I spoke to my long time agent this morning about the possibility of being an Airbnb host.
He checked with the underwriter and it is State Farm policy to cancel policies if you accept short term rentals.
That is true. Short-term rentals is a business, and a HO policy is not designed or priced to cover business activity.
If you have a shared-space such as we do, you will have to purchase a commercial bed-and-breakfast type policy. Our regular HO cost $950 and our bnb commercial policy costs about $1,700.
If you have a stand-alone unit, you will have many more options.
My State Farm agent said that I could rent no more than 50% of the time (180 days per year). So I am looking for new insurance… @demooney – where did you find your insurance?
I’m in Pasadena, CA – near Los Angeles – where did you find your bnb insurance? I am looking because my State Farm agent said that if I rent more than 50% of the time (180 days per year) than my insurance will be void. I appreciate any leads – and yes, I know it will cost more 
Thanks for any suggestions and insights you can offer – LIa
Lia - I well know your feelings!!
Being in business less than 3 years you will have to use the ‘non-standard’ mkt so price will be the same regardless of the agent. You will be insured by Lloyds of London.
I have enjoyed working with my agent, Scott Roberts at RPS. He is in Washington State. 425-786-9740. scott@trcisu.com.
Good luck! Airbnb sells its ‘we are the world’ philosophy well, and makes it so easy to get into business that we often don’t realize until we are into it that it IS a business.
I was able to insure the property through a broker in Nashville. The policy was written by a company called Proper. King and Associates is the broker and they specialize in vacation rental property in the Southeast.
I actually wound up with more insurance at a better price.
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hooray for you!! This post must be 20…
Hi LiaGarry,
Have you found an insurer that works for you? We are building a new insurance platform here in the bay area specifically for AirBnB hosts called Comet, and would love to chat with you and see how we might be able to help. Let us know if you would like to connect by responding here and we would be happy to reach out via phone or email 
Thanks,
IZ
Does this insurance only work in California?
We are currently only in California but which state/country are you in? We have a list that we would like to expand to and can keep you in the loop as we go along.
I’m in Hawaii…