How does your Insurance respond to Service Animals or Emotional Support Animals in the Workplace?

Are You Covered if Something Goes Wrong?

It’s becoming more common for employees to ask if they can bring a comfort or emotional support animal to work. While many employers want to be accommodating, this kind of request raises an important question:

👉 What happens if that animal injures someone while it’s in the workplace?

If you have a commercial insurance package, along with Workers’ Compensation coverage in Ohio, you might assume you’re protected. But in reality, this situation can fall into a gray area where exclusions and policy wording really matter.

The Scenario

Let’s say an employee brings their emotional support dog to work (with or without permission), and that dog bites a client or another employee. Who pays for the medical bills or potential lawsuit?

If the Animal Bites a Client or Visitor

This type of claim would normally fall under your General Liability (GL) policy since it involves bodily injury to a third party on your premises. However, coverage depends on who owns and controls the animal.

• If the business allowed the animal to be in the workplace, a GL carrier might provide coverage — at least to defend the business.
• If the animal is personally owned by the employee and has no connection to business operations, the carrier could argue that it’s a personal exposure, not a business one.

Some policies even include specific animal exclusions, which could leave both the business and employee on their own to handle the costs. In some cases, the claim could get pushed to the employee’s homeowner’s or renter’s insurance if they have liability coverage there.

If the Animal Bites Another Employee

In Ohio, Workers’ Compensation is provided through the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC). Normally, any injury that happens in the course of employment would be covered — even something as unexpected as an animal bite.

But there’s a catch.

If the injury happens because an employee brought a personal comfort animal (not a legally recognized service animal), BWC might determine the injury didn’t arise out of work duties and deny the claim.

In that case, the injured employee could sue the employer directly, which is where Employers Liability coverage might respond — depending on the specifics of the claim and policy wording.

Our Insurance Recommendations:

1. We do not recommend allowing Emotional Support Animals (ESA’s) in the workplace due to the increased liability.
2. If you do, create a clear policy on animals in the workplace, and under what conditions they are allowed.
3. Distinguish between Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals.
4. If you do allow Emotional Support Animals as an employer, we recommend requiring the following;
   • Copy of Doctor’s Note or Medical Recommendation
   • Request documentation or a demonstration that the animal is trained to behave in a professional environment
   • Letter from animal owner regarding history of biting
   • Proof of Animal Vaccination
   • Require Personal Liability coverage from the animals owner (homeowner’s or renter’s) with a minimum of $500,000 of personal liability, and a preferred amount of $1 Million of personal liability coverage.
5. Talk to your insurance agent before approving any workplace animal requests. Your agent can help confirm if your General Liability policy would respond to an animal-related injury.
6. Document everything. Keep written permission and any risk management steps on file.

The Takeaway

Allowing Emotional Support Animals in the workplace can be a kind gesture, but it’s not without risks. If you decide to say yes, make sure you understand how your insurance coverage applies — and where it might not.