I just got a quote for renewing our vacation rental insurance through CBIZ and it’s 50% higher than last year with NO changes to the property. And yes, this is a new underwriter. Just wondering what others are experiencing as your policies renew? And REALLY wondering if the underwriters are cognizant of the collapse of income for many STR renters.
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This is very interesting. I’ve predicted elsewhere on the forum that insurance rates would be increasing and coverage of all kinds harder to get.
Sure they are. They are also cognizant of their own collaspe in income. This is how economies tumble into recession/depression.
I was just sent a notice of renewal on my home dog boarding business insurance. It didn’t go up but it’s a different kind of insurance. I told them I will not be renewing at this time. Given that your VR business may be limited perhaps you shouldn’t renew at this time.
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I have CBIZ and when I added a second unit last year, mid policy year, it did not go up too much. If it were to go up 50% right now I would have to look into dropping STR and upping my liability on my umbrella policy and hope for the best. A 50% increase would bring me up over 6K a year.
RR
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I’d thought of that but the property has several units and is a mix of long term and STR rental. I can’t let the insurance lapse without jeopardizing my long term tenants. So I’ll bite the bullet and hope that some rentals return this year.
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I would not let mine lapse, I would replace it with something that is lesser, not STR if it came to it. I hope it does not
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My STR insurance is already double the cost of a standard homeowner’s policy, so a 50% increase to that would make it triple. I would certainly be shopping around for insurance.
BTW, I shopped around right before I listed in December 2018. One option that seems much more attractive now is Slice. It’s a pay-per-day insurance, but was really expensive if your occupancy rate was high. With everyone expecting low occupancy rates due to COVID-19, it could be a much less expensive option now. The catch is that you need a standard policy that is compatible (i.e. one that doesn’t cover STR, but also isn’t completely voided if you do STR).
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Only double? You’re lucky. When we went to AirBnb, the homeowners insurance jumped from $1200 a year to $5000!
Interesting, I would think there would be fewer claims with less travel, so less expense. Of course, on the other hand, whatever portfolio the insurance companies have invested their funds in has tanked. Cash reserves may be depleted.
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I would think they’d be forward looking. That is, yes there will be fewer claims but also fewer people buying their product. They are probably cutting staff already. So they are raising prices to try to get some cash?
Excellent point, if property owners are going broke, cancelling insurance is one quick way to save money, next defer maintenance, next . . .
I am not renewing my dog boarding business insurance. I wish I could suspend my auto insurance, lol.
I think that’s a good point and something one would hope that brokers like CBIZ would be pointing out to their underwriters. LOTS less rental activity should mean lower claims costs and helping STR owners stay afloat would be in the long term interest of the underwriters.
Honestly, who knows what will happen to STR after this is all over? And who knows what will happen to STR insurance? I couldn’t begin to speculate on either topic.
Two years ago when I started this I priced Proper and CBiz. I went with Proper as they were pretty close in price and Proper was more responsive to questions (using a “first date” mentality, I guess … If they couldn’t pay attention in the beginning, what would they be like later?) Anyway, we have been with Proper and the first year rates didn’t increase. They are about $500(?) more than the standard h/o insurance was.
Not sure I want to open the renewal envelope when it comes this year … But I’ll report back. It should be coming soon.
Better shop around.
I had Lloyd’s for a year. With the initial policy Lloyds price was 100 percent more than the policy without STR. After the first year Lloyd’s doubled that rate.
I actively shopped for something more reasonable and found a policy that was 100 percent cheaper than the original Lloyd’s price.
Now I am paying $3,000 a year. The overall price increase was was $500 per year more than my homeowner’s policy without STR. The Lloyd’s policy was initially $4,000 per year and went up to $6,500 a year with no claims.
We are with Lloyds. We have shopped every year since we started Airbnb.
We’re in Lee County, Florida where we require “wind coverage” for the seasonal hurricanes as well as everything else. Very few companies insure people in Florida, and not all of them serve every county. I know someone up near Orlando who only pays $900 a month for STR Homeowners insurance, but that company does not serve this county.
“100 percent cheaper” equals zero. 
BTW, I have Proper, which uses Lloyd’s as an underwriter. The standard homeowner’s policy was around $800/yr, and that increased to $1,601 when I switched to Proper’s STR insurance in December 2018. The first year renewal in December 2019 increased to $1,796.
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I saw an article in which a Tampa Bay church had it’s insurance cancelled. The stubborn pastor had refused to close despite being arrested. But finally he closed and perhaps having the insurance cancelled was the reason.
If more insurance companies decide that insuring businesses that stay open during pandemics is too risky, then what? What about Airhosts who lose their coverage?