Animal Welfare Professionals

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  • 1.  liability insurance for foster-based rescue

    Posted 09-05-2023 11:08 PM

    If you are a foster-based rescue, what kind of coverage is recommended for liability (1 foster), and what insurance company is the best one? Thank you for your help.


    #OrganizationalManagement

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    Julielani Chang
    The Life of Kai: Compassion Connections Inc.
    Davis CA
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  • 2.  RE: liability insurance for foster-based rescue

    Posted 09-08-2023 09:54 AM

    Forget "best."  You'll be lucky to find coverage at all in California.  You will need an agent beating the bushes, and also have to do searching on your own.  California is one of the "hard to insure" states, like Louisiana.

    We have never had a claim but our prior insurer stopped writing coverage in Louisiana -- despite 2 months of searching, our agent couldn't find a replacement.  We ceased operations until we located a new policy, because it's unacceptable to operate a rescue without insurance -- irresponsible, negligent, pick your adjective (I'd go so far as to say it's a breach of fiduciary duty for any board to allow it, but that's just my personal opinion).

    I eventually found this one:  https://awoip.com/products-services/animal-rescue-group-insurance/     They wrote a custom policy for us. They were easy to deal with -- but they do have a lot of requirements about temperament testing (no bite cases), documenting the temp test, etc.  I think.  General liability policies exclude volunteers routinely, so if you want a volunteer policy, those are add-ons and cover emergency medical care (e.g., in the event of a bad bite requiring someone to go to urgent care).

    With any foster-based insurance, you have to tell them how many foster homes you have, and that becomes your cap (so if you're insured for 10, you cannot take on an 11th without increasing your coverage).  It's important to emphasize to them that the foster locations change, so they're not part of the policy. 

    Kennel Pak insurance is another option for those with kennel facilities.  We don't have one.



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    Maggie Thomas
    President
    Red Stick German Shepherd Rescue
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  • 3.  RE: liability insurance for foster-based rescue

    Posted 04-18-2024 08:40 AM

    Wow, this is so helpful, thank you!  We're going to be reevaluating our insurance soon!



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    Anne Fessler
    Underhound Railroad
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