What type of insurance should I have for my STR?

[Lucy578]

I was informed by my insurance company that I wasn’t allowed to list my room as it would void my complete home insurance. The company recommended another company that covers Airbnb who were going to charge an additional £500 on top of my existing premium , given I rent a room out for approximately £50 and mainly only weekends I felt it was a bit high. Can anyone recommend and insurance company I could try for a quote please. 
kind regards Lucy

[Anna12526]

Hi Lucy. I recommend Proper insurance. They always understand what I am talking about and provide comprehensive insurance. The service team member I use is  Tim Lazarewicz.

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[Meena1]

Is there an insurance company in Canada that covers STR s?

[Rita2301]

I am in Seattle WA. I have a airbnb in my home. lower level. We live upstairs. Can anyone recommend a insurance company?

[Jane3162]

Yes I’ve read some bad news about Airbnb insurance ‘cover’ . I think this needs looking at by Airbnb. I’ve just had to take out extra cover.like you I just rent out two rooms for around £50. If the Airbnb doesn’t give proper insurance it doesn’t work. How can they say they provide cover when they don’t ? There are too many loopholes!

[Sally876]

I agree it is a total nightmare.  I live in Cheltenham UK so rent the whole house out in March for Race week then weekends through the year.  The first year I told our insurers and it went up by about £200 . Fair enough I thought.  Last year we didn't do airbnb because of covid. Just trying to renew our insurance and it had to be changed back to the one we took out 2 years ago.  This time it is £500 more than our usual house insurance as the first year was a favour.

Airbnb say they cover you for 1000000 $ and I phoned to check that this was for the house as well and this was confirmed.  SO today I just took out the usual house insurance and it all went through smoothly so I thought I was covered.  A last minute phone call from the broker who told me the agent who sold it had made an error and I am not covered and no ordinary insurance policy will cover letting your house out.  So I am stuck with paying the extra £500. That is with plum insurance!

I cant understand what the Airbnb insurance is all about as surely we cant claim off home insurance and them.

[Andy2843]

Hi @Lucy578 , how did you get on . I’m literally new as new could be to this and I asked admiral who do my domestic insurance to add on but they said no . Did you have any luck or did you go elsewhere? Andy 

[Joseph1481]

I contacted my US insurance agent who stated that my homeowner's policy, good for up to a million dollars, would be just fine. But, he suggested a get an umbrella policy for about ten bucks more a month, which I am going to do. And this refers to a camping site/deck below my home on a separate structure. 

[Sean140]

Sorry to hear that you're having trouble with your insurance.  I am able to handle all US states and have multiple carriers. Please contact me if you need help.

Sean F Murphy Insurance Agency Worth, IL

[Linda3763]

Sean140@.

Hi Sean,

I live in NY and am looking for an insurer for my Airbnb.  Can you help? Thank you,  Linda **

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[Dani10808]

I’d love some help with this. We can’t find any co to insure our home for the summer as we rent it out on air bandb 

[Marie7629]

Hi Sean

do you still operate as a broker for  companies that deal with Airbnb properties?

[Colin434]

Hi Sean,

I just emailed you. I need some help and guidance - can we set up a chat?

[Ared223]

I think that the company did the right thing, that they informed you in advance. Try checking other companies

[Leonie126]

Hi 

I live in NSW AUSTRALIA and operate a granny flat as an Airbnb. Have just been informed by 3 insurance companies that my home cannot be insured due to operating and Airbnb . Does anyone know of any insurers who do cover the main home?  

[Yolande97]

Leonie126 How did you resolve this? I am in Australia too

[Deidre12]

Hi there @Leonie126, we've only just come across this problem.

When we first started with Airbnb in Brisbane we were insured with Suncorp and I told them then that we had  guests staying occasionally and they agreed to accept this. We have an apartment under our home that we rent out. We were told, at the time, that we were covered so we didn't think anything of it. 

Last week my husband was looking over the insurance certificate (updating our contents insurance) and we were shocked to discover that we were not insured. At all. Even if we caused a fire/damage to the upper story of the house or the whole house and there were guests staying, the insurance wouldn't cover us. Frickin' money grabbing scumbags. 

So we began a long search. Three other insurance companies refused to cover us and eventually we found some helpful advice from NRMA.

We're now insured with NRMA for house and contents AND have made sure, in writing, that they acknowledge that we have guests staying from time to time (this includes our family and friends who may stay upstairs with us because one of the many people we spoke to said that if a family guest living in our home caused damage we wouldn't be insured ...ffs!).

NRMA said that we would have to get Landlords Insurance (they don't offer it) from another company to cover the apartment we rent through Airbnb. We have now set up an account with Share Cover who offer insurance cover that is by the night. So now when we have a guest staying we go into Share Covers website and state how long they're staying (max of 90 nights), how many people and how much excess we want to pay. They then Quote you cover and you accept it and pay to get the cover. At the moment we have 4 guests staying for approx. 7 weeks and we've elected to take an $800 excess and that is costing $495. It adds about $10 a night as an expense. 

We're now NOT going to host any more. We have bookings through to the end of the year and it will be approx. $1000 extra to cover the house with insurance and that has not been considered when we put our nightly rate in. So for this year we're now going to be out of pocket.

Overall, considering the cost/time of cleaning and the extras (food etc) that we provide, the ongoing repairs and maintenance (this month alone it's been a plumber to clear the drains - oil down the sink - wear and tear on the doors (chipped paint, hinges damaged from slamming), smoke alarms needed replacing, broken crockery, 2 x chipped floor tiles and a washing machine repair), the extra power (we have Aircon) and water used, we've decided that it's not worth the small amount of profit we make each night from our guests. 

I'm blocking out our calendar from Jan-Aug 2022 to reassess our options. Though I doubt there is anything other than putting up our nightly rate and losing bookings because we'll not be competitive. 

If you have come across a more cost effective option please do let me know. 

Cheers

Deidre 

[Rachel2254]

Sorry to hear that but they make it so difficult it is sometimes not worth it . I’m new to hosting and will try this year but have to limit it to 84’days!

[Julieanna0]

Hi @Leonie126 .  I just found something in the US, so thought I would do a quick search for Australia.  This article addresses the topic of an insurer covering your home:  https://www.finder.com.au/short-term-rental-and-airbnb-insurance.  It looks like some companies request that you live on the same property in order to be insured.  It looks like BudgetDirect is a top company with a great reputation as long as your property is owner-occupied.  If not, try this site:  https://www.rentcover.com.au/insurance/short-term.  Hope this helps!

[Lisa108]

Would you mind sharing what company you found in the US? I’m an airbnb host in Los Ángeles looking to get a rental policy and umbrella

thnk you!

[Paul1255]

@Lucy578  A few of my clients use Guardhog, on a pay-as-you-go basis when they have guests, they offer cover on top of your usual policy- might be an option for you.

https://guardhog.com/insurance-for-short-let-hosts/