Cattery insurance UK: what cover a boarding cattery needs and what it costs
Templates and forms for UK catteries: Cattery business templates →
TL;DR: A boarding cattery needs public liability (someone is hurt, or their property damaged, because of your business) and care, custody and control cover (a boarded cat is hurt, falls ill or dies while in your care). If anyone works for you, read GOV.UK's employers' liability page before they start. Protectivity's example quote, dated 5 January 2026, was £5.41 a month for £1m public liability and £100,000 care, custody and control (protectivity.com, checked 1 October 2026).
The cover a cattery needs
| Cover | What it's for | A cattery example |
|---|---|---|
| Public liability | Injury to a member of the public, or damage to their property | An owner trips on a hose in your yard at drop-off. |
| Care, custody and control | Injury, illness, loss or death of a boarded cat | A cat injures itself in its run and needs vet treatment. |
| Employers' liability | An employee is hurt or made ill by their work | A paid helper is bitten while cleaning a pen. |
| Equipment | Your heaters, cleaning kit, monitoring | A pen heater fails and needs replacing. |
| Loss of licence | Loss of value if your licence is refused or lost through no fault of yours | Offered by some insurers; check the wording. |
What should you check first?
- Staff. Before a paid helper starts, read GOV.UK's employers' liability insurance page and ask your broker what you need. Ask how they treat family members who help out.
- Your licence. One insurer we checked, Protectivity, won't pay claims if you're operating without a valid boarding licence. Keep your licence current and a copy on file. Your council's licensing team can tell you where you stand.
- The cats' own insurance. Note on each booking form whether the owner's cat has its own pet insurance, and the policy details.
What the cover limits look like
These are the limits insurers publish on their own pages. Your quote may differ.
| Insurer | Public liability | Care, custody and control |
|---|---|---|
| Protectivity | Up to £10m | Up to £100,000 (£25,000 per animal) |
| Cliverton (Hiscox policy) | £5m standard, £10m for extra premium | Included; limit not shown |
| Pet Business Insurance | Up to £5m included | Up to £75,000 (£25,000 any one claim) |
| Livingstones | Up to £10m | Included; limit not shown |
Check the per-animal limit. A long stay in a vet hospital for one cat could use most of a £25,000 cap.
How much does cattery insurance cost?
| Insurer | Published price | Date shown |
|---|---|---|
| Protectivity | £5.41 a month (example quote: £1m PL, £100,000 CCC, £250 equipment) | Quote dated 05/01/2026 |
| Pet Business Insurance | From £1.57 a week / £6.81 a month | None |
| Cliverton | From £142.60 a year, or £11.89 a month | None |
| Livingstones | From £20.99 a month | None |
These are "from" prices. They're not what most catteries pay. Pet Business Insurance's page also shows £1.53 a week in its title, so check the quote. Your price will depend on your cats, your limits and your premises.
What to check before you buy
- Licence exclusions. Protectivity excludes claims if you're operating without a valid local authority boarding licence. Keep your licence current and on file.
- Vaccination exclusions. Protectivity also excludes some infectious disease outbreaks where required vaccinations weren't in place. Check vaccination records at every check-in.
- Pre-existing conditions. Protectivity excludes illness or injury a cat had before it arrived. A pre-boarding health check gives you a record.
- Excesses. Cliverton lists a £250 excess for third-party property damage and nil for injury and for care, custody and control. Ask for the excess on each section.
- Collection and delivery. If you collect cats, ask about animals in transit and loss of keys.
- Your own pets. Cliverton's care, custody and control won't cover animals you own. Check what happens if a boarded cat is hurt by one of yours.
Paperwork that backs up your insurance
An insurer will want to see what happened and when. Keep:
- a signed booking form with the owner's vet details
- the vaccination record for each cat
- a pre-boarding health check
- a daily care log
- an accident or incident report if anything goes wrong
Where LaunchKit fits
The Cattery Business Documents — Premium (£19.99) includes a Pre-Boarding Assessment, Vaccination & Health Certificate Record, Daily Care Log & Feeding Schedule, Accident & Incident Report and Business Insurance Declaration, among 17 templates. The Cattery Startup Guide (£4.99) covers insurance for boarding alongside premises, pricing and a first-90-days checklist. They're templates and guidance, not insurance or legal advice.
FAQ
How much is cattery insurance in the UK?
Published "from" prices we found ranged from £5.41 a month (Protectivity's example quote, January 2026) to £20.99 a month (Livingstones). Your quote will depend on cats, premises and limits.
What insurance does a boarding cattery need?
Public liability and care, custody and control as a starting point. Check GOV.UK's employers' liability page before anyone works for you. Then equipment, buildings and business interruption, depending on what you own.
Do I need employers' liability insurance for a cattery?
If anyone works for you, read GOV.UK's employers' liability page before they start and ask your broker. Ask about family members who help out too.
Does home insurance cover a cattery?
Don't assume it does. Tell your home insurer before running a business from home, and get their answer in writing.
Is kennel and cattery insurance the same thing?
Often, yes. Protectivity, Cliverton and Pet Business Insurance all sell one policy for kennels and catteries. Check it lists cats.
Sources
All accessed 1 October 2026.
- Protectivity, "Kennels & Catteries Insurance" (from £5.41 a month; example quote 05/01/2026: £1m PL, £100,000 CCC, £250 equipment; PL up to £10m; CCC up to £100,000, £25,000 per animal; exclusions: no valid licence, communicable diseases without vaccinations, pre-existing conditions)
- Cliverton, "Licensed kennel and cattery insurance" (from £142.60 a year / £11.89 a month; PL £5m standard, £10m extra; loss of licence up to £50,000; CCC excludes own animals; excesses: TP property £250, injury and CCC nil; Hiscox policy)
- Pet Business Insurance, "Dog kennel & cattery insurance" (from £1.57 a week / £6.81 a month in body; £1.53 a week in title; PL up to £5m; accidents and injuries to animals up to £75,000, £25,000 any one claim)
- Livingstones, "Cattery insurance" (from £20.99 a month; PL up to £10m; animal care, custody and control)
- GOV.UK, "Employers' liability insurance"
This article is general information, not insurance or legal advice. Policies differ. Read the policy wording and speak to an FCA-authorised broker or insurer before you buy.
Next useful links
Build out your cattery setup
Cattery business templates
See the LaunchKit hub for catteries.
Family & Care templates
Compare related family & care business resources.
Cattery Business Documents — Premium
17 business-record templates for Cattery businesses, each supplied as a fillable PDF and an editable DOCX file.
Cattery Startup Guide
Opening a cattery in England means working under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) Regulations 2018 with local authority licensing, formal…
How to Start a Cattery Business in the UK
Start a UK cattery with licensing, cat accommodation, welfare records, vaccination checks, pricing, insurance, HMRC and booking terms.
Essential business documents every UK cattery should have ready
A UK cattery owner needs about eight core documents to run a tidy, defensible business: an owner booking contract, a cat intake and information form, a vaccination declaration, an emergency…
Related LaunchKit tools
Templates mentioned in this guide
Cattery Business Documents — Premium
17 business-record templates for Cattery businesses, each supplied as a fillable PDF and an editable DOCX file. Every template is also included in one fill-online HTML bundle: add your business details and brand colour in the sidebar of each template (they are saved per document, not shared between templates), then send clients a locked copy they can fill in with one click. Answers you haven't changed for 60 days are deleted the next time you open the form, and ‘Prepare copy for clients’ clears them; your business details and colour are kept. Type into the PDF fields or use a DOCX-compatible editor to change the business name, logo and wording. The exact delivered-file list is shown on this page. These practical templates do not provide legal, clinical or regulatory advice or certification, and do not replace any official records your work requires.
Cattery Startup Guide
Opening a cattery in England means working under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) Regulations 2018 with local authority licensing, formal welfare standards, regular inspections, and boarding insurance — all before the first cat arrives. (Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have related but separate frameworks.) This guide covers business registration, the licensing application and inspection process, welfare-grade pen design, vaccination and health record requirements, pricing per night and peak periods, and the first-90-days checklist for going from application to operating boarders.
Cattery Pricing Calculator — Premium
Open the Excel workbook (.xlsx) and price each stay for UK catteries: multiply hours by your hourly rate, add materials with a markup, then add a fixed fee such as a call-out or travel charge. Put VAT on the quote only if you choose to. The Quote Builder and Quote Output sheets make the printable quote after the example hours, materials and prices are replaced. The job log and expenses tracker update five totals: invoiced, received, progress against your target, expenses and surplus.
More tips for catteries
Free advice, templates and product updates. No spam.