Insurance for Animal-Assisted Therapists

General Liability Insurance: This policy covers common third-party risks such as bodily injuries and property damage. If a client trips and falls on your premises or if you accidentally damage a client’s property, general liability insurance helps cover the resulting legal defense costs and any compensation.

• Importance: Protects against legal fees and medical costs due to accidents involving non-employees on your premises.
• Coverage: Legal defense costs, medical expenses, and settlements related to accidents.
• Best for: Slip-and-fall accidents, damaged client property, libel, and slander lawsuits.

Business Owner’s Policy (BOP): A BOP combines general liability insurance, commercial property insurance and business interruption insurance, offering a cost-effective way for people to protect their business. This policy covers property damage, theft, and other common risks.

• Importance: Offers comprehensive protection by combining multiple coverages.
• Coverage: Property damage, theft, and liability risks.
• Best for: Visitor injuries, damage to client property, damaged or stolen business property.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance: Required in most states for businesses with employees, this policy covers medical expenses and lost wages if an employee gets injured on the job. It also protects sole proprietors from work injury costs that health insurance might deny.

• Importance: Mandatory in most states, it protects employees and sole proprietors.
• Coverage: Employee medical expenses, missed wages, injury lawsuits.
• Best for: Employee-related medical and legal expenses.

Commercial Auto Insurance: If your work involves driving, commercial auto insurance is crucial. This policy covers property damage and medical bills in case of an accident, as well as theft, weather damage, and vandalism.

• Importance: Essential for businesses that involve transportation.
• Coverage: Physical damage and collision coverage, injuries caused to others, repairs due to vandalism or weather.
• Best for: Physical damage and collision coverage, injuries caused to another person, repairs due to vandalism or weather.

Cyber Insurance: With the increasing reliance on digital records, cyber insurance is essential for protecting against data breaches and cyberattacks. This policy covers the costs of notifying clients, investigating breaches, and monitoring for fraud.

• Importance: Crucial for any business handling sensitive personal information.
• Coverage: Client notification expenses, data breach investigations, fraud monitoring costs.
• Best for: Protection against cyber threats and data breaches.

Professional Liability / Medical Malpractice Insurance: Professional liability insurance, also known as malpractice insurance, covers lawsuits related to professional mistakes or oversights. For instance, if a client accuses you of negligence or if an oversight leads to a client’s injury, this policy helps cover legal fees and settlements.

• Importance: Shields against claims of negligence and professional errors.
• Coverage: Legal fees, settlements, and court costs resulting from professional mistakes.
• Best for: Accusations of negligence, oversights resulting in client injury, failure to provide promised services.

Depending on your business needs, consider these additional coverages:

• Commercial Umbrella Insurance: Provides additional liability coverage beyond standard policies.
• Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI): Protects against claims of employment-related issues such as harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination.
• Property Insurance: Covers damage to the physical location of your practice.
• Business Interruption Insurance: Compensates for lost income if your practice is unable to operate due to a covered event.