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Think there’s more than that @Helsi, a lot of the LTR companies will quote, even though they don’t appear to advertise.
Our Airbnb property in Glasgow was LTR, then we went STR, and the insurers were happy to amend the policy even though they don’t offer STR on their web site.
I agree with you re the US, it does seem odd that a country that size has such a limited supply of affordable STR insurance.
JF
It is indeed surprising! And it varies state by state - USAA told me they were able to write some kind of policy in most states except Massachusetts, Florida and maybe a couple of other places. So it really depends on location. One of our local agents told me I was their second only call asking to put an STR policy in place.
We have this policy. It was less than half what Proper quoted us. (Only available in Texas.)
https://www.hpfm.com/products/business-insurance-bed-breakfast
That’s where I ended up too.
I’m in California. Very few companies offer STR insurance. I’m with Safeco. I think Chubb is another one.
Yes, Slice.is - we used and loved what they covered and the fact they only charged us for nights we had guests. It came to more like $6 a night. They do ask for guest contact details but you don’t have to fill it out. You can leave it blank and skip to the next step.
I don’t know if their insurance meets the requirements if you’re in an area where the regulations mandate that you have insurance. But here’s a list of what they cover.
What we liked about it is that it’s on-demand. You can order right now and you’re insured from that moment. And it covers a lot of stuff, all kinds of damages guests might do to you and others. It provides liability coverage and it basically covers you everywhere Airbnb wouldn’t.
And it covers things traditional insurance doesn’t, like excessive utilities usage (up to $1,000), infestation coverage (up to $5,000). So, if you get bed bugs and have to pay a lot of money to an exterminator, this will cover it.
It also prevents you from having to contact Airbnb, risking bad reviews from your guests in the process, if they break or damage something. You just contact Slice and tell them what happened and it should be covered.
What I didn’t like about it is that it’s not tied into Airbnb at all. So, when you have a reservation, you can’t set it up so it automatically covers you for those days. In other words, when you have a reservation you have to remember to go in and purchase coverage for those days. For that reason, I’m guessing it probably wouldn’t pass muster in those areas where regulations require insurance because it would be too easy to forget to cover a night or two when you have a guest staying with you.
But for all others I think it’s great. It brought us tremendous peace of mind.
I’m noticing that nobody in this thread has answered this valid question.
There’s a lot here about rental permits requiring insurance, price and what company to choose.
But I have the same question as Rachael. Please share a situation in which this insurance has actually helped and paid up.
In my experience with similar insurance once you introduce a claim they will do everything possible not to pay, citing loopholes like something missing in your house rules or other technicalities.
So to get back to the question: has anyone ever made a claim and gotten a satisfactory result with this kind of insurance?
Yes, that is the question isn’t it! And no, I never did have to make a claim. So I honestly can’t say if they deliver.
However, a couple of years ago I went back to my marketing work, and I actually just ended up working on a marketing project for them a couple of months ago. They’re specializing in the gig economy and they’re also planning to begin offering rideshare insurance for Uber/Lyft drivers soon. They want to use their same pay-for-what-you-use model. Meaning they charge hosts only for the nights they’re hosting. They would charge rideshare drivers either only for the hours they drive or based on how many miles they drive.
When I first started working with them I told them I had used them for host insurance and really liked their understanding of the market. I then asked them though, how they possibly could cover all those things because it seems it would be so easy for hosts to lie and file claims for things that hadn’t really happened.
They said in essence, that they have their ways. They did tell me that claims had been below their original expectations. So apparently, whatever they’re charging it’s enough to cover more claims than they’ve had so far. I did ask them what some of their “ways” were to prevent fraudulent claims and it was pretty interesting actually. They hired some expert from Harvard who gave them all kinds of things they could do to detect and minimize false claims.
My impression after working with them is that they’re legit and that they’ll keep their promises. I can tell you - they did pay me for my work without any problem… for whatever that’s worth!
Thank you @JonYork I have been interested in trying Slice and your comments were really helpful. I live in an area that doesn’t require coverage so think it might be the best bet for me. I am trying to confirm one more thing before using it. If I claim something with them, do they notify or coordinate the claim with my home owner’s insurance at all? For example, if I claim because a guest damages something on the property or gets injured on the property - are they going to call my regular insurance company and try to share the cost/ coordinate it? I can’t quite get a clear picture of that from their website (or maybe am a little untrusting). Any insight would be appreciated.
@JJD That’s a good question and I’m not sure of the answer. I would be surprised if they do require that. My guess would be that they don’t. But can’t say for sure.
You can contact them through their site though, they’ll talk to you in person and you can ask. If you do do that, let us know back here what they say.
Thanks! I will ask and report back.
Neophyte confusion…perhaps someone can help me. We’ll converting our summer home to a vacation rental, getting it listed in about a month. I understand what STR insurance provides, and I reviewed Slice, which seems fantastic (my quote was $7.25 / night). I also understand you have to check with your city/town/municipality to determine what they require. My situation is short term rental, I’m guessing we’ll rent about 100-150 days per year (multiple tenants), we will occupy it ourselves about 30 days, and it will of course be vacant the remaining time. At present we have plain, old homeowners insurance (very pricey because it’s unoccupied 11 months of the year at present). Two fundamental questions:
If I get STR Insurance, is that a replacement for my current homeowners insurance or is it in addition to my current homeowners insurance?
I’ve read where regular homeowers insurance is basically voided if they find out you’ve been using your home as short term rental. So for anyone that uses Slice, what coverage do you have when you property is unoccupied or occupied by you? (it would seem you need Slice + regular homeowners insurance).
Any help appreciated.
My commercial policy completely replaced my residential one.
Hi, I am in Texas. How are you likng this ins. Can you share your agent. I am in Texas and shoping insurance
Thanks
Darn, they told me they only do rural. Im in the city of Irving.
Hi. We went with Allstate. Initially we had Lloyds of London but it was ridiculously expensive. We are fine with Allstate and even though we are paying more than we used to, we feel more secure.
In case it’s of interest, we ended up with Lloyd’s of London, but might be able to switch over to Vermont Mutual soon, and hopefully save a few bucks. We are located in Massachusetts.
Please do keep us updated. It’s going to be very interesting to see what insurance does in the next few months. I wouldn’t be surprised if the market for STR insurance contracts rather than expands. Lack of coverage may be the last straw for many Airbnb hosts.