Hi there @Leonie126, we've only just come across this problem.
When we first started with Airbnb in Brisbane we were insured with Suncorp and I told them then that we had guests staying occasionally and they agreed to accept this. We have an apartment under our home that we rent out. We were told, at the time, that we were covered so we didn't think anything of it.
Last week my husband was looking over the insurance certificate (updating our contents insurance) and we were shocked to discover that we were not insured. At all. Even if we caused a fire/damage to the upper story of the house or the whole house and there were guests staying, the insurance wouldn't cover us. Frickin' money grabbing scumbags.
So we began a long search. Three other insurance companies refused to cover us and eventually we found some helpful advice from NRMA.
We're now insured with NRMA for house and contents AND have made sure, in writing, that they acknowledge that we have guests staying from time to time (this includes our family and friends who may stay upstairs with us because one of the many people we spoke to said that if a family guest living in our home caused damage we wouldn't be insured ...ffs!).
NRMA said that we would have to get Landlords Insurance (they don't offer it) from another company to cover the apartment we rent through Airbnb. We have now set up an account with Share Cover who offer insurance cover that is by the night. So now when we have a guest staying we go into Share Covers website and state how long they're staying (max of 90 nights), how many people and how much excess we want to pay. They then Quote you cover and you accept it and pay to get the cover. At the moment we have 4 guests staying for approx. 7 weeks and we've elected to take an $800 excess and that is costing $495. It adds about $10 a night as an expense.
We're now NOT going to host any more. We have bookings through to the end of the year and it will be approx. $1000 extra to cover the house with insurance and that has not been considered when we put our nightly rate in. So for this year we're now going to be out of pocket.
Overall, considering the cost/time of cleaning and the extras (food etc) that we provide, the ongoing repairs and maintenance (this month alone it's been a plumber to clear the drains - oil down the sink - wear and tear on the doors (chipped paint, hinges damaged from slamming), smoke alarms needed replacing, broken crockery, 2 x chipped floor tiles and a washing machine repair), the extra power (we have Aircon) and water used, we've decided that it's not worth the small amount of profit we make each night from our guests.
I'm blocking out our calendar from Jan-Aug 2022 to reassess our options. Though I doubt there is anything other than putting up our nightly rate and losing bookings because we'll not be competitive.
If you have come across a more cost effective option please do let me know.
Cheers
Deidre
