Most veterinary practices offer more than exams: boarding, grooming, daycare, surgery. Standard policies routinely exclude those services. I make sure you know exactly what's in and what's out before you need to find out the hard way.
Jeremy A. Jones
Healthcare Insurance Specialist
Helping veterinary practices understand what their policy actually covers — before a claim.
A kennel cough outbreak runs through your boarding facility. Ten dogs get sick. Owners are upset, some are threatening to sue. You file a claim, and find out your policy excludes communicable disease events in boarding operations. That's not a hypothetical. It happens, and it happens to practices that thought they were covered.
The same goes for grooming. A dog is injured during a bath or a nail trim. A standard professional liability policy may not extend to grooming services at all, it depends entirely on how the policy was written and what your practice was described as doing when it was underwritten.
My job is to read the policy before the claim. I go through the exclusions line by line, match them against every service your practice offers, and make sure there are no gaps. If there are, we fix them before they become a problem.
The services that generate revenue are often the ones standard policies quietly exclude.
Building coverage (if you own), business personal property, veterinary equipment, surgical suites, kennels, and boarding facilities — everything inside your practice.
Malpractice coverage for clinical errors, surgical complications, and patient injury claims arising from your veterinary services.
Claims arising from animals in your care during boarding — illness, injury, or death while the pet is on your premises.
Injuries, allergic reactions, or accidents that occur during grooming services at your practice.
Protects you when an animal in your care is lost, injured, or dies — regardless of negligence. Standard GL policies typically exclude this exposure.
Legal defense costs if your veterinary license is investigated or threatened — separate from malpractice and often excluded from standard policies.
Client data breach response and ransomware recovery for veterinary practices handling sensitive client and patient records.
Replaces lost revenue when a covered loss forces your practice to close temporarily — including boarding and grooming revenue.
PE-backed veterinary groups often inherit insurance requirements written for other industries. I audit those requirements and identify what can be renegotiated.
Common Questions
Insights & Resources
November 3, 2026
Opening your first veterinary hospital in a leased retail suite takes more than a great location. Here is what to have in place, from your own malpractice policy to DEA registration, before your first hire and opening day.
Read ArticleNovember 3, 2026
A recent case involving a Maryland veterinarian whose receptionist forged prescriptions is a reminder that controlled substance risks do not always come from outside the clinic. Here is what to check.
Read ArticleNovember 2, 2026
Adding an after-hours or urgent care location is a smart way to grow your veterinary practice. Here is the insurance checklist to work through before you open the doors.
Read ArticleOctober 28, 2026
Buying the veterinary practice where you work? Work through this insurance checklist for the day the keys change hands, from tail coverage to day-one policies.
Read ArticleSeptember 24, 2026
Associate veterinarians can be named personally in malpractice claims and licensing-board complaints. Learn how employer coverage, shared limits, license defense, outside work, and tail obligations affect individual protection.
Read ArticleSeptember 16, 2026
Many veterinary practices assume their professional liability or general liability insurance automatically covers grooming injuries. It may not. Here is what practice owners need to understand before a claim occurs.
Read ArticleSeptember 2, 2026
How veterinary professional liability and Animal Bailee coverage can apply when animals are boarded, hospitalized, or otherwise in your practice’s care.
Read ArticleAugust 22, 2026
Most veterinary practice owners assume their policy covers everything that happens inside the clinic. It does not. Here is a plain-language breakdown of the most common exclusions, and what they cost practices that discover them too late.
Read ArticleAugust 22, 2026
Yes, and the reason goes beyond legal obligation. This guide explains why individual veterinarians need their own malpractice coverage, how it differs from practice-level protection, and what happens when you rely solely on your employer's policy.
Read ArticleAugust 22, 2026
EPLI can help veterinary practices respond to certain employment-related allegations, including wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Coverage varies, and some common workplace disputes may be excluded or subject to special limitations.
Read ArticleAugust 22, 2026
Veterinary malpractice insurance covers more than just surgical errors. This guide breaks down exactly what professional liability covers, what it doesn't, and how it works alongside your other veterinary practice policies.
Read ArticleAugust 22, 2026
A complete guide to veterinary practice insurance, professional liability, general liability, property, cyber, EPLI, workers' comp, and umbrella. What each coverage does, why it matters, and how to structure a program that leaves no gaps.
Read ArticleAugust 18, 2026
Whether a relief veterinarian is covered by a practice''s insurance depends on more than job title or contractor status. Here is what practice owners and relief veterinarians need to review before the first shift.
Read ArticleAugust 15, 2026
Relief and associate veterinarians are a routine part of running a veterinary practice. What most owners do not know is that their insurance policy may not cover those clinicians at all.
Read ArticleAugust 13, 2026
Kennel cough, grooming, boarding, these common services are quietly excluded from many vet malpractice policies. Here is what to check before a claim hits.
Read ArticleIf you offer boarding, grooming, or any service beyond exams, you owe it to yourself to know what's actually covered. I'll give you a straight answer.
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