Employee Dishonesty Insurance
What Is Employee Dishonesty Insurance?
Employee dishonesty insurance helps protect your business if an employee steals from your client while providing pet care.
At PCI, this is an optional coverage similar to bonding (as in “bonded and insured pet sitter”). Its goal is to increase client trust by showing you’re prepared to respond if something gets stolen during a visit.
Here’s what pet pros need to know about Employee Dishonesty Insurance:
- It’s about client losses. If an employee steals a client’s cash or valuables during a job, this coverage may help cover that loss. It’s not for employees who steal from your business or inventory.
- It’s most relevant for in-home services. Pet and house sitters, dog walkers, mobile groomers, and on-demand trainers with access to clients’ property have more risk in this area.
- Even if you trust every employee, it’s still a good idea. Misunderstandings or misplaced items can cause serious headaches.
Pro Tip: If you’re a solo pet pro, you can skip this coverage. Since it’s only designed to protect you from dishonest acts by employees, it probably isn’t the right fit for a one-person operation.
What Does Employee Dishonesty Insurance Usually Cover?
This coverage applies when someone on your team uses their access to steal from a client.
That can include:
- Money taken from a client’s home
- Personal property (like a watch, jewelry, or tech) stolen during a visit
- Theft while an employee is entrusted with a key, door code, credit card info, or other access to a client’s house or belongings.
What Doesn’t Employee Dishonesty Insurance Cover?
Here are a few situations you might be wondering about where Employee Dishonesty Insurance wouldn’t apply:
- Dishonest acts you commit yourself
- Theft of your business’s cash, supplies, or equipment
- Some expenses related to legal action for theft, like court costs
Paws-on-the-Ground Example: A Real Employee Dishonesty Claim
You send an employee to dog sit for your client. They had a key and unsupervised access to the house. After the visit, the client reported $500 missing from a nightstand drawer. The client believes it was stolen during the appointment and expects you to pay them back.
Instead of scrambling to make a payment alone, you could use your Employee Dishonesty Insurance policy to help cover the loss, defuse the situation, and maintain your reputation.
Bonding vs Employee Dishonesty Insurance: What’s the Difference?
Pet care pros often confuse these because they solve a similar problem. The difference is in how protection is structured and how claims are paid.
| Coverage | How it works | Why it matters for pet care pros |
|---|---|---|
|
Bonding |
You buy the bond. If a worker steals from your client, the bond reimburses the client, and then you pay back the bond. |
Has stricter requirements before it pays out, and it may require a theft conviction before it pays. |
|
Employee Dishonesty Insurance |
You buy the policy. It can help cover a client’s financial loss if your employee steals from them. You don’t have to pay anything back. |
Offers similar protection to bonding without a conviction, paying back a bond, or some of the stricter rules. |
See the full breakdown on bonding vs employee dishonesty insurance and which might be best for your business.
When Might a Pet Care Business Need Employee Dishonesty Insurance?
Consider this coverage when:
- Clients require it before hiring you. Some clients ask whether you’re bonding or carry similar protection.
- Your team enters clients’ homes unsupervised. Trusting employees is important, but access without accountability creates the opportunity for problems.
- Employees handle keys and property. The more your employees work in private spaces, the more this type of coverage matters.
- You’re growing beyond a solo business. As you hire and grow, you take on more responsibility for your team’s actions.
What Do You Need to Prove an Employee Dishonesty Claim?
If you need to file a claim, your insurer can help guide you through the process. You’ll usually need documentation to show what happened or what was lost.
That can include:
- Written statements
- Records of the service (like booking reservations, visit reports, etc)
- Proof of loss (like receipts or photos)
If your client is in error (we get it, people on both sides of the pet pro-client relationship make mistakes), records can speed up the investigation. Or if there was a theft, documentation helps identify and fix the problem to restore client trust.
The Big Takeaway
No one expects to need Employee Dishonesty Insurance, but it’s part of managing a growing business. Not only can it open new client doors, but this coverage also helps you handle a tough situation quickly, professionally, and with integrity.
Keep Sniffing Around
- Bonded
- Claim
- Proof of Loss
Kyle Jude | Program Manager
Kyle Jude is the Program Manager for PCI, where he helps design and maintain liability coverage specifically for pet professionals. With 10+ years of insurance industry experience, he works closely with carriers, underwriters, and compliance teams to ensure PCI coverage stays accurate, responsive, and relevant to real-world risks. At home, he puts that same expertise to use wrangling his four beloved dogs
Kyle Jude is the Program Manager for PCI, where he helps design and maintain liability coverage specifically for pet professionals. With 10+ years of insurance industry experience, he works closely with carriers, underwriters, and compliance teams to ensure PCI coverage stays accurate, responsive, and relevant to real-world risks. At home, he puts that same expertise to use wrangling his four beloved dogs