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.

[Becky189]

HI Everyone, thanks for the posts. I have a single room Airbnb listing for my home in Colorado and am curious what insurance companies include house sharing/STRs coverage. My USAA policy is up for rewal so I'm shopping around. Thanks for any feedback! Becky

[Nancy800]

I have USAA. Does your statement mean that they won't cover short term rentals? Di they say they would drop you? Thanks.

[Rebecca193]

USAA told me I could book a guest no more than twice a month - they did not have an allowable number of days so I could have two bookings at two weeks each, but if it were two bookings at two days each that would be all that is permitted and still keep my homeowners’ insurance.

[Johnnie10]

who is your agent and can i  have my agent contact them?  thanks

[Ginna5]

 Hi E & J,

What coompany did you use to get your airbnb cover? State Farm did not review my HO policy and now I am looking for one. I just started with airbnb and I would like to get this resoved ...  Let me know if you can provide me that info.

Thanks,

[Graham34]

Hi Susan,

  Did you find a solution for your problem?  I'm in a similar situation, in the Hudson Valley...

[Kathleen87]

Hi all, 

I found a policy with Vermont Mutual that covers my airbnb home owners insurance needs. I host in a room in my home.   I bought a homeowners policy for about 950$

VT Mutual has agents in all over  New England, the Hudson valley and some spots in Upstate NY - check their web site and search agents. 

[Sandy153]

I contacted Vermont Mutual to quote a policy for Airbnb hosts who also live in the home. I wanted to compare my current policy. Vermont Mutual requires emergency lighting installed on the interior of the home.  They obviously don't understand what home sharing is. I'm not willing to accommodate them as the beauty of my home is important to me. I informed Vermont Mutual that I would be posting their ridiculous regulation on this forum. 

[Angela331]

Sandy - you don't need a new wired system. You can purchase emergency lights that plug into your wall outlets, they are small and they come on if the power is cut. I think I bought mine on the Red Cross website. They are inexpensive and they do the job. I have Vermont Mutual and they were happy with this. 

Thanks,

Ange

[Sandy153]

Thank you Angela. Thank you  for your response. When I called Vermont Mutual a few weeks ago they said the emergency lighting had to be hardwired because it was considered for emergencies when the power goes out. Your lights won’t work when the power goes out. They denied my policy based on that. 

[Kathleen87]

I have Vermont Mutual as well and they did not require that I have emergency lighting. They sent an inspector to my home and did what I thought was a very casual inspection, not mentioning any defaults.  I have a old home also - 135yrs old.   How about Flashlight!!  Those would work.  🙂 

[Sandy153]

 Yes, I love the flashlight comment! I think maybe my home had some differences that required the extra precaution. I don’t know, but that’s just what I was told. I found a policy through ex S brokers in Massachusetts. 

[Kathleen87]

Does make me wonder.   Same company, different requirement.  Maybe it is the different homes but I hope I did not miss reading some of the fine print. 

[Heather588]

This is great to hear!  I'm in Vermont too and have been looking for something reasonable.  Thank you!

[Heather588]

Actually, one question - Do you have a separate building?  Or is it in your home?  I have a treehouse/tiny house.