How to Get Bonded for Cat Sitting

As a cat sitter you should know that without bonding and liability insurance, you put yourself at risk for lawsuits or even arrest. Bonding provides a guarantee of performance and protects your customers from loss and theft. The bonding company guarantees that the customer will be paid; it's different from insurance because while insurance may not pay out due to liability, a bonding company will. The bonding company also guarantees that you will perform your job. Several bonding companies are available through pet sitting organizations, and these organizations can help you decide which insurance and bonding is right for you.

Things You'll Need

  • Computer
  • Internet access
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Instructions

    • 1

      Join a professional pet organization such as the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (NAPPS), Pet Sitters International (PSI) or Pet Sitters Associates (PSA) (see the Resources section for more information). All three organizations have access to pet sitter bonding and insurance companies. While you don't need to join an organization to obtain bonding from Kennel Pro, the other two pet bonding insurance companies, Business Insurers of the Carolinas and Pet Sitters Associates, require that you belong to their respective pet sitter organizations for you to obtain bonding. You must belong to NAPPS and PSI to obtain insurance and bonding from Business Insurers of the Carolinas. PSA allows a free membership but it's required to use their insurance and bonding.

    • 2

      Compare bonding programs of each of the insurance companies listed in the References section. For Kennel Pro, you'll have to contact them directly as they do not list their bonding program on their website, but they do offer one with their insurance. Not all are the same and you'll need to decide how much bonding and insurance you'll need. In all cases, you'll have to be insured to be bonded.

    • 3

      Contact the insurance company directly with any questions. You can either email, mail, or call them by phone from their contact section on their website.

    • 4

      Check insurance ratings of the insurance companies in question with your state's insurance commissioner or Department of Insurance. Choose only companies that get an 'A' rating or better. You can find your state insurance commissioner online or through the government pages of your local phone book.

    • 5

      Sign up for the insurance and bonding programs. Most can be done online or through the mail. Make certain that the site is secure before entering in your credit card number. You can tell if the site is secure if it shows a golden lock at the bottom of the page.