Homeowners' Insurance - Help!

[Anonymous]

I have been setting up my home to rent two bedrooms through AirBnB.

Today I talked to my insurance company about adding any coverage that would be needed for this use, and was unpleasantly surprised to find out that if I do AirBnB, They Will Not Cover Me At All.  They assured me that since my policy had just renewed I would still be covered for almost a year, but that they would not renew me, and they would not pay claims related to AirBnB.

They were also unable to provide me with any suggestions of companies that Would cover my home, and so far I have not been able to turn anyone up.

I searched the user forums, and found that this appears to be a fairly common problem, and that there are numerous horror stories of people having their insurance cancelled after just -asking- about AirBnB.  A few of them appear to have lost their mortgage as a result.  The only suggestions I saw were in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, which does not help me much in the United States.

I called AirBnB support (after considerable effort finding a phone number), and was informed by the agent that she "Never heard of that kind of a problem before". Apparently, she does not read the community forums.  The agent promised to escalate the question to her supervisor, but I have heard nothing yet.

Needless to say, I want to get this taken care of, since it appears that there is a reasonable chance of losing my home over it.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Kate24]

Read the recent NY Times article. Being the primary insurer for the thousands of airbnb properties would be extremely expensive for airbnb. Most hosts are choosing to "go bare" and hope for the best. In Europe, a less litigious society than in the US, that probably works fine, but here in the US, where lawyers and insurance companies are in charge, not so much.

[Jo109]

I agree and in Florida, where insurance is always an issue anyway, it's especially disturbing.  I'm considering putting a hold on everything until this can be resolved.  I'm not looking for thousands of dollars in expenses, was hoping to pick up some extra income but certainly don't need the risk of losing my hazard policy and/or mortgage.  That's insane! 

Jo

[Stephanie229]

William - would you please let me know how Farmer's is covering you? Is it an umbrella policy? Or are they contracting with someone else? They are looking for me here in Olympia, WA and so far have not come up with anything.

Thank you!

[David-And-Kimberly0]

AirBnB hosts,

I too just found out that USAA renters policy will not touch an AirBnB renter.  So if anything happens to the cabin we rent out  on Air, we are not insured. 

I am not at all sure who covers this now. I just called AirBnB who told me they don't know!!  They told me they will "get back with me" on this issue. This seems like a major, major issue that should have been addressed when they even organized the website and company. 

Now I am at a loss to figure out what to do. I live in Tennessee and we are building a cabin to rent on Airbnb as our other cabin rents so well. But USAA would not even give me construction insurance on an Air cabin.  Any help or suggestions are warmly welcome. 

Thank you, Kim

[Victoria137]

I just listed a bedroom on Air BnB this week.    I was offered an "option IO" through State Farm that was a rider on my existing million dollar personal liability insurance.    This would add 100,000 for incidental home occupation / business insurance over what the personal liability umbrella provides.    So now I am covered by insurance at around $25/annually.

[David-And-Kimberly0]

I thank you for this answer. We own a cabin that is separate from our main home.  I called the main insurance companies, Farmers' Geico, USAA, Progressive, etc, and not one would insure an Airbnb rental.  They said specifically an Airbnb rental.  But we found a company that does.  Proper Insurance, out of Virginia insures rentals, and bed and breakfast type rentals. They were about the same as the USAA policy we have on the cabin.

You may want to note that everyone I talked to said they have never seen the insurance policy that Airbnb touts as having a rental covered.  I know they say this online, but the lady told us they have never seen the actual policy.  True, it is not listed on their website.

Thank you again for the info. I will tell my friends who rent a room in their home or similiar.

Very Respectfully,

Kimberly

[Stephanie229]

Victoria - would you mind sharing the name of your agent? I'd like to find out more about this plan to share with my agent! Thank you.

[Lia---Garry0]

@Victoria137I have State Farm but in my area (Southern California) I was told by my agent that if I rent rooms in my home through Airbnb (or any platform) more than 50% of the year (more than 180 nights) that my homeowners insurance will be voided/nullified! I will ask my agent about this rider because I do have a $1,000,000 liability umbrella.  Thanks for the tip ... I hope it works here in SoCal!

[Kerstin34]

I was told my umbrella policy that I am not covered with an Airbnb

[Claudia52]

I also got dropped by The Hartford.  I have managed to get liability insurance, but not property insurance.  Thanks for everybody who has offered what they've learned. 

[Robyn56]

Ive been told the same thing here in Nova Scotia so i deactivated my listing. I am desperately looking for a solution as well. 

[Madelaine12]

Robin, I am in Nova Scotia as well! Did you find a solution to this issue?

Thanks!

Madelaine

[Catherine274]

We have our homeowners' insurance through Amica, specifically because they cover short-term rentals. They asked lots of questions, but we feel that we have excellent and comprehensive coverage through them.

[Kathleen87]

Catherine, 

Interesting.   I called Amica and they said they would not cover me.   I rent a room in my house about 5-6 nights a month and about the whole house about 3 full weeks thoughout the year.  They seemed think this was too much, too many nights for them to cover. 

I am really having a hard time finding a reasonable option.   

I do wonder how many hosts like me are going without insurance. 

Kathleen 

[CarlandDiane0]

@Kathleen87, AMICA provided coverage of our guesthouse when we started renting it last year, but we've eclipsed their $10K/year income limit. So we know what's coming...they'll say "no" to covering the guesthouse, and they'll cancel our policy when it comes up for renewal in a couple of months.

Here's the list of possible insurers that I've compiled based on my research. We'd be looking for someone to cover both our residence and the STR in our backyard. And I'm interested in decent liability coverage, since lawsuits are where we would most likely sustain the greatest financial damage.

• Proper Insurance. We have a quote from them. It’s about 70% higher than our current policy but offers more coverage overall, including $1 million in liability vs. $300K for our current policy. They would cover both our main residence and the rental, and they offer lost income coverage. Both of these are good things.
• CBIZ. I've seen them mentioned here. Their website is not impressive. I’ve also read they have restrictions that could end up disqualifying claims; for instance, if a guest consumes more than one beer and damages the property or himself. (We don’t provide alcohol but guests often bring in their own.)
• Farmers. Their website says they cover vacation and short-term rentals. Unlike Proper and CBIZ, they’re a known entity and there is no shortage of agents here.
• Allstate. They offer landlord insurance, which possibly may apply to STRs.
• Chubb. I had read years ago that they offer STR coverage to homeowners, but that’s not explicitly noted on their site.

Hope this helps.