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.
As most members know, the NAPPS Liability policy covers pets regardless of fault. The only exceptions are prior health conditions and your pets. This means the client's pets have coverage where ever you go with them, including in your vehicle, out of town, or even out of state if you have them in your care, custody, or control. Therefore, if you are in an area of the country that has the potential to be hit by a hurricane, it is vital to have a catastrophe/evacuation plan for all pet's in your care, as well as yourself and your team.
The catastrophe/evacuation plan could be that you will take the client's pet out of the area or state to another safer location. If you/your team can not do so or if you care for too many pets at one time to transport them all out of harm's way, it is essential to have a plan in place of where the client's pets will go and make certain all of your clients are aware and have signed off on that catastrophe/evacuation plan. It may be that the clients must come back and take control of their pets 72 hours before the storm arrives, or they agree that you will take pets to a designated friend's or neighbor's house, a designated boarding facility, or a shelter. The worst thing you could do would be to evacuate and leave the client's pets behind.
Please make your clients aware and have them sign off that you/your team will only be responsible for injuries to their pets while they are in your care, custody, or control. Once you drop the pets off with someone the client(s) designated as the pet caretaker during the storm or fire, you will no longer be responsible. The vital thing to remember here is to have a catastrophe/evacuation plan that includes the client's consent before the storm or fire arrives. In addition, make sure your team is aware of the procedure and set responsibilities for each team member. Please do not wait for the hurricane warning to devise a plan, as, at that point, it is not a plan but rather a reaction.
Please know that your area may be completely underwater when the storm hits. It may be days, weeks, or even months before things return to normal. We have had many inquiries from sitters about Business Interruption Insurance (also known as Business Income and Extra Expense coverage) after hurricanes caused substantial flooding in their areas. These professional pet sitters, unable to work for a couple of weeks or more, were looking to find coverage for their loss of income. Unfortunately, Business Income/Extra Expense is a property insurance coverage, and there is no coverage under the NAPPS Liability policy to protect your business due to these disastrous events.
Unfortunately, suppose you are on or near the coastline (from as far south as Texas up the east coast to Maine). In that case, options for finding Business Income/Extra Expense coverage will be minimal for several reasons. First, most all property insurers will exclude coverage for flood. You could purchase a flood insurance policy on your property via the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), but unfortunately, it will not cover your Business Income/Extra Expense. As we have seen with the last couple of significant hurricanes that hit Texas and North Carolina, flooding was substantial and the primary reason pet sitters were out of work/lost income. Again if you are near the coastline, most standard property insurers will also exclude wind and hail coverage. In these areas, most businesses must purchase coverage through state wind pools or via excess markets, and coverage can be expensive and very limited in what they will cover. Finally, even if you can find/obtain a policy, you could run into the old problem of which comes first, the wind or the water. If there is no wind damage to the property, you will have no coverage.
If you live in an area where hurricanes can hit, the best recommendations I can give you are:
- Be informed and be prepared
- Put together a hurricane action plan and include/inform your team
- Put together a hurricane survival kit for yourself and your team to utilize
- Consider setting aside funds to get your business through 3-4 weeks if unable to work.
- Consider a relationship with another pet sitter further inland (this could include bringing your client's pets to that location, and it could also mean working for the other pet sitter's company while your location returns to normal).
If you do not have a plan or emergency kit for preparing for a hurricane, here is a video on Pets & Emergency Preparedness and a list of sources to help you get started!
- www.ready.gov/hurricanes
- https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/pet-disaster-preparedness.html
- https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2018/08/16/proper-emergency-kit-essential-hurricane-preparedness
Be safe, and be prepared this hurricane season!