Insurance for Rover Sitters and Dog Walkers
Your biggest Rover insurance questions, answered.
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Trusted by over 17,000 Pet-care Professionals
Do I Need Insurance for Rover, or Is the Rover Guarantee Enough?
If you offer pet care on Rover and wonder whether the Rover Guarantee has you covered, you’re asking exactly the right question. The short answer is, it depends a lot on the situation. And for many common pet care scenarios, the answer is no, the Rover Guarantee isn’t enough.
We’ll break down what the Rover Guarantee is, where it leaves gaps in your protection, and whether having your own pet care insurance makes sense for how you work.
What the Rover Guarantee Actually Is (and Isn’t)
Here’s the thing most Rover sitters, dog walkers, and other pet professionals don’t realize until something goes wrong: the Rover Guarantee is not insurance. And that’s not just a technicality. It changes a lot about who pays for accidents during a booking.
Does Rover Have Insurance?
No. Rover does not offer insurance to pet caregivers. The Rover Guarantee is a reimbursement program. That means, when something goes wrong during a booked service, Rover may pay you or the pet parent back for certain costs. But it only kicks in when:
- They’ve already tried every other option to pay first, including your own personal insurance
- The accident happened during a service booked and completed through the Rover app
- The incident meets all Rover’s conditions for coverage
What the Rover Guarantee Does (and Doesn’t) Cover
Here’s what the Rover Guarantee may cover:
- Vet bills for a pet injured during a service booked on Rover (either the pet owner’s pet, or yours)
- Damage to a client’s property caused by you during a Rover booking
- Some medical costs for injuries to other people, reviewed on a case-by-case basis
What it likely won’t cover:
- Damage to your own property or home
- Injuries to you
- Damage to the gear you use for pet care
- Any loss related to theft
- Injuries to pet parents’ family members or roommates
- Pre-existing or preventable pet health issues
- Incidents not reported within 48 hours of a service ending
- Vet costs beyond 30 days
- Off-platform work (clients you book outside of the Rover app)
That last one matters more than people think. Many Rover sitters and dog walkers also work with clients they found on their own, or repeat clients they now see privately off the Rover app. For any of that work, you’re on your own if something goes wrong.
Where Protection Gaps Show Up in Real Bookings
You don’t have to imagine one-in-a-million scenarios to find the edges of the Rover Guarantee’s protection. These are the situations that regularly catch Rover sitters and dog walkers off guard:
Rover Guarantee vs Pet Care Insurance from PCI
Here’s how the Rover Guarantee compares to having your own pet sitting insurance from PCI.
| Scenario | Rover Guarantee | PCI Coverage |
|---|---|---|
|
Damage to client’s property caused by you You accidentally break a client’s garbage disposal during a visit. |
✅ May cover up to $100,000 |
✅ General Liability |
|
Damage to client’s property caused by their pet Moose gets anxious and scratches up a door during your visit. |
❌ Not covered |
✅ General Liability |
|
Client’s pet is injured during a Rover booking Pepper slips out of her leash on a walk and runs into traffic. |
✅ May cover up to $25,000, first 30 days only |
✅ Pet Protection + Veterinarian Reimbursement |
|
Client’s pet is injured during an off-platform booking A longtime client texts you directly for a last-minute overnight. Rocky has a medical emergency during the stay. |
❌ Not covered |
✅ Pet Protection + Veterinarian Reimbursement |
|
Injuries to a client’s pet due to a pre-existing condition Marshmallow has a history of seizures and suffers an episode while in your care. You take her to the vet right away. |
❌ Not covered |
✅ Pet Protection + Veterinarian Reimbursement |
|
Damage or injuries during a meet-and-greet You accidentally break a client’s gate when you show up at their home for a meet-and-greet. |
❌ Not covered |
✅ General Liability |
|
Injuries to another person Rowdy jumps up on a client’s neighbor and knocks her over during a walk. |
✅ May cover up to $25,000 |
✅ General Liability |
|
Theft of a client’s key Your bag gets stolen at a gas station, including your client’s house key. |
❌ Not covered |
✅ Lost Key Liability |
|
Damage to your gear Chance jumps up on you while you’re texting an update, sending your phone over the deck railing. |
❌ Not covered |
✅ Equipment and Inventory Coverage Add-On |
|
Injury to a pet owner’s family member or roommate Your client’s teenage son stops by during a drop-in, and their dog bites him. |
❌ Not covered |
✅ General Liability |
Note: Neither the Rover Guarantee nor PCI can cover your personal medical costs if you’re hurt on the job (that’s personal health insurance).
What PCI Covers for Rover Sitters, Dog Walkers, and More
PCI offers business liability coverage built specifically for pet care. Whether you’re looking for pet sitter insurance or dog walker insurance, your base policy includes:
- General liability up to $1,000,000 per occurrence for physical injuries or property damage to someone else
- Pet Protection (Animal Bailee) up to $5,000 per occurrence to help cover costs if a pet in your care gets injured, sick, lost, or even dies
- Veterinarian Reimbursement up to $1,000 per occurrence to pay you back for vet bills if a client’s pet needs emergency care ($250 deductible applies)
- Lost Key Liability up to $2,000 per occurrence to cover rekeying costs if your client’s keys get lost or stolen
- Coverage that follows you, not just the booking. PCI’s coverage is protection for your pet business wherever you work, even when you’re not completing a booking on Rover. That means protection during meet-and-greets, visits, off-app pet care, and running your business day to day.
Optional add-ons let you build out your coverage even further, depending on how you specialize your pet care:
- Broadened property damage adds $25,000/year for damage to a client’s belongings (like furniture, rugs, or bedding) rather than permanent parts of their property (like windows, fixtures, and flooring, which are covered under general liability).
- Equipment and inventory adds up to $50,000/year to help with repair or replacement costs if your pet care gear gets damaged or stolen.
- Higher limits for Pet Protection and Veterinarian Reimbursement if you accept a lot of bookings and want extra coverage.
Want the full breakdown? See our coverage details, or check out our pet care insurance FAQ.
Get Protection Wherever You Work
The Rover Guarantee is useful for what it is. But it’s not the same thing as having your own insurance for Rover work, and for a lot of what you do day to day, it’s not a safety net you can count on.
PCI gives you business liability coverage designed to respond when you need it and cover your pet care on and off the Rover app. Starting at just $17.92/month for sitters and $29.43/month for dog walkers, you can get coverage built to protect you and the pets you care for.
Common Questions About Insurance for Rover Sitters and Walkers
Does Rover have insurance?
No, Rover doesn’t offer insurance.
The company offers a guarantee that can cover some claims if the responsible party can’t or won’t pay, but it has coverage gaps for pet caregivers. This is why Rover recommends that pet sitters and dog walkers buy their own pet care insurance.
What is the Rover Guarantee?
The Rover Guarantee is a reimbursement program, not an insurance policy. When something goes wrong during a booked visit, Rover may pay back some types of costs, but only after you’ve tried all other payment options first (possibly even your homeowners’ or renters’ insurance). Pet care insurance responds directly to covered claims without that condition.
Do I need my own insurance if I work for Rover?
Rover doesn’t require insurance, but it does recommend that sitters and dog walkers carry their own coverage. If you see clients outside the Rover app or want coverage for situations Rover excludes, your own pet sitter insurance or dog walker insurance policy can fill those gaps.
What if my own insurance overlaps with the Rover Guarantee?
Even if the Rover Guarantee and your pet care insurance cover some of the same situations, they don’t really overlap. Having both means you’re covered more completely, not twice for the same thing. The Rover Guarantee only applies after trying all other payment options. So if there’s an accident that both would cover, your insurance responds first, and then Rover might also pay if there are costs left over.
Think of your pet care insurance as your main line of defense and the Rover Guarantee as your backup.
Does the Rover Guarantee cover meet-and-greets?
No. Because meet-and-greets aren’t booked services in the Rover app, the Rover Guarantee doesn’t apply to them.
So if you accidentally damage something, a dog gets loose, or someone gets hurt, those costs fall back on you. Pet care insurance from PCI follows you, not just your booking, so it could cover accidents like injuries or property damage during meet-and-greets.
Does the Rover Guarantee cover off-platform clients?
No. The Rover Guarantee only applies to services booked and completed through the Rover app.
If a client reaches out to you outside the app, the Rover Guarantee doesn’t apply, even if you originally met the client through Rover. PCI policies apply to your pet care regardless of where the booking was made.