AIRBNB INSURANCE FOR HOSTS
An Airbnb Insurance policy for hosts provided by Proper offers second-to-none coverage for the host’s building(s), personal property, business income, and commercial liability.
With trademarked insurance enhancements specific to Airbnb hosts, the Proper policy provides complete protection that replaces the host’s current homeowner’s or landlord’s policy.
Because there are no occupancy restrictions, the Proper policy works perfectly for hosts who advertise on Airbnb, Vrbo, and any other booking channel, including direct.
Proper Insurance Provides a Comprehensive Airbnb Insurance Policy
Because we developed our Airbnb insurance policy with no occupancy restrictions, full coverage is always in place.
This means you can use your property as an Airbnb or short-term rental, a mid-term or extended stay property, a long-term rental, personally, or even have periods of vacancy.
Proper’s Airbnb Insurance Policy Highlights
- Commercial policy designed to replace a homeowners or landlord policy
- Special cause of loss (all-risk) for the building and contents
- Replacement cost valuation building and contents (new for old)
- $1,000,000 of commercial general liability insurance standard
- Optional $2,000,000 of commercial general liability
- No limit on damage caused by a guest
- No limit on theft or vandalism by a guest
- Liquor liability coverage for the host
- Liability extended to amenities such as pools, hot tubs, bicycles, exercise equipment, small watercraft + more
- Actual loss sustained business income coverage with no time limit
- Squatter protection with legal fees and loss of income
- Mechanical, electrical, and pressure system breakdown
- Bed bug enhancement which triggers lost business income
It’s Important to Understand Airbnb Liability Insurance
Your biggest exposure as an Airbnb host is Airbnb liability insurance. At some point, if you host or short-term rent long enough, someone will be seriously injured at your property.
Because of this, Proper provides $1,000,000 in Airbnb liability insurance, and we encourage hosts to upgrade to $2,000,000 per occurrence, as a million dollars isn’t what it used to be.
Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Airbnb?
A California lawsuit details an Airbnb host rented her guest house occasionally, and a tree fell and damaged her property. Even though the property was not currently rented via Airbnb and the damage had nothing to do with a guest, the insurance claim was still denied. The insurance carrier enforced a rental exclusion found in her policy! Please note that these photos are not the actual photos of the insurance claim denial.
$120,000 Airbnb Homeowners Insurance Claim Denied
Some domestic insurance carriers offer a home-sharing endorsement as they do not want to lose business due to the Airbnb phenomenon, but buyers beware. These endorsements are limited in scope and only apply to a “residence premises” or a “primary residence,” meaning the place you live or reside in. They are not designed and do not cover a secondary investment property.
Virtually every community across the U.S. is beginning to regulate short-term rental properties. In virtually every new ordinance or law passed commercial insurance is a requirement for owners to receive a short-term rental permit. Why is that?
The reason is public safety. Commercial insurance provides a higher level of protection for not only the owner but the community as well. Airbnb activity is a business transaction, it’s being taxed like a business, and owners should carry business insurance. The Proper Insurance policy is a business policy and meets all short-term rental regulations.
Airbnb AirCover is the Elephant in the Room
Before Airbnb AirCover, there was the Airbnb Host Guarantee and the Airbnb Host Protection. Airbnb rebranded and wrapped everything into a new offering to all hosts in 2022. The problem is details, and insurance is all about the details. A question we can never answer is; if Airbnb Aircover is so great, then where are all the positive reviews?
The bottom line is all hosts still need home insurance as AirCover is not home insurance, so at best, we advise our clients to think of it as a backup to the Proper Insurance policy. Airbnb needs hosts and their inventory so AirCover is a great way to get hosts to list on the platform.
If you rent your Airbnb property long enough it’s just a matter of time before you encounter serious property damage or, worst case, a serious bodily injury claim. When that happens you want an insurance policy with your name on it, and you want the policy to respond to the property damage and/or defend you in a legal matter.
The best thing to do is read real Airbnb insurance reviews and make certain you have all reasonable exposure covered.
Secure Your Airbnb with Comprehensive Insurance Coverage
The moment your Airbnb listing goes live on the website, you have violated your homeowners or landlord insurance contract. Both contracts specifically exclude “business pursuits” and have a misrepresentation clause that states that the insurance contract is void if there is a misrepresentation from the insured. It’s a breach of contract.
Please, do not list your property on Airbnb until you have notified your insurance agent of exactly what you are doing and you have in writing from an underwriter that you are cleared and covered under your policy for both property damage and liability claims involving an Airbnb guest. In fact, sending your online listing to your agent is best.
Most agents will try and sell you a limited home-sharing endorsement only valid for “residence premises” or “primary homes,” or they will sell you a landlord policy branded as an Airbnb insurance policy. Not all insurance is created equal; you must ask tough questions and get answers.
The only way to comprehensively insure an Airbnb property is with a commercial policy that can entirely replace the coverage you have. The Proper Insurance policy was custom-penned for Airbnb properties.
Insurance Carriers Do Not Support the Airbnb Phenomenon
Don’t be fooled by Airbnb home-sharing endorsements, as they are limited in coverage and do not have the horsepower needed to insure your rental comprehensively.
Coverage Gaps: A term you often hear but rarely investigate. Typical coverage gaps, limitations, and exclusions found in our competitor’s insurance policies for Airbnb hosts would include:
- Intentional acts by a renter, such as vandalism and limits on theft or damage caused by a renter
- Liability exclusions such as liquor, animals/pets, punitive damages, communicable disease, amenities such as a hot tub, and no coverage extensions off-premise
- No business income loss, no coverage for an invasion of privacy claim, and personal liability only, which excludes business pursuits
- Limits on backup of sewers and drains, ordinance or law, and vacancy
- No property or liability coverage from bed bugs
Insurance for Airbnb Properties is Complicated
Insurance is complicated, but you add Airbnb rentals, which gets confusing. Our job at Proper Insurance is to demystify the insurance market, earn your trust, and get you into Proper coverage.
Most owners have “triple use” of their rental property. Periods throughout the year it’s being rented short-term, other periods it’s being used personally, and periods it’s likely unoccupied. This multi-use of a property creates big problems for insurance carriers. Underwriters like simple and predictable, which this is not!
To solve this problem, Proper Insurance removes all occupancy restrictions in insurance contracts and the vacancy clause. This provides full policy coverage for the Airbnb property at all times if used. There is no more worrying about a rider for this and a rider for that.
In addition, Proper created trademarked endorsements no other carrier offers, such as providing lost business income in case of a bed bug infestation at your property. The endorsement comes with a $15,000 limit and has no deductible. These are the types of custom coverage you get when you work with Proper.
Airbnb Host Protection
The “free” Airbnb Host Protection provides $1,000,000 of liability coverage to the host for every booking through the website. Unlike the Host Guarantee, this is an actual insurance policy. Unfortunately, there are many concerns and exclusions.
In 2022 Airbnb rebranded the Host Protection and Host Guarantee under the umbrella of AirCover. The biggest concern is the fact your name is not on the policy, meaning you are not a named insured, in turn providing you no policy rights. You are completely relying on Airbnb to provide the coverage in the event you are sued in a liability claim at your property.
The #BookDirect movement of course nullifies the $1,000,000 of Airbnb Host Protection. Plus, what happens when an Airbnb rental is used by the host personally or is unoccupied? The best thing to do is to have complete coverage from Proper Insurance, which offers coverage, 27/7/365, regardless of the property use.
Proper is a Complete Airbnb Home Insurance Provider
Airbnb hosts get different answers on homeowners insurance or home insurance depending on who they ask. Many agents suggest a homeowners policy with a rental rider, others think a dwelling or landlord insurance policy is superior. The truth is commercial insurance is the only way to get complete . Only commercial insurance has the horsepower needed to provide all the coverage.
When you entrust your property to a paying guest, you are opening yourself up to serious financial risks. On one side, the property itself is a huge asset that needs to be protected. What if a guest decided to throw a cigarette in a trash can which ultimately burns your entire property down? Is your insurance company going to rebuild your property no questions asked?
On the other side, you now have huge liability exposure as you are essentially operating a hotel business and are subject to hospitality laws. What if a guest falls down the stairs or off the deck and is seriously injured? You could be looking at a $1,000,000 lawsuit without including the cost of attorneys’ fees. Is your insurance company going to lawyer up and potentially settle a $1,000,000 claim?
We Offer The Best Insurance for Airbnb Hosts
Proper Insurance offers the best insurance for hosts. Think of it as homeowners insurance, landlord insurance, and business insurance all combined into one.
We offer special form (all-risk) coverage for both the building(s) and contents which is the best and broadest insurance coverage form offered today. We combine this with replacement cost valuation (new for old) which is also the best. Many carriers offer actual cash value which takes into account deprecation, so at claims time, you end up with a much smaller check. Think of an older roof that sustains hail damage. You want a new roof, not a check for the actual cash value of your old roof.
With trademarked liability endorsements specifically tailored to Airbnb exposure, no other insurance carrier comes close. hosts need the best and that’s what Proper offers. One example would be our liquor liability coverage. We are the only insurance provider for Airbnb hosts in the U.S. to entirely remove the liquor liability exclusion found in all commercial general liability forms.
A potential claims experience is why you are paying your insurance premium. Proper is the best reviewed Airbnb insurance provider online, with dozens of positive claims reviews found on BBB, Yelp, Facebook, Google, and many others.
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Resources
Understanding the Intricacies of Rental Arbitrage: A Guide for Beginners
A Guide to Mid-Term Rentals for Short-Term Rental Owners
Understanding When a Guest Becomes a Tenant
