@Ian29407
Most short term rental hosts for the last 8 years have taken Airbnb at their word when they have stated on many occasions that we can host with confidence, they....'Have our backs covered', and hosts have chosen to leave it at that and hope that nothing will go wrong, and if it does they can always fall back on their general property insurer.
This is a potentially disastrous path to follow and Airbnb should be condemned for making such a sweeping statement. There are situations where Airbnb will provide some compensation in the event of a claim but, hosts must remember, what Airbnb offers is not and insurance policy! A premium is not charged on an actuarial basis to cover a defined series of events which are set out in a policy document.
What Airbnb offers is an adjudicated decision based on certain criteria being met, and any compensation will be subject to 'wear and tear' and 'fitness for purpose' and may (if accepted at all) amount to as little as 10% of the amount claimed.
Now, there will always be that one or two contributors here who will jump in and say they have had success using the Airbnb resolution centre, all you have to do is follow the rules they will say.
But for every one of them there are 20 that say they have followed the rules but still been left short changed and out of pocket.
Don't rely on Airbnb's Host Protection Scheme as your safety net!
Now, falling back on your general insurer can also be disastrous because rental insurance is more expensive than general private property cover, and when insurance companies find out that short term rental is taking place in their insured space they will cancel their insurance policy because you have altered the risk the insurance company accepted when they issued a policy premium. It's like comprehensively insuring your car for private use and then using it as a taxi, you can't do that.
Some general insurers will accept STR as part of their policy and charge an extra premium for it, but I will not endorse or mention any of those because they keep on changing their rules, and I am the one that ends up with egg on my face for suggesting them in the first place.
There are however two STR insurers that operate in Australia that I am prepared to name.
1/.......EBM Rentcover........ https://www.rentcover.com.au/insurance/short-term
2/......Sharecover....... https://www.nrma.com.au/holiday-rental-insurance
Both of these companies have a Canstar rating and as far as I know can be relied on.
The best I can suggest is to contact the insurance council in Queensland legal aid via this web site.....
https://www.legalaid.qld.gov.au/Listings/Organisations-Directory/Insurance-Council-of-Australia
And they will put you in the right direction.
All the best Ian.
Cheers........Rob
