Insurance explained
Why treatment risk cover matters more than public liability alone
14 July 2026
Ask a groomer what they think their insurance is for and most will say public liability. It is the phrase landlords use, the one on every application form, and the one people assume covers everything. It does not.
Public liability responds when a third party is injured or their property is damaged — a client trips on a step, a van door catches a garden gate. Valuable cover, but it is not the cover that answers the claim groomers actually get.
The claims that come through are grooming claims. A nick from clippers on loose skin. A reaction after de-matting a badly neglected coat. A quick on a nail. A dog that stresses on the table. That is treatment risk, and a generic business policy often excludes injury caused by the treatment you are paid to perform.
On our policy, treatment risk is included as standard at £5,000 per dog and £50,000 per claim, covering bathing, drying, clipping, scissoring, nail clipping, ear cleaning and de-matting.
Two practical habits reduce claims and make the ones you do have far simpler: record the dog's condition on arrival, including matting and skin, and use a signed consent form for de-matting and clip-offs. Photographs cost nothing and settle arguments.
Insure your grooming business
Specialist cover with treatment risk included as standard.