All Homeowners policies carry a “business activity exclusion.” In other words, any claim at a property conducting business activity (like short-term renting) could rightfully be denied, even if the claim isn’t directly related to the business itself.  Additionally, if the property is not your primary residence, you absolutely have the wrong insurance and we strongly encourage you to call an insurance agent, share your Airbnb listing, and explain that this is not your primary residence.

It may be suggested that you add a “Home Sharing Endorsement” to your Homeowners policy to address some of the policy’s liability gaps. This endorsement should only be offered if the property is your primary residence and slightly expands the coverage to include some risks associated with short-term renting, but it is unlikely to provide the full protection needed for a short-term rental.

A Homeowners policy with a Home Sharing Endorsement is weak coverage at best for a short-term rental.

Dwelling/Landlord insurance may not provide adequate coverage for the unique risks associated with short-term rentals as it was primarily designed for long-term rental properties.

Short-term rentals face specific challenges and exposures, such as higher guest turnover, which can lead to increased risk of property damage or liability claims.

A Dwelling/Landlord insurance policy will offer some level of protection, but there are gaps present in areas crucial for short-term rental operations. 

Three of the biggest limitations include: coverage that is confined to incidents that happen on your property line; limited to no coverage for damage, theft or vandalism caused by guests; low limits for income protection if your property is unable to be short-term rented during a covered loss.

Additional limitations you should be aware of are lack of coverage for special amenities (like bikes, kayaks, golf carts, etc.), inadequate liability limits, as well as lack of protection for bed bugs, squatters, liquor liability, pet and animal liability, and more. 

Personal umbrellas carry personal liability, which are designed to respond to your personal negligence. It does not respond to business activity like a short-term rental.

Additionally, personal umbrellas will not respond until the base policy, like a Homeowners or Landlord policy, is completely exhausted. If your base policy isn’t aligned to protect you from the risks of your short-term rental, unfortunately, your personal umbrella will not activate.

The Proper policy typically replaces the need for the personal umbrella when purchased to protect your short-term rental business because we offer Commercial General Liability coverage that has no sub-limit on medical payments, meaning that if a guest gets hurt or you get named in a lawsuit, you would have $1,000,000 to respond, with the option to upgrade to $2,000,000 per occurrence. 

Airbnb’s AirCover Damage Protection is more like a warranty program. They first make you contact the guest for proof of what happened. If the guest says, “It wasn’t me,” and refuses to pay for the damage, etc., then Airbnb has the complete authority to decide whether to pay that claim.

Airbnb’s AirCover Damage Protection explicitly states that it is not insurance, and because you are not listed as the insured, you have no policy rights meaning you are completely at their digression.

Unfortunately, many hosts have come to the hard realization after a claim that they have no power with Airbnb’s Aircover. Additionally, Airbnb’s Aircover does not extend coverage beyond their booking platform, so if you ever short-term rent directly to a guest, use Vrbo, Booking.com, or elsewhere, you don’t even have the supplemental hope of AirCover.

No, the Proper policy fully replaces your current coverage. You can confidently cancel your current Homeowners or Landlord policy and replace it with the Proper Insurance policy. Proper Insurance offers the most comprehensive coverage available for your property, liability, and business revenue and is far superior to a standard Homeowners or Landlord/Dwelling policy.