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In Home Pet Boarding has been around for years, but with the arrival of online directory matching services such as Rover.com and DogVacay.com, this alternative to traditional pet sitting and boarding has certainly increased in popularity. This also appears to ring true with NAPPS members insured via the NAPPS Liability program, as today almost 25% of members insured under the program now include coverage for this service as opposed to just 5% a decade ago. Unfortunately, many people will jump at the opportunity to board pets in their home and sign up on one of the online directories without considering the risks they may take by doing so. So for this briefing, let's take a look at some of the claims we have seen arising out of In Home Boarding (they too have increased!) and examine the different risks involved to make sure NAPPS Professionals and any others that may be reading this are aware of the exposures that exist.

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Workers Compensation Insurance...Good coverage or just another tax on the Professional Pet Sitter? Over the last few years we have seen more and more pet sitters inquire about workers compensation insurance. Some have hired their first employee, some are considering changing over from independent contractors to employees, and others have just learned their state considers their independent contractor to be an employee, and as such must purchase coverage to comply with their state law. All of the above need the coverage, but unfortunately when many of them hear the cost, they quickly forget about what the insurance is for, and question how they can stay in business if they were to purchase the coverage.

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In the last few years, hurricanes have devastated many parts of our country and affected many professional pet sitters. Unfortunately, we often receive calls to our office before the storms arrive and just after they have come through. So for this briefing, let's look at the NAPPS Liability policy and discuss what coverage you currently have under the policy and, unfortunately, what coverage you don't have. In addition, let's look at what you can do to prepare for a catastrophe.

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When Hurricane Katrina touched down in 2005, humans were not the only species affected by its destruction. And because emergency relief agencies were not in the business of saving pets, nearly half a million animals were left behind, devastating many owners and causing public outrage on their behalf. Passed in 2006 as a direct result of Hurricane Katrina, the Pet Evacuation and Transportation Act now requires state and local agencies to consider pets and service animals in their emergency preparedness plans. While most of us won't experience a disaster like Hurricane Katrina in our lifetimes, it's still up to us to consider our beloved companion animals when planning for emergencies, big and small. Here are a few things you can do:

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It is with mixed feelings I must inform you that effective 12/1/2019, Business Insurers of the Carolinas will no longer be offering the NAPPS Employee Dishonesty Bond through Travelers Insurance Company/Travelers Bond. We have worked with Travelers Bond Department for over 17 years, and they have offered consistently good service and pricing on the NAPPS Bond Program. However, due to a required filing change in all states, Travelers was looking at a 40% increase in premium to a large majority of NAPPS members who currently carry a Bond, which was unacceptable. Therefore we agreed to part ways, but fortunately we were able to find two companies to replace Travelers in offering PSI members quality bonding coverage.

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