Insurance for veterinarians covers the risks of caring for animals, dealing with pet owners, and running a medical facility. It also helps a veterinarian if their property is damaged and they need to file a claim. It is a combination of multiple policies, including veterinarian liability insurance, malpractice, commercial property, and animal bailee insurance. The average cost for these policies can range from $4,300 to $8,300 or more annually.
The best veterinary insurance provider should offer your business all the coverage you need—with the right limits. The Hartford has a custom quote process where you can select what coverages and limits are right for your business in minutes.
Vet Practice Insurance Costs
Veterinary liability insurance costs will likely vary a lot depending on the coverage your business needs, the type of work you do, and whether you own or rent a building.<>
An equine veterinarian, or one who works with large or exotic animals, is going to pay more than one who cares for small domestic pets. Likewise, a home-based agriculture vet who travels out to visit animals on-site vs one who has a large building in a suburban area with a domestic practice will need different levels of coverage.
Coverage Amount | Annual Average Premium | |
|---|---|---|
General Liability | $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate | $600 to $1,000 |
Commercial Property Insurance | $100,000 | $880 to $1,500 |
Malpractice Vet Insurance | $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate | $385 to $840 |
Workers’ Compensation | $100,000 to $500,000 | $2,500 to $5,000 |
When seeking a quote, be prepared to answer questions, such as:
- Do you travel for your practice?
- Do you work with exotic animals?
- Do you own the building or rent it?
- What is the value of your tools and equipment?
- How many employees work for you?
- What is your annual and projected revenue?
Providers use questions such as those to assess the risk of your practice and determine the appropriate rate and the suitable amount of coverage for your business.
Related resources:
Veterinarian Insurance Coverage Types
Veterinarians have multiple risk exposures. If they own or rent a clinic, they will need first-party property coverage for their building and equipment. Depending on the size of the practice, additional coverage will be needed too.
The most important insurance for veterinarians are as follows:
Type of Insurance | What It Is |
|---|---|
Veterinarian Malpractice (Also Known as Professional Liability) | Covers legal costs from lawsuits over professional errors, omissions, and negligence |
General Liability | Covers bodily injury or property damage claims by third parties |
Animal Bailee | Protection for your business if an animal gets hurt or runs away while in your custody |
Workers’ Compensation | Protection for your employees who become injured or ill as a result of their jobs |
Commercial Property | Coverage for business-owned property and equipment |
Inland Marine | Covers tools and equipment that are mobile and not fixed at a specific location |
Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) | Provides general liability, commercial property and, usually, coverage for loss of business income |
Cyber Liability | Coverage for costs from cyberattacks and data breaches |
This is a form of professional liability insurance, so rather than covering premise liability or something like property damage, it helps a business with intangible losses related to advice or services. Suppose you are accused of professional malpractice, like giving bad advice at a speech, misdiagnosing a problem, or making a mistake during surgery. In any of these instances, this coverage helps with the legal defense of the claim.
Vets employed at a clinic are usually not covered under the clinic’s BOP, so they may need to obtain their own individual veterinarian malpractice insurance. Additionally, since telehealth is increasingly popular among pet owners and veterinarians, it is a good idea to ensure your professional liability insurance provides coverage for virtual visits.
If you have a clinic, shelter, or veterinarian hospital, general liability insurance covers the entire facility for accidental injuries to clients. As its name implies, its coverage is very general or broad. It is a third-party coverage that covers losses to third parties who are injured, have damaged property, or claim your business harmed their reputation.
If a customer trips in your waiting room, falls, and then sprains their ankle, you could file a general liability claim. Afterward, if they discover their fall broke their smartphone, general liability could handle both their injuries and property damage.
When a pet owner leaves their pet in your care, custody, and control, you become responsible for the animal’s well-being. This unique coverage is essential for scenarios such as the animal unexpectedly passing away, running away, or jumping off the exam table and getting injured. This coverage is available either as part of the liability coverage or as a stand-alone policy.
Odds are your vet practice has employees. Workers’ compensation insurance is required in nearly every state for businesses with at least one employee. It helps your business and staff by defraying the cost of medical expenses and compensating the employee’s lost wage.
Veterinary practices require equipment and tools and, depending on the business, a physical space. Commercial property insurance can cover the building and property against perils like fire, theft, and vandalism. Often, it is bundled with general liability and lost business income in a policy called a BOP.
Some veterinarians may work in the field or in clinics where the only property they own are tools they bring with them. If this describes your operation, then you’ll want to consider inland marine, which is a first-party property coverage that follows the items around and isn’t limited to a specific location. Commercial property coverage, in contrast, is limited to the location listed on the policy.
A BOP is a combination (or bundle) of insurance policies, commercial property, general liability and, usually, some form of business income coverage. An advantage of a BOP is it’s usually cheaper than buying all of those policies separately, and you have one policy for multiple types of coverage.
A BOP is the natural choice for a vet clinic with a standalone building owned by the business. One policy can provide coverage for the building and most of the liability. Often, a BOP may be tailored to an industry, meaning it could also include professional liability.
Much like a BOP, cyber liability insurance carries both first and third-party protection for a business. All the coverage is related to information technology (IT) losses: data breach, ransomware, personal identifying information being made available publicly.
This insurance helps both those impacted and the business. As businesses move more and more of their operations online and into the cloud, hacking is becoming more prevalent, so every business should consider cyber liability insurance.
Best Veterinary Practice Insurance Providers
We looked for insurers that offered high limits, appropriate coverage, and clear instructions on how to handle a loss to help you find the best veterinary insurance provider for your business.
- The Hartford: Overall best vet practice insurance company
- Next Insurance: Best for small animal clinics
- Nationwide: Best for large animal clinics and hospitals
- AVMA PLIT: Best for vets dealing with large animals
The Hartford: Best Overall Vet Practice Insurance Company
The Hartford is the best provider of veterinarian insurance because it offers high limits and a 24/7 claim service. Also, it was the only provider reviewed that included animal bailee insurance with its policy. Regarding its ability to handle claims, it is financially stable, as The Hartford’s AM Best rating is A+ (Superior). To learn more, read our in-depth review of The Hartford.
We received a quote for a BOP for $5,022, eligible for a pay-in-full discount. This policy insured a building that costs more than $1 million to replace, $50,000 in contents, and equipment with a $1,000 deductible.
The liability policy had a limit of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate. This policy included professional liability and animal bailee coverage.
The Hartford has lower-than-average complaints filed with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Online, you can get a quote, purchase a policy, manage the policy, get a certificate of insurance (COI), and file a claim.
When going through the quote process, the provider offers a truly customizable experience. You can choose between four levels of coverage: good, better, best, and custom. Custom lets you select exactly what type of coverage you need for your practice.
Next Insurance: Best for Small Animal Clinics
Next Insurance offers a custom BOP for veterinary practices. Because of the lower limits and affordable cost, coupled with the convenience of the Next platform, this is the perfect choice for smaller animal clinics. While it is a newer company, it is still financially respectable, as AM Best rated Next Insurance an A- (Excellent). Our review of Next Insurance can help you decide if it’s the insurer that fits your needs best.
We received three quotes from Next to correspond with its three policy packages:
- The basic coverage costs $34.44 monthly and was general liability only with a $1 million limit.
- The recommended premier coverage costs $173.43 monthly for a $2 million liability and $62,000 in equipment coverage.
- The deluxe package costs $237.51 monthly and—in addition to the coverage in the premier—included equipment breakdown and $50,000 in lost business income from a downed website.
While a newer company, Next has done a good job of making sure it has processes in place for customer service and has lower-than-average complaints.
It also has emphasized the digital experience—in addition to a 24/7 online account and claims management, it has developed an app for its customers, where they can manage their policy or file a claim.
Get a quote from Next Insurance
Nationwide: Best for Large Animal Clinics & Hospitals
Nationwide Insurance, which is nearly 100 years old, offers 24/7 claim services, a wide range of coverages, and high limits, making it the right choice for larger clinics or animal hospitals. It has maintained a strong financial position over the course of its operations, as AM Best has rated Nationwide A+ (Superior). If you’d like to learn more about the carrier and its coverage offerings, check out our review of Nationwide.
Nationwide offers limited quoting options online, but you can call an independent agent to review the full range of coverage it provides. We received a quote for a general liability policy only, with $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate limits. The policy quote was $709 annually.
For veterinarians, Nationwide offers a BOP that contains property, liability, lost business income, and equipment breakdown. It also has additional options like sewer or drain coverage; typical commercial property does not cover rain or water main backups. And since animal hospitals have a lot of hair that can end up down the drain, you should consider this optional coverage.
Nationwide has the lowest number of complaints of any provider reviewed. It is first on the J.D. Power 2023 United States Small Commercial Insurance Study for small businesses.
It offers online policy management and has a 24/7 claim and customer service center, so you can reach them for any emergency you may run into with your clinic.
AVMA PLIT: Best for Vets Dealings With Large Animals
The American Veterinary Medical Association founded the Professional Liability Insurance Trust (AVMA PLIT) in 1962. AVMA PLIT offers a wide range of policies for veterinarians of all types of practices, including those dealing with large animals and equine. If you work with large or non-traditional animals, such as horses, this is the best option for your practice. It works with a number of different carriers, including Hub International, The Hartford, and Zurich. All of its partner carriers have ratings that range from A (Excellent) to A++ (Superior).
AVMA publishes its prices, as well as a fairly extensive overview of what is covered, on its website. A professional liability policy for predominantly equine veterinarians with a limit of $1 million per occurrence and $3 million aggregate cost of $2,635 annually.
Founded initially to offer professional liability to veterinarians, the offerings of AVMA have expanded to include veterinary license defense, business insurance, employment practices liability, and excess liability.
AVMA founded the trust so that veterinarians would have an advocate who understood the veterinarian practice. Its popularity is evident not only in its longevity but in the providers who now work with it.
Online, you can apply for a quote, make a payment, and even file a claim. Claims are handled by the individual carriers who underwrite the actual policies.
How We Selected the Best Veterinary Insurance Companies
We determined the best companies for insurance for veterinarians through our in-house proprietary evaluation system. In evaluating insurers, we focused on the customer’s needs, paying particular interest to convenience, financial ratings (AM Best), customer service, types of policies offered, and the overall experience as a policyholder for a specific provider.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, veterinarians should have malpractice insurance in the event of a claim against their professional services. Many vet clinic policies do not cover employed veterinarians under the company policy; therefore, every veterinarian should make sure they have malpractice insurance.
Pet insurance is health insurance for your pet and covers the cost of many procedures at a veterinarian’s office. It can be purchased directly by the pet owner and is increasingly offered as a benefit by employers. Even though it is a form of health insurance, many traditional carriers, such as Nationwide, offer it.
The premium depends on the type of practice and coverage requested. For small practices, general liability can range from $600 to $1,000 annually and workers’ compensation can range from $2,500 to $5,000.
Bottom Line
Veterinary practice insurance protects a practice from financial loss if there is a claim for first- or third-party damage. Several policies combine to create the complete vet insurance package. While vets vow to protect animals, veterinarian insurance protects their practice from loss, accidents, and liability claims.
The Hartford makes buying insurance easy. Its BOP combines general liability and property and can include animal bailee coverage at an affordable price.
