Airbnb Host Insurance (Generali Global Assistance) Sucks!

[Brian-And-Julie1]

We have a seasonal property, and have been on Airbnb for three years, and have had generally positive experiences. By way of further disclosure, we also list on VRBO. For a variety of reasons, we generally prefer booking through Airbnb. To date, we have been fortunate to receive only 5-star reviews on both platforms, and we are always booked all summer.

This past summer, our handyman backed a small electric utility cart (similar to a golf cart) into a vehicle owned by a guest, and damaged a turn signal. The guest just had the repair made, and asked us for reimbursement for about $700. 

We made a claim under Airbnb's host insurance, and it was denied. The adjuster ** of Generali Global Assistance (Airbnb's insurer) gave different reasons for the denial to us (hosts) than he gave to the guest, which I think is at a minimum a tactic meant to confuse, setting up different defenses when there is no good one, and at worst unethical.

Airbnb if you are reading this, you need a new insurer.

The reason ** gave me was that the cart was a motor vehicle and would be covered under car insurance. The cart is old (circa 1980), it has no lights; it has never been used on a public road, and it not licensed by the state. It's the same as if it were a riding lawn mower. I am doubtful car insurance will cover it. I am sure mine won't.

To obfuscate further, ** told our guest that our handyman was not an agent of ours, which is ridiculous. He is on the property with knowledge of the guests multiple times during a weekly stay, taking trash to the road, mowing the lawn, and providing other repairs as needed. Airbnb's host insurance extends to agents.  Here is a line from Airbnb's host liability insurance page:

 "People who help you host, like Co-Hosts and cleaners, are also included, so you can feel confident hosting on Airbnb."

Ah, no you can't. Our handyman fits this very definition. He helps us host; in fact, he is introduced to guests ahead of their visit, picture, short description of his ability assist in their stay, everything.

** also stated the obvious. He said that the handyman was careless and it's his fault, as if that's somehow relevant. Isn't this exactly what insurance is for?

We will be seeking to clarify issues in the days ahead. I will update as needed.

**[Name hidden due to privacy concerns - Community Center Guidelines]

[Lorna170]

@Brian-And-Julie1  IMO, relying on AirBnB proferred insurance is not a good idea.  For the incident that you cited, applying to your own rental property insurance would more likely cover the claim (based on what coverage you have purchased).  Of course, when a deductible applies you may not receive any compensation.  Your rental proerty insurance may tell you to "sue" the handyman for negligence, even when he is acting as your agent.   

I would probably pay this claim out myself and talk to my accountant as to how to reflect the cost on my taxes.  

[Miranda132]

We had a Guest several months ago book out home for someone else (not known to us at the time) and these guest stole all our kitchen ware, dining rug, emptied our supplies bins and so much more. Damaged a toilet, an arm chair, and broke the coffee table to pieces beyond repair. Had a guest coming in that afternoon that we were not able to accommodate due to the damage of our property. Filed a claim for upwards of $2799 which included the $450 in lost revenue for the reservation that  Airbnb had to move to another Host's home. It took me months of fighting with Generali for them to cover some of the lost items and extra cleaning fee. They did not cover the stolen rug and stolen cleaning supplies claiming these items were "missing" (which is the term Airbnb pre-selects when you make a dispute resolution) and are not damaged therefore not covered. They also denied coverage of the lost revenue due to damaged property of a previous guest claiming they only cover damaged property. Repeatedly I went back to them and showed the Airbnb policy states it protects hosts against lost reservations due to previous guest causing damage and showed them the message thread where I sent Airbnb pictures of the damage and they agreed to re-accommodate my guest for me.

In short Generali Insurance is awful. A total scam. This is only for Hosts in Washington I believe and is a Washington regulation placed on Airbnb, so not really Airbnb's fault. However, Airbnb should come in and pay for what Generali does not. I've talked to Airbnb and tried to escalate the issue 4 different times. All they ever tell me is that they will send my issue to a specific team that will reach out to me, and then its crickets from them. All four times they have ghosted me. I'm now considering taking my 3 properties elsewhere.