The Houndtrust Guarantee
A real, named insurance policy that actually pays out — backing every booking on our platform. Not a marketing promise. Not a "reimbursement program." Real coverage, from a real underwriter, with a real claims line.
If something goes wrong on a Houndtrust stay, we make it right — fast, fairly, and without making you fight for it.
The coverage, plainly
Every booking — boarding or house-sitting — is backed by the policy from the moment your dog is in your sitter's care.
🩺 Vet bills for your pet
If your dog is injured or falls ill during the stay, emergency and follow-up veterinary care is covered up to policy limits.
🏠 Property damage
If your dog or our sitter accidentally damages property — yours, the sitter's, or a third party's — the policy responds.
⚖️ Dog bite liability
Coverage for third-party injury claims that may arise during a covered stay, including legal defense costs.
🚑 Sitter injury
If a sitter is hurt while caring for your dog, the policy covers their care — so they don't pay for doing the right thing.
Our commitment, in writing.
We are in active conversations with a licensed commercial broker who places marketplace and pet-care risks. We will publish the carrier's name — and our claims phone line — on this page before our first paid pilot booking. We will not take a single booking without the policy bound. If that means our pilot opens a week later, it opens a week later.
How it's paid for.
The policy is funded by a flat $15 per-stay premium, listed plainly on every booking. Not buried in a marketing budget. Not subsidized by inflated platform fees. A real line item for real coverage.
How a claim works
No paperwork mazes. No "submit forms in triplicate." A real person picks up the phone.
Reach us
Day or night. A real human, not a bot.
Get care first
We coordinate care with your vet — or the nearest emergency clinic. Care first, paperwork after.
We file
We open the claim with the underwriter on your behalf.
You get paid
Approved claims are paid quickly, directly, and without games.
What the Guarantee isn't
We'd rather be clear up front than awkward in a crisis.
This coverage doesn't apply when:
- You skipped the meet & greet or booked off-platform.
- Your dog's intake form materially misrepresented their history (e.g. undisclosed bite history).
- The harm was intentional, criminal, or pre-existing to the stay.
- The booking was made outside our active pilot service area.
Specific dollar limits, deductibles, and definitions live in the policy itself, which we'll share before your first booking. We don't hide it in a 60-page PDF — it's a short, readable document.
If we let you down, we own it.
Insurance is the floor. The Houndtrust standard sits above it. If a stay doesn't meet our bar — even when the policy wouldn't strictly respond — we'd rather make it right than be technically correct.
That's the reason we vet sitters in person, run paid test bookings, and keep our network small on purpose. Insurance pays for problems. Standards prevent them.
Common questions
Who actually underwrites the policy?
The policy is placed through a licensed commercial broker with a specialty in marketplace and pet-care risks. We'll name the carrier on this page and on every booking confirmation before our first paid pilot booking. We're piloting in Salt Lake City first specifically so we can stand behind the coverage one booking at a time.
How is this different from a typical marketplace guarantee?
Most large marketplaces use a reimbursement program funded out of their own pocket — not a named insurance policy. That means the company has financial incentive to deny your claim. We separate the two: Houndtrust handles trust & safety; the underwriter handles claims. Different incentives.
Do sitters pay for this coverage?
No. Coverage is funded by the flat $15 per-stay premium shown on every booking — sitters are protected at no cost to them, and they still keep more of every booking than they would on a typical marketplace.
What if my dog has a pre-existing condition?
The coverage is for incidents that occur during the stay, so a chronic condition that flares up isn't denied — but the policy responds to the incident, not the underlying condition. Tell us about anything ongoing on the intake form so we can match you with a sitter who can handle it.
Can I see the actual policy?
Yes — we share the policy summary before your first booking. We don't bury the details. Email us if you'd like to read it before signing up.
Ready when you are.
Pilot bookings are opening in Salt Lake City. Be one of our first pet parents — or one of our first sitters.
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