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A CBIZ rep sold me a liability insurance policy for my home with clear links to the fact that I was renting out rooms in my home 2 years ago. Now, I received a message from them with this:
We are completing a review for your upcoming renewal and per your online listing it appears that you renting out rooms instead of the entire home and there is shared space. Our underwriting guidelines list that there cannot be any shared spaces such as entrances, exits, bathrooms or kitchens. Unfortunately if there is shared space we would not be able to renew this policy and you would need to seek replacement insurance.
When I asked if he could give me a refund for selling me a policy that does not appear to cover anything then, he said, of course, No. All I can do is cancel the remainder of the insurance policy. I’m not exactly sure what it DOES cover in the meantime, because every time I asked a question he’d say, “I don’t know, you’d have to fill out a claim with our other department.”
Does anyone currently own their own home, free and clear, who has insurance that really covers an Airbnb where you share space? If so I would love to know the name of the company your using in Seattle.
@cs2015 lives in the house she rents via Airbnb. She said that her insurance company will not provide liability insurance if she continues to rent a portion of her house via Airbnb if there are shared spaces. If she relied on the Airbnb liability insurance, she would not have liability coverage for anything that happened that didn’t involve an Airbnb guest. As an example if she had a dinner party and one of her friends tripped and fell she wouldn’t have coverage. Homeowner liability policies also cover incidents away from the property of one of the named insureds is at fault. It would be imprudent for @cs2015 to go without liability coverage except for Airbnb related incidents.
Helsi; my insurance includes liability insurance to 15 million. And it’s exactly for situations like people hurting themselves in my home…it’s an add on I specifically had to ask for that comprises rather a large amount of the premium.
@cs2015 there are companies covering Airbnb-style home sharing. The question will be whether they operate in your state. Let me do a bit of research, although I think it’s been discussed on this forum, too. It’s ever-changing, though.
@cs2015 look at the other thread happening right now called insurance problems. It starts out with a renter specific question but lots of good info there.
Contact several independent insurance agents in your area about this. They are free to find a company to take care of this. A national company has far less flexibility.
True!! I have a local underwriter in the Adirondack mountains where part time owner-occupied / part time holiday rentals have been a way of life for decades. When I called national chains they didn’t know what I was talking about.
I don’t know if this is worldwide, but Air DOES provide liability insurance in addition to their host guarantee thingy.
The Host Protection Insurance programme covers landlords and homeowners associations in many cases when claims are brought against them because a guest suffers injury during a stay." https://www.airbnb.co.uk/host-protection-insurance
You don’t have to do anything, it is automatic and included in the host fees.
The original poster lives in the house he/she rents via Airbnb. If she relies on Airbnb’s liability coverage as her sole liability coverage; she will not have coverage for incidents that don’t involve Airbnb guests.
I did this when my homeowner’s insurance was originally cancelled for opening an Airbnb and found CBIZ. No local company will cover. I looked into Slice as well. I asked for estimate from Proper, they too said no shared homes. Anyone running an Airbnb right now with just their regular homeowner’s insurance will likely find out that their insurance does NOT cover paying guests because you’re home is being run as a business and needs a commercial insurance policy like that of a hotel or professional Airbnb.
Everyone knows that Airbnb “host guarantee” is highly suspect and that it is extremely difficult to make them pay. There’s a ton of stories on Airbnb Hell’s Host stories about this.
My homeowner insurance is with Safeco. I asked the broker in writing if we would have coverage for Airbnb guests. She said that we have liability for our Airbnb guests but not for guests of Airbnb guests. I ask her every year to acknowledge in writing that Safeco knows that we are still renting our spare room via Airbnb. I had much more trouble keeping coverage due to my (sweet, friendly, wonderful) pit bull mix than I did because of Airbnb.
This is true but you should have your own home insurance regardless of Air and the Air liability coverage is automatic, so you should be covered either way.
