@John5097,
I have mentioned a few times in various posts that I have USAA home owner's insurance for my place in Atlanta, which includes an endorsement for short-term rentals. My home owner's policy in St. Lucia also covers loss/damage from short term stays. I do not have a separate STR policy. Your points are valid, but since we don't know the extent of, if any, the damage that was sustained at the host's property, I won't speculate how long it would take for it to become habitable. The host may have on-site infrastructure that can temporarily maintain living conditions, e.g., generators, reserve water tanks/wells, septic tanks. We have these items in place at our rentals, and with conservative usage, they can last for over a month.
As a host, I definitely would instruct an in-residence guest to evacuate if it were officially mandated, and I knew the guests could safely leave. Which is not always possible, and probably the reason Keep Cool and I are together. The night after we met at the Gros Islet Friday Night Street Party, there was a warning for Hurricane Georges: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Georges. Thankfully, it didn't pass over St. Lucia, but I was stuck on island for an additional unplanned week beyond my scheduled departure date due to the damage that was created at my connection points, Puerto Rico and Miami. I was fortunate to have the financial means to pay for the extra nights at my resort, but since then I have regularly purchased travel insurance. We were married 365 days after meeting, and later this month is our 22nd anniversary.
