Home and contents insurance Australia

[Karl1552]

Hi all.

Chasing reviews good or bad about using Suncorp Insurance short stay insurance. From what I have read through their policy and with their quote, it all seems like it will work for someone who is listing on here whilst residing at the same property.

FYI: our situation is that we will have 2 x self contained council approved short stays within the new property that we are purchasing .

Also, any other information regarding your experiences with insurance will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance

[Mary1523]

Hi @Karl1552,

Are you a new host to airbnb?

I ask this because it's less about the insurance company you choose (they all will be rubbish when it comes to claiming unless you take the most expensive one you can find) and more about how you plan to manage, maintain your airbnbs?

We've had several insurance companies cover our airbnb, and honestly that's not been the issue. As long as you choose something that does cover short term let, it doesn't matter who. 

It's what's in the airbnb that also causes issues, not who is insurance company. eg Spa's, firepits or things that have a higher safety risk, so consider all those if you are first time airbnb host.

You get a reasonable cover via airbnb claims for guest breakage etc. Never had to claim on insurance for guest issues.

What we have had to claim on is when you get some weather related damage or similar that impacts your rental or guest income. Like a leaking roof from a storm.

We had that, called them up, sent out some emergency repair person, made it worse and for another 6 months had leaking issues. Honestly, we would have been better off not claiming, and if we were more handy, just fix the **bleep** things ourselves. We ended up getting our own builder to fix and still fighting the insurance company for the lost rental income for 1 less room and partial refunds we had to get, apart from labour and materials. 

So in summary, don't dwell on it too much, invest in really good trades that you can have on speed dial if you can't fix things yourself.  Use them instead of using the insurance company. And do a serious safety risk assessment of your properties.

Trying to claim for loss of  short term holiday let rental income is really tricky so try to prevent that in the first place. Keep the insurance for big problems like it burning down or the like, or guest sues you because they did something completely stupid...

My 2 cents worth from NSW

Good luck, MK

[Karl1552]

You c cents are some of the most constructive and helpful I have come across. Many thanks!!

Yes first time as an owner / host but we have hosted throughout the world for other owners including places like El Salvador and Canada. Its the legal issue with making sure if say, a bush fire was to come through, that my insurance company wouldnt find a way to get out of it. That is really the only concern that I have.

So choosing the right policy that gives full cover if you are using the place as a business in this manner is of great importance. Suncorp are offering building for just this scenario for 2k a year. Seem too good to be true but heir fine print does seem to cover everything i need in the way that we are going to be renting the place.

Can I ask whom you are using for your current situation?

Thanks again

[Liz6974]

Hi Karl,

We are in the same situation up in Dunsborough. Did you decide to go with Suncorp in the end? Ours too is coming in at roughly $2k. I need to renew by Tuesday and have had real trouble finding an insurer. 

Many thanks,

Liz

[Rebecca]

Hello @Liz6974,

I am tagging @Karl1552 here for you, so they will receive a notification of your message and can hopefully come back to share more insights on their insurance!

Quick tip: To tag someone, tap "@" and select the host's username from the dropdown menu 😊

[Liam2998]

Hi Mary,

I want to start AirBnBing my spare room, but I'm concerned about guests stealing my personal items such as laptop or camera. I do intend to only stay with good guests, but I'm worried a thief could slip through the cracks.

I can't tell whether AirBNB would cover my personal items, and it's not explicitly mentioned in the short term rental insurance policies I've looked at either. Any advice on covering myself in regards to this?

[Rebecca]

Hi Karl 👋

Did any of the answers below help you resolve the issue? If so, it's always a lovely gesture to mark it as the best answer. It's like a big virtual hug to the member who supported you but also to support other Hosts who may have similar questions in the future. 😊