covered.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
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What to look out for
Four points that make the difference for walking, sitting and care work.
How many animals you handle at once
Insurers often set a maximum on the number of dogs you may walk at the same time, and sometimes impose conditions about off-lead areas. If you exceed that number at the moment of the incident, cover can fall away. State the actual number and your working method in the application and update it as your practice grows.
Transporting animals in your van
Damage caused with a motor vehicle is excluded and falls under the compulsory insurance requirement of Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM). Tell your motor insurer that you carry animals for business purposes. If dogs damage the interior of your own van, that is not liability but your own material damage. This policy is not intended for that either.
What falls outside the cover
Excluded are: the animal entrusted to you, replacing locks after a key is lost, a client's lost income, fines from the local authority for dogs running loose or for not clearing up, and damage caused by intent under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code. Grooming damage, such as a coat clipped wrongly, is a money claim as well and therefore not insured property damage.
Your own injury does not count
A bite, a fall because a lead wraps around your leg or a back injury from lifting: this policy does not pay for that loss, because it covers only the losses of others. For income while you are off work, look at disability insurance. If a third party's dog bites you, you can take action against the keeper under Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the usual basis for a sole trader
- Activities: walking, sitting at the client's home, grooming or training
- Number of animals at a time: groups weigh more heavily than individual walks
- Access to clients' homes: key holding and staying in someone else's house
- Transporting animals: driving a business van calls for separate cover
- Sum insured and excess: per claim and per insurance year
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| The dog you are walking jumps up at a cyclist, who falls and breaks a wrist | Yes | No |
| Another walker trips over your group's leads and suffers a hip fracture | Yes | No |
| You run the washing machine while pet sitting, the hose comes loose and the neighbour below has water damage | Yes | No |
| The cat you are looking after slips through a garden door you left open and does not come back | No | No |
| Your feeding advice turns out badly and the owner claims the treatment costs from you | No | Yes |
| A client misses his flight because you failed to turn up for an agreed sitting | No | Yes |
As long as it concerns injury or damaged property belonging to others, the AVB is the right policy; as soon as it is purely about money, it is not.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
The dog I am walking bites another dog. Who pays?
In principle you do. Article 6:181 of the Dutch Civil Code places the strict liability under Article 6:179 DCC with whoever uses the animal in the course of his business, and during the walk that is you. The vet's fees for the other dog and any injury to its handler are then insured losses, provided you were working within the policy conditions.
I have lost a client's key. Is that covered?
Usually not. Replacing lock cylinders and cutting new keys is pure financial loss and is excluded under public and employers' liability insurance. Some insurers offer a limited keys clause; ask about it expressly if you hold keys for many addresses. In addition, work with numbered keys that carry no address details.
What if the animal I am looking after is injured?
An animal entrusted to you counts as property in your care and therefore falls outside the standard cover. That means vet's fees are at your own expense if you are held liable. Make written arrangements with the owner in advance about consent to treatment and about the costs, and report the incident the same day.
Do I need this as well as my personal liability insurance?
Yes. Personal liability insurance excludes damage connected with work done for your own account. If something goes wrong during a paid walk, that policy gives no cover. For a sole trader, a claim of this kind can be recovered directly from your private assets, which makes business cover a practical necessity in this work.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB)The main page
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