We recently received a notice from our insurance company stating that if a property is shared or rented out part time that our existing policy would be canceled!. I called several insurance agencies and was given a commercial policy quaote for THREE TIMES our original homeowners policy .... We were close to deciding to pull our listing from Airbnb when we discovered that Allstate is offering a very inexpensive product. Long story short - We are now insured through Allstate at our regular homeowner rate and pay a small add on fee for the HostAdvantage package. Without the discovery of this product we would have strongly considered de-listing our property. I wish Airbnb would send this info along to everyone!
This info from the chicagotribune.com
Allstate will try home-sharing in Illinois and five other states starting in mid-August. No, the property insurer won't rent out its Northbrook campus or other offices. Rather it's capitalizing on the growing popularity of companies like Airbnb and HomeAway.
Allstate said its new product, called HostAdvantage, could better protect policyholders renting out their homes for brief periods in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee and Utah.
HostAdvantage, which can be added to an existing policy for about $50 a year, specifically helps fill some protection gaps that might exist in homeowners' coverage when policyholders who occasionally rent out homes face unexpected out-of-pocket expenses for personal property, such as when furniture is destroyed or electronics stolen.
Generally, home insurance is pretty broad when covering the house itself, so many losses that might occur during an occasional rental could be covered, Allstate said. But when it comes to personal property, homeowners might face a gap.
