This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
I’m having a really hard time finding an insurance company that will ensure us. Surely, there are other owner-occupied B&Bs and small hotels with insurance. Please, name some companies that provide homeowner’s insurance for B&Bs.
Our homeowner’s insurance has an outright home-sharing exclusion. Got a quote for an insurance but for no more than 45 nights (sometimes we get 45 nights booked in a month!). Christ, I’m willing to get a business policy if it comes to it, but I don’t have a 250+room hotel. It’s just my house.
Please, no anecdotal BS and patronizing lectures. This is a serious question that even insurance companies can’t seem to answer, yet the industry in millennia old. I don’t understand why this is so difficult.
I’ve called 5 insurance companies so far, and none of them seem to offer insurance products for the age-old business of hospitality. Seems the biggest obstacle is I live in the own home I want to insure.
I am using proper insurance. The specialize in our type of insurance. It did cost me twice what my home owners insurance cost but if I filed a claim via my home owners insurance not only would they not cover it but they would cancel.
Not sure where you live, but I’ve had the same struggle here in Arizona.
Foremost Insurance won’t cover since it’s not a stand-alone guest unit.
Proper Insurance doesn’t allow guests to share space inside our house. Since we live here, and we can’t easily create a separate entrance and lock off the guest area, they won’t cover. Very high priced as well, over 3 times the amount of normal insurance.
AAU gets the closest; They will do shared space, the only caveat being you must rent minimum of 2 days. Since most of our guests stay 1 night, it would substantially reduce our income. They are priced fairly, about 2 1/4 times the amount of normal insurance.
Airbnb has a lot of coverage gaps, and from what I understand is difficult to work with. Plus your current homeowners policy may deny any claims on your house if you do regular short term rentals, whether related to Airbnb guests or not, if you don’t disclose your Airbnb business to them.
So that is my research so far… Would love to hear more input on this
Well, what I am going to use is Slice. It’s on demand. You turn it on and off for the nights you need. For my 4BR/2BR whole house it’s about $7 night.
It works for me because I will only be renting out the home occasionally. I’m not sure if that would be affordable for people who need many nights of coverage. I guess it depends how much you are charging.
I can’t say that I recommend it or don’t recommend it yet, because I haven’t had to make a claim.
I’m pretty sure it covers home sharing when you are staying in the house too (single room rental) but check.
EDIT:
PS: It’s not meant to be a substitute for home owner’s insurance. It’s a supplement on top of it. It has some pretty high deductibles for things like vandalism and fire, but it’s better than nothing.
It has some interesting coverages that are geared towards STR hosts, like coverage for loss of income while your property is being repaired.
I’m in the Midwest US and options I found were CBiZ and Proper. I went with Proper.
I have been told that Travelers and Farmers and Foremost and StateFarm will cover but they couldn’t run fast enough when I uttered the phrase Short Term Rental. Even in the area I’m in, which is a very popular tourist area, I struck out until I contacted Proper and CBiZ.
Have you tried contacting another local BnB in your neighborhood and asked them who covers them? Probably a long shot but might not hurt to ask …
My proper insurance went up 40%, even with no claims on my part. I switched to a State Farm business owners policy - we have a condo so it is under small motel. It was half the price of proper, though proper covers a few more things.
There aren’t many insurers covering home sharing – many of them only do second units.
Try calling Broadway Insurance in Los Angeles (google it). They may be be able to find something for you. Alternatively, the Leavitt Group (Utah, I think?) does Bed & Breakfast insurance.
Thanks for everyone’s tips. The tip from @jkamm to look up Foremost brought me to a local agent who does indeed work with Foremost. The insurer she found though is New England Express Exchange, Ltd. in Barre, VT. They offer short-term rental coverage to homeowners who list their spaces on short-term rental sites such as Airbnb. It’s almost twice as much as our current homeowner’s policy, but less expensive (for us) than the daily rates from Progressive or Slice, $6.95 and $7.00, respectively.
One of the limits of another insurance product I found was a 45-night limit on bookings. In 2017, we had 316 nights booked - there’s no way a 45-night limit is going to work even for the casual Airbnb host.
I also found it is indeed a state by state, and country by country thing. Some insurance companies don’t offer any products in some states, at at least some products in one state but not another. With such a fast-growing sharing economy, it seems to be a missed opportunity for some insurance companies to completely avoid short-term rentals.
It’s surprising to my how willfully ignorant insurance companies and agents (and people in general) are to this burgeoning market, some even questioning the likelihood that anyone would even stay in someone else’s home. We literally can’t even keep up with the demand in my small city. Just other day an inquiry came through requesting a different set of dates, and I needed to remind the traveler to check our availability, which was not available to him. We literally have to turn people away.
Are you sure they weren’t referring to a time limit for each individual stay, rather than the total for the year? In my state, anything over 30 days would be considered a long-term rental, (turning the guest into a tenant), and insurance coverage would be different in that scenario.
Did you find insurance that replaced your homeowner’s policy, or is it an add-on like Slice? Are you paying a daily rate? What state are you located in? I’m in a similar situation as you since I live in the house and rent out a room, but all the policies I’ve looked at are either for whole home rentals or are so expensive that I would lose all my profits.
I just checked with my Farmers Agent and they don’t have coverage for me renting my House to Airbnb Guests, just short term. I called Proper and they quoted $2600! I may get the coverage down some to reduce my costs. Has anyone had to use Proper for a Claim? If so, how did that work?
We have a completely new company. Our former homeowner’s insurance even sent us a refund once the policy was cancelled. A local agent found New England Excess Exchange out of Burlington, VT that offers short-term rental coverage for owner-occupied homes. Here’s their website: https://neee.com/. Our policy nearly doubled, but it seems worth the peace of mind.
Although, I may be over-insured. Here in Massachusetts, the commonwealth is finally passing short-term regulation, mainly to tax it, but to also ensure that properties are properly insured. Airbnb’s insurance coverage has been referenced a few times, and I think that may be enough. But untangling a homeowner’s claim from sort-term rental claim might prove difficult, and homeowner’s run the risk of losing their homeowner’s insurance altogether if agency finds out they’re short-term renting.
This insurance is for homeowner-occupied properties in which the residence is your primary residence. Any other property would be probably be considered an investment property and may be subject to commercial insurance, even if it’s just a second home.
