Do I Need Short-Term Rental Insurance For An Airbnb Property?

You might be wondering whether the combination of your standard homeowner's insurance policy plus the coverage that is already included in Airbnb is sufficient to secure your Airbnb property. Do you require additional coverage for short-term rental properties? The response is "yes," and unquestionably so.

The Host Guarantee that Airbnb provides is not insurance; rather, it is just a limited set of circumstances under which they may compensate you if a visitor destroys or steals your belongings. Your home insurance or insurance for a vacation home may protect you if the property is being used for personal reasons. Still, it will not protect you if the property is utilized for commercial or business purposes.

While some insurance providers may only require you to add additional coverage, also known as an endorsement, to your standard homeowners' insurance policy, others offer entirely separate insurance policies designed specifically for rentals that are made on a more frequent but still temporary basis.

What Kinds of Things Are Protected Under Coverage for Short-Term Rentals?

The following are examples of situations that are commonly covered by short-term rental insurance:

• Coverage for loss of rent if a short-term rental contract is terminated as a result of an event that is covered by the policy

• Coverage if you or your property are responsible for damaging another person's property.

• Theft losses, if they occurred while renters were occupying your home at the time of the theft.

• More extensive damage protection if a guest negligently causes damage to your personal property

Who Among These Providers Provides Coverage for Vacation Rentals?

Suppose you have a home insurance policy with certain providers, such as Liberty Mutual, Allstate, or American Family. In that case, you might be able to get additional coverage by simply tacking on an endorsement to your existing policy.

If you rent out your property for fewer than 32 days per year, your standard homeowner's insurance policy will continue to cover you even if you do so. Liberty Mutual provides this information. However, if you rent it out for more than 32 days, you will require the HomeSharing Coverage endorsement from Liberty Mutual to be insured.

The following are some companies that focus exclusively on providing tenants with accommodations for shorter periods:

• Proper
• cBiz
• Slice

They are not only relatively inexpensive, but you might even be able to insure your rental property on a per-day basis with some of them. Slice, for instance, gives you the option to get insurance on the property whenever you want for about $7 per day.

Don't Make Assumptions.

Experts decide many insurance claims. Don't assume whether you know if something is covered or not. Although some instances involving are covered by insurance, there are various factors why the insurance company might try to get out of paying you. It is essential to realize that the insurance provider could try to convince you that the cost of fixing the damages is less than the deductible. Don't let the insurance provider take a free ride in rejecting your legitimate claim. Get an experienced home insurance attorney to help. Let the attorney evaluate through experts whether a claim is covered or not.