How to choose insurance for hosts in Australia?

[Justin166]

I have done research into insurance liabilities and risks in Australia for owners of short-term rental listings.

There is clearly a void when the home is BOTH lived in by the owner and also used for short-term rental property use.

1. Traditional landlord insurance policies do not cover this situation, ie if you are also living in the home.

2 Furthermore, a standard home building and contents policy is made void when you also rent out part of the home, insurance companies then regard it as then running a "boarding house".

This is a critical issue and I really need some support from yourselves or other members who can advise how to solve this issue.
otherwise there is liability for not only the homeowner but also for rental guests.

It seems the insurance industry hasn't yet evolved to deal with the situation, of a home being both a short stay rental property and owner occupied, which is becoming more and more predominant.
Thank you, Justin

[Peter1566]

I don't think you need Sharecover as you are already covered during the period on Airbnb stay by Airbnb. It is more the Home & Contents insurance that is the issue. NRMA will cover you, as I have just found out.

[Kathryn541]

NRMA are an absolute rip-off. They quoted me $4K without share cover on top of that. They said the minimum they could insure my building for is $1MIL when that is market value. To knock down and rebuild it would be $650K. I am shocked at their premium. Thank you for the post. 

[Pamela680]

We use them but have not made a claim. I wanted explicit public liability cover and they gave this.

[Eva547]

Very important issue, especially since Airbnb insurance seems to be a marketing ploy and not actually insurance. I rent a whole house that is on the property I live on so I really want to know I am paying for insurance not for exceptions. 

Budget direct:

You will not be covered for :
theft or resulting damage caused by you, a household member, or someone who entered the home with your consent or the consent of a household member
theft or resulting damage caused by your tenant, or someone who entered the home with the consent of your tenant unless you have purchased the optional cover Theft/Malicious Damage by Tenants or visitors.

:: this sounds like an option  is additional cover for visitors but am having trouble getting them to clarify this further.

[Wendy117]

An update for 2018-2019 for hosts who live on the property.  First year I went Sharecover which I had to take out in addition to my own insurance - very expensive.  Last year I found an insurance broker who gave me Landlord insurance for short term which also covered me living on the premises through Trident - the only thing not covered were my own personal effects.  This year she has found one that covers everything.  Broker is Ceneta.

[Insa7]

Hi Wendy, 

I am renting a granny flat on the property I live as owner/occupier. I have only just found out that most companies won't even simply give me general home&content insurance if I mention Airbnb. I am worried I am overinsuring myself. I have thoroughly read the Airbnb cover, and I still don't know if it is enough and if I still need Landlord insurance. I assume simply not telling the insurer isn't the go?! I got a quote from Sharecover and it was $1100, which is double of what i pay for simple Home insurance. If Airbnb covers us hosts for a million dollars, how come that we still have to get landlord inruacne? I don't know if I get it... Thank you for replying. 

Happy New Year 🙂

Insa

[Sylvia343]

Hi Wendy,

I am having the same exact issue no one is insuring my home becasue the air bnb.. would you have a number from Ceneta?

Thanks,

Sylvia,

[Peter1566]

NRMA will cover you as I have just found out

[Kathryn541]

FYI I called Budget Direct and was informed today they do not offer AirBnB for a secondary dwelling.

[Rhonda21]

I read the GIO PDS and if living in the house and hosting it appears to be covered

[Peter1566]

I found that NRMA will provide Home & Contents insurance if we are listed on Airbnb. If the Airbnb host insurance holds up then we are covered when we go on holidays for 4 weeks each year, which is the period our home is occupied on Airbnb.

[Catherine1873]

NRMA is in NWS , i am in QLD, what shoudl i do to start airnb , i don,t care about content , only  liabilities

i am with RACQ , they will not cover liabilities for guests

thank you 

Catherine

[Olivia539]

look at EMB they offer public liability for short term stay 

[Elizabeth1229]

When I was researching insurance I approached BJS Insurance (Teresa Dennerly), Trident Insurance (Bebe Sinclair), Atlantic Insurance (Jonathon Lim, who was particularly helpful) and Ceneta Insurance Services (Veronica Kypos). 

You can look  them up online to see what states in Australia they cover.  From memory they all cover liability for the short stay tenants.

The first three have a model where there are two policies.  The landlord policy will cover the building as a whole and the landlord contents will cover you for malicious damage and intentional acts by the tenant subject to the policy wording. Your Home contents policy covers your own contents. Please note theft by tenant of any valuable/personal items such as laptops, Mobile phones and jewellery is not covered.

I decided to go with Ceneta Insurance Services because they did not separate out the policies and seemed to have a better understanding of short stay insurance.  You can include loss of income if you want it.  Veronica was clear in answering all my questions and stepping me through what was needed.  They have an easy to use section on their website for requesting a quote.

Obviously pricing varies according to what coverage you actually want, so when comparing providers I made sure that the quotes I got were for the same coverage before making my final decision.

 There is a lot to think about when setting up a listing and for me, having the insurance in place was important.  So , although it took a while to work out what I was happy with I figure I don't have to do that again, just renew it each year. 

I hope that helps your research.

Regards, Elizabeth

[Abbi8]

This is very helpful Elizabeth! Thanks for the post