AirBnB Host Insurance - Actually a scam?

[Kerina0]

Dear Fellow AirBnb Hosts, 

I am writing to see if any of you have had a similarly frustrating and disappointing experience to ours. My partner and I have been renting on AirBnB for almost three years. We've had 99% good experiences, and have always felt reassured by AirBnB's "million dollar insurance for hosts," which comes as a part of being a host. We thought, hey, if any one of these virtual strangers that we meet through the internet robs us blind, we're covered! No worries.

We were dismayed to learn that this insurance plan is essentially a hollow falsehood.

We had a guest stay with us who smoked so much marijuana he ruined the carpet my imbedding an odor that did not dissipate even after professional cleaning and washing the walls. The carpet cleaners said if the smell doesn't go away, we would have to replace the carpet pad and subsequently the carpet. I called Home Depot and got a quote for this, which was around $700.

The next step was submitting a claim through AirBnB.

The first surprise there was -- you cannot submit a claim directly to AirBnB, you have to request this fee from the person who rented. So we requested this money from the renter, whose son was the guest in the room. That renter referred us to our son, who we learned after the fact is mentally unstable, and took this request of funds as a personal offense. He called and left threatening voice messages, wrote a series of angry emails and incessantly texted me at work. He threatened to report my partner to the police for crimes he did not committ, and sent so many insane messages that I ended up filing a police report for harrassment. Not only was that extremely stressful, he also managed to lose two of our house keys, so we became extremely stressed that he would return and gain access to our house.

I called AirBnB and filed a report of the harassment, and took their advice, which was to file a report to the police. AirBnB does not allow you to get them involved in the claim until 72 hours have passed, even if you feel physically unsafe, which I did as soon as possible.

The next surprise was that after you involve them, they do not allow you to submit an insurance claim of any kind, even though I asked them repeatedly to do so. At first, they just said it would be hard to get money out of the guest since there was "no proof" that they committed this damage. I submitted my proof, which was the series of emails and text messages in which the guest admitted to smoking marijuana and offered to pay for the carpet cleaning, but not the replacement. 

Then, AirBnB responded with "great news." They were able to get the guest to pay $300 odd dollars. I was glad to hear that, and then asked again how to fill out a claim to have the rest of the cost of the carpet replacement reimbursed by their insurance policy. They then told me that, despite the quote for the fix being $700+ dollars, they thought that "$300" was fair and they would not let me submit a claim nor offer any additional funds.

They did not make any effort to assess the damage, nor the cost of repair, despite the fact that we were threatened repeatedly by the guest, filed several reports, filed a police report, and followed all of their procedures. Oh and, by the way, we never received the $300 they said they retrieved for us, and cannot figure out how to actually get the funds. Great!

My questions are:

Has anyone else tried to submit a claim to AirBnB's "insurance"?

Is this actually a scam that means nothing?

Why did AirBnB express no concern for the fact that the person I hosted through their site was threatening me?

Do you feel safe renting through this website after reading this account?

How long do you think it will be until this becomes a serious legal and safety issue that will eventually threaten the well-being of their billion dollar company?

As you can gather, we are no longer going to be renting through AirBnB, and we hope you seriously consider this account of a series of unforunate events before you continue to rent through them.

Best of luck to you all!

[Brian2036]

@Marie321 @Mark172 

Airbnb has an insurance underwriter, probably more than one, and it appears that the only way to get to them is through CS.

If CS refers you to the insurance company you will then have to deal with a claims adjuster who is not employed by Airbnb.

How easy that will be depends entirely on the insurance company and I can’t find any information about that.

Some insurance companies are very good and prompt about offering a fair settlement.

Others never part with a dime unless you sue them.

Their standard practice is to deny every claim at first, hoping you will give up, and if you refuse to go away they might then make a low offer and tell you to take that or nothing.

As a host you have agreed not to sue Airbnb for anything major but I suppose you can sue the insurance company if you can find out who they are.

That might not be as easy as you think. The claims adjuster is probably a private contractor.

[Kathy1297]

I totally agree with you. I’ve had them do that to me twice now. One guest put broken glass in our dishwasher and I had to replace it. I tried to follow claim and sent them pictures and emails and they said they would have somebody reach out to me. They didn’t reach out to me for a long time. I had to follow up over and over again and then by the time, somebody called me from resolutions. They told me it was too late because it was not resolved within the right amount of time.

The second time it happened to me was after my guest left the bidet on while a burst water paper was being repaired on the driveway. They left the bidet on and left the house. When the water pipe outside was repaired and water turned on, it flooded the upstairs. Airbnb said that the flooding was not the fault of the guest who left the water on and left the house.  They are refusing to honor the insurance claim.

I think we should file a class action lawsuit against them.

[Donny-And-April0]

I think that’s a really good idea ! 👍 

[Kathy1297]

I honestly think somebody needs to file a class action lawsuit

[Anne1057]

I agree!!!

[J-and-S12]

100% agree. We had a recent guest break our refrigerator, which was in perfect condition prior to their stay. AirBnB gave us a mere $50. Estimates to repair were $450+, and to replace $900+. AirBnb's "host insurance" is an absolute scam! 

[Jesse581]

They suck   Made zero efforts to help me after a tenant’s dog **bleep** and stained my carpet  

needs a full replacement after two steaming companies hace trued to no avail.  

repeated attempts to file a claim

everyone is on vacation there   

conpany sucks 

[Greg2258]

I am currently going through the same issues you all are describing. They say "We are here to help" then say its not their department Ill transfer you and then close that case. Some else will contact you and then almost every time say that they are not going to be in the office for a few days. In the meantime new people will contact you and ask you to resubmit everything again like it's a new case. I spoke with someone that owns a property and casualty Insurance company. They read over the documents and its not actually an insurance policy its a "Host Damage Protection Plan" So its not insurance and they (as everyone has learned) play by their own rules. Next step making a deceptive business practices claim. I will outline the procedure once I have it. 

[Drew-and-Ryl0]

Any update?

[Drew-and-Ryl0]

I want to join if anybody started the class action already 

[Drew-and-Ryl0]

I feel your frustration, I had a guest that continuously use the washing machine even after seeing an error code, from 4pm to midnight. They only messaged me after the house was flooded, all our carpet was ruined and we had to removed it before it starts mildew and molds. I have legit estimates for flooring replacements and mitigation, it’s about $20k-ish. After calling, emailing back and forth for 76 days, I received an email that I am approved for an amount of $959.50. Such a ridiculous offer compared to the claim filed! I was so shocked!!!! Airbnb is not safe to hosts! Pls if someone is doing a class suit, let me know, i want to join pls. Thank you.

[Deneene0]

I’m currently going through the same issue by getting reimbursed. In October 2023 a guest burned my Airbnb and they have made me an offer that does not cover the lost income from the cancellations I had to do. They will not respond in a timely manner and there is no one that will

call you to discuss anything. 

[Jared-And-Natalie0]

It’s definitely a scam, Airbnb “claim” they have this policy - I have been Hosting with Airbnb for over nine years,  I have close to 700 reviews with 4.87 average star rating. I recently had an apartment that was trashed, I involved the police, the CLEANER was the first person to see the apartment, So lots of traceability, Once I submitted my claim, I’ve close to $10,000 - Airbnb Simply stopped messaging me. I have Listed my properties on booking.com and other hosting platforms, Although I’m still listed with Airbnb, I cancel every single booking that’s made through them, Sending the guests the reason why!!!!

Shame on you, Airbnb For giving false hope the you would look after hosts if something goes wrong, It would be better to say nothing about an insurance policy.

If anyone knows the Insurance underwriter For Australia, Please Post it on here, And post on product reviews, As that way, the Insurance ombudsman And then follow up the claim. I hope this results in a class action against Airbnb, If it does, I will claim for the heartache and upset that I’ve also had to go through, Plus the loss of income, If you were reading this and considering being a host on Airbnb, You have now been officially warned That the million dollar insurance Is a scam!!!!!