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There has been a bit of conversation about STR insurance and I am curious what percentage of hosts have specific STR (short term rental) insurance? My own insurance agent who covers my house and business tried to tell me I could get by with lower limits because Air and VRBO had me covered. So lots of misinformation out there IMO.
So please chime in!
0 voters
Thanks
RR
We need it. Not all of our bookings are via Airbnb, we’re on BDC and HA also.
If you rely on Airbnb to cover you, bear in mind that when you take a direct booking you have no cover at all, unless your household insurance extends your cover to renting out part of your home.
JF
I think the “I rely on my regular homeowner’s insurance” is one that could have a whole separate survey. We know that some homeowner’s policies do cover some types of STRs, such as live-in hosts, but many (probably most) do not, so there is some portion of those hosts are covered and some portion that aren’t covered and many don’t know for sure one way or another.
Also, the poll isn’t exactly anonymous, so I hope that no hosts are embarrassed to answer truthfully.
How so? I cannot see who voted for what, and I unchecked the box that said show peoples vote.
Am I missing something?
RR
Edit: Ok I can see who voted, and since we all voted the same at this point its clear what our votes are. I will see if I can edit that part out.
I chose “No #2” but I don’t rely on the Airbnb Insurance or Guarantee. I would try to get them to pay up if anything happened but don’t expect them to necessarily. If my homeowner’s were to offer supplemental, I would purchase it.
A few “reasons” I can offer for my risky choices are:
I think everyone would be prudent to have insurance for STR even though I don’t. This is not a choice I would argue that anyone else make.
My regular HO insurance has a rider for STR. So I answered #1, but it’s kinda #3.
Like KKC, I’d try to claim through Airbnb for any substantial damage but I wouldn’t be surprised if they left me high and dry.
@Brian_R170 Ok so now 12 votes but 5 commentators shown. So the vote is anonymous!
This would be awesome if we could get 100 plus votes for a better sampling.
RR
Please understand that it is likely to be skewed by the sample being hosts active here…
I know, thats why I am hoping for a bigger response, those of us most active seem to be most likely to carry the STR insurance wether stand alone or a rider to regular homeowners.
I started this because I see some regulars who are often telling people to make claim on STR insurance and I just do not think most hosts carry it.
RR
Just wondering if you checked your policy to see if you can be excluded due to rental or business activities. That is what scared me, even ruling out pay-for-use insurance like Slice, because the primary insurer can deny any claim whatsoever if they find out you violated the terms. It doesn’t matter if the claim is due to STR or happens when the house is not currently being rented.
Nope. My lips are sealed. I haven’t reported to them about my dog boarding or my Airbnb. One day I did see a vehicle parked on my street near my house with a logo of my insurance company and I wondered if they were checking me out. But nothing happened.
So if I ever have a claim and the insurer says we aren’t going to pay because you have an airbnb then I’ll figure out what’s next from there. I do expect that insurers will start offering Airbnb insurance. It can’t be more risky than insuring cars and drivers.
We have STR insurance with Foremost by Farmer’s and all of our personal properties with Farmer’s, all of our properties are also under a $2M umbrella with Farmer’s. Their rates are very good on STR.
I use homeowner STR insurance. It is very strict and about 50 percent more than regular home owner insurance. It was more difficult to find because I had a basement flood 2 years prior.
My current homeowners insurance covers rentals (but not tenants’ property) since it was rented as an apartment until I started BnBing. Unfortunately there are apparently no carriers offering STR insurance in Alaska, although my carrier does offer a STR rider to homeowners in their home state.
My insurance agent checks every month or so to see if she can find STR coverage but our state is so small that many insurers won’t write policies here, and I want keep all my insurance with one agent if possible (I have commercial vehicle and general liability for my tour business with the same agency).3
I know this is late to the game, but I have not carried separate insurance for my AirBnB guests…until my recent renewal policy explicitly excluded it. The newest copy of my policy spells it out in bold letters that if I do STR in my home (I am an in-home host) and there is any kind of claim/event I am not covered in any way, shape or form. So, I finally made the call to my insurance company and confessed, not knowing if I would be completely dropped or if I would have to drop hosting depending on the outcome of the call. I was initially told my homeowner’s insurance would probably double and I would have to have a totally separate liability policy to cover the rentals. That quote was quadruple what I am now paying. The reasons I was given were based on the fact that my home is on one of the barrier islands of North Carolina and all policies for the barrier islands have to be written through the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association - which my current policy is but I did not have rental coverage. I know this is long, sorry, but when the agent actually plugged in the numbers, it turned out that my annual premium is actually over $1,000 a year LESS and now I have coverage, in writing, for my AirBnB. I know this is a much debated topic on here and many hosts, like myself, have chosen to continue with our STR business without additional homeowner’s coverage but for those who are on the fence, please make sure you read your current policy and if you will be left high and dry in the case of a claim, investigate your options. We all know Air’s $1 million coverage is dubious. You might be surprised by what you learn. I sure was!
Interesting survey. As a long-term renter who’ve lived the harsh reality of landlord-tenant law for over a decade there’s no way I’m not carrying my own STR insurance. Moreover, as a condo rental if I can pick up $1m in coverage for under $250/year, why would I not have a second tier of insurance?
Are most hosts not carrying insurance renting out large homes where the premium is higher? Sounds like most common here is simply additional riders for occasional renting activity?
For those on homeowners policy I would just recommend having your attorney review the fine print. Having experienced a fire claim caused by tenants many years ago while still on a homeowners policy with renter clause I can honestly say I would not wish that experience on any one.
I have guest insurance. It’s backed by Lloyd’s, and it cost twice as much as regular homeowner’s insurance. It also has peculiar rules, such as no one under 19, no cooking, no food, and single occupancy only.
Getting it was a stretch. The year before I had a sewer back up and a basement flood. Although this counted as one claim, it definitely made things more difficult initially. Fortunately I had a most excellent agent.
One thing I have learned is that we’re dead without short-term rental homeowners insurance. Insurance companies are terminating standard H O policies if claims are filed with a short-term renter. It is extremely hard to find this insurance. I have been looking for quotes for two weeks and when I do find a company there are so many exclusions It makes me fear to switch from my good standard homeowners insurance policy. We stand the chance of getting terminated and paying for the claim out of our pocket.
Can anyone pass on the name of some STR insurance companies I live in Florida on the panhandle