Obtaining Airbnb insurance - is it included ?

[Douglas-And-LuAnn0]

I am a new host. I see on the site where Airbnb insurance is discussed, $1,000,000 per occurrence and also inclusions and exclusions. I do not see where you obtain it. Is it included ?

Thanks !

Doug

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Hi @Douglas-And-LuAnn0,

Host Protection Insurance is included provided your listing is located in qualifying locations.  Please also pay attention to the Terms of Service in which it states:

"Airbnb recommends that Hosts obtain appropriate insurance for their Accommodations. Please review any insurance policy that you may have for your Accommodation carefully, and in particular please make sure that you are familiar with and understand any exclusions to, and any deductibles that may apply for, such insurance policy, including, but not limited to, whether or not your insurance policy will cover the actions or inactions of or relating to Guests (and the individuals the Guest invites to the Accommodation, if applicable) while at your Accommodation. Please also review such policy for any interaction with the Airbnb Host Protection Insurance Program, to the extent provided in your jurisdiction."

This type of insurance can be very hard to get and many insurance companies will drop your coverage completely at the sounds of "Airbnb".  

[Douglas-And-LuAnn0]

Thank you so much ! Very helpful, and actually not surprising, while disappointing, that our current underwriter might drop us completely if we make them aware we use Airbnb.

We have hosted for years (not through Airbnb) and always (personally) collected in advance at least a $300 damage deposit and in most cases $500. This is our first Airbnb experience. Maybe we have just been lucky, but we have only had one damage situation (basically probably a child taking a butter knife and making 5-7 scratches in a new dining room table. We gave zero dollars back to that guest and did not get much of an argument. We took photos afer they left. (Maybe people were encouraged in all other cases to be careful because of $300 or $500 at stake ?).... Longer term rentals we took $1000 damage deposit

We are having second thoughts about using Airbnb, for a number of reasons, especially numerous stories about property damage and difficulty with cooperation from Airbnb

-doug

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

As replied above, this "coverage" is included - but is riddled with loopholes and exclusions.  Hosts have had little success collecting from this policy for signficant damages done to their listings.  Your personal insurance will ALWAYS be the primary insurance to cover any losses (though as also mentioned, you have to make sure your policy covers short-term rentals - many of which DONT), Airbnb's only steps in as secondary coverage - therefore you should absolutely NOT rely on it for any sort of coverage.

[Douglas-And-LuAnn0]

Thank you so much ! Very helpful, and actually not surprising, while disappointing, that our current underwriter might drop us completely if we make them aware we use Airbnb.

We have hosted for years (not through Airbnb) and always (personally) collected in advance at least a $300 damage deposit and in most cases $500. This is our first Airbnb experience. Maybe we have just been lucky, but we have only had one damage situation (basically probably a child taking a butter knife and making 5-7 scratches in a new dining room table. We gave zero dollars back to that guest and did not get much of an argument. We took photos afer they left. (Maybe people were encouraged in all other cases to be careful because of $300 or $500 at stake ?).... Longer term rentals we took $1000 damage deposit

We are having second thoughts about using Airbnb, for a number of reasons, especially numerous stories about property damage and difficulty with cooperation from Airbnb

thanks !

-doug

[David126]

There is a property guarantee and a Liability Insurance.

Both are limited in their scope and should not be assumed to negate your own arrangements.

Most Household Policies do not include short term rental activity.

[Douglas-And-LuAnn0]

Thank you so much ! Very helpful, and actually not surprising, while disappointing, that our current underwriter might drop us completely if we make them aware we use Airbnb.

We have hosted for years (not through Airbnb) and always (personally) collected in advance at least a $300 damage deposit and in most cases $500. This is our first Airbnb experience. Maybe we have just been lucky, but we have only had one damage situation (basically probably a child taking a butter knife and making 5-7 scratches in a new dining room table. We gave zero dollars back to that guest and did not get much of an argument. We took photos afer they left. (Maybe people were encouraged in all other cases to be careful because of $300 or $500 at stake ?).... Longer term rentals we took $1000 damage deposit

We are having second thoughts about using Airbnb, for a number of reasons, especially numerous stories about property damage and difficulty with cooperation from Airbnb

so appreciate your response !

-doug

[Ange2]

@Douglas-And-LuAnn0   " The Host Guarantee is not insurance and should not be considered as a replacement or stand-in for homeowners or renters insurance."   I  suggest you search this forum  for "host guarantee"  and "damage claim" there are hundreds of posts detailing hosts experiences with this.  Note: There is also a narrow time-frame to start an offical  claim and you have to attempt a resolution with the guest before doing so.

[Douglas-And-LuAnn0]

Thank you so much ! Very helpful, and actually not surprising, while disappointing, that our current underwriter might drop us completely if we make them aware we use Airbnb.

We have hosted for years (not through Airbnb) and always (personally) collected in advance at least a $300 damage deposit and in most cases $500. This is our first Airbnb experience. Maybe we have just been lucky, but we have only had one damage situation (basically probably a child taking a butter knife and making 5-7 scratches in a new dining room table. We gave zero dollars back to that guest and did not get much of an argument. We took photos afer they left. (Maybe people were encouraged in all other cases to be careful because of $300 or $500 at stake ?).... Longer term rentals we took $1000 damage deposit

We are having second thoughts about using Airbnb, for a number of reasons, especially numerous stories about property damage and difficulty with cooperation from Airbnb

really appreciate your input !!

my wife has decades of experience in the insurance industry and it seems like significant damage is a challenge whether it it is handled by your primary homeowner's insurance or Airbnb (which is probably no help in most instances)

so the answer may be to have a homeowner's policy that covers short term rentals with a high deductible (so it is not super expensive, but one person commented above that your underwriter may drop you entirely if you tell them you do short-term rentals, especially if Airbnb. But if you do not check with your underwriter about short term rental coverage, then you probably will not be covered in the case of a claim. I would have to double check with my wife but you might want also a personal umbrella policy for something catastrophic, and then also collect a significant damage deposit to encourage good behavior

-doug

[David126]

Most Homeowners Policies will not cover short term rental sitiuations no matter what the deductible is, from what I have seen currently those few that do have limitations on the number of rooms you rent and how many nights a year are available ir 1 room no more than 90 nights.

There is obviously a market but it is more in the Bed and Breakfast/Hotel sector.

I assume most peopl who rent on AirBnB ignore the Insurance issue, 2 million listings, some of them are obviously commercial so not an issue, the ones renting out of their own homes, second homes are. Must be a lot of listings.

AirBnB are not all short term rentals, but it is often used as a catch phrase to refer to short term rentals.

[Douglas-And-LuAnn0]

Thanks for the info !

We definitely are going to take a closer look at our homeowner's policy- I guess it could be catastrophic if the place burns down during a short term rental.

We used to use Cyberrentals which became HomeAway. We used for them for more than 10 years and they used to have a $2000, $5000 and $10,000 policy that was available to purchase for maybe $39, $49 and $79. I think Homeaway might still have that, but I believe now the renter has to sign up for it and pay for it. We used to be able to obtain it and pay for it ourselves.

We do have an additional personal umbrella policy, but not certain if that covers short term rentals either.

About ten years ago the ground floor apartment got about 2-3 inches of water in it due to a burst pipe. Probably around $6-10,000 in damage. Was like a 5 month seasonal rental, and it was in fact covered under our homeowners. I think we might have a different underwriter now, but I don't think the old one got rid of us immediately.

So I guess like I said in an earlier post, most private homeowners like us are rolling the dice with our homes.

Thanks again, and best wishes

-doug