How do you handle your Insruance?

Question

With airbnb and VRBO now offering 1 million in coverage how are you handling your homeowners policy? I have commercial policies on my VRs but I'm wondering if its worth the extra money??

Love to hear your thoughts!! Thanks :)

James Carlson · Answer

@Lucas Carl That is a question more people need to be asking. I have a few issues with the Airbnb coverage.

First off, a clarification. There are two coverage programs offered by Airbnb.

• Host Protection. This is supposedly a $1million insurance policy covering you against liability in the case of an accident on your property. A guest breaks their leg and you have to pay their medical bills. A guest starts a fire that damages the nextdoor neighbors' house and they sue you.
• Host Guarantee. This is $1million of coverage, but not technically insurance. I don't know the distinction. But this supposedly covers damage to your property caused by a guest. Guest breaks a chair. Guest stains a $1,000 sofa.

The Host Guarantee may work, but I've never tried it, and the fact that it's not actually insurance bothers me. Also, their coverage areas aren't as strong as other products. I know they don't cover bed bug extermination, for instance, which is always a risk with multiple guests coming in.

The Host Protection bothers me for a different reason. I haven't read through their coverage areas, but something tells me it might not be as strong as other policies. But also, it seems like Airbnb has a potential conflict of interest. Are they working on behalf of the guest -- who Airbnb wants to keep as a customer -- or the host. Also, you have to file the claim through Airbnb, not the carrier that is actually underwriting the policy.

For my peace of mind, I want to pay a little extra and get a policy that I know is working for me.

Oh, and be careful about talking to your regular homeowners' carrier. While more and more of them are coming up with short-term rental insurance products, most still don't offer something like that, and -- scarier -- they don't know what it is, so they might tell you you're covered when in fact you're not.

Ariel Smith · Answer

@James Carlson @Lucas Carl We have a pool & spa at the property so most times we have trouble with the guests leaving the heat on overnight or running it excessively. The first time was from this happening and the guest burned out the pump so we needed to replace it. It was about $600 and Airbnb ruled in our favor because we had instructions in the guidebook we sent for how to operate the pool/spa (and not to leave the heat on more than 90 mins) and the guest also communicated with us throughout her stay about the pool and STILL left it on to burn it out. She also stained the carpets so that was additional. We requested the funds from the guest directly (that is the process) and she kept saying she "would pay next week" but didn't so we involved Airbnb and they sided in our favor and paid us out within a few days.

The second time was because of a broken microwave handle and a broken door in the bathroom (from a party)

The third time was stains on the carpet from a pet

Each process pretty much went the same in that we took photos, documented, and did the repair work then reached out to the guest quickly via Airbnb letting them know the exact cost of the damage and sending the invoices. Both the second and third time the guest denied the damage so we involved Airbnb right away and they sided in our favor.

Gerald Grinter · Answer

@Lucas Carl...

@James Carlson just confirmed the $1MM question. As an insurance broker I am hearing this more and more. I leave all of my clients with this. You MUST look at this as a business. Airbnb does! Think like a business owner and protect yourself like it.

Ariel Smith · Answer

@Lucas Carl I have had experience using the Airbnb guarantee 3 different times so far. It has been a smooth process for me each time because I made sure to thoroughly document everything with photos and make sure all guest communication is through the Airbnb platform. Each time was decided in our favor rather quickly and we were reimbursed. We have not seen a need for any additional insurance coverage.

Michael Greenberg · Answer

@Lucas Carl I am currently looking at an offering from Allstate that extends my liability policy on my primary residence to my investment homes.  Pretty cool!  You may also check out slice.is (website).  They are an up and coming insurance offering, very unique and I'm considering this as well but they are not in my market just yet.

Mike

@Lucas Carlundefined

Myka Artis · Answer

I've only heard a couple of success stories with the Airbnb insurance coverage so I just got short term rental insurance through my homeowners insurance. I'll pay the extra money because I know it's guaranteed coverage. I heard the Airbnb & VRBO coverage is legit but they do give you a bit of a run around.

Andrew Wong · Answer

I've heard that AirBnB can have a long turnaround, which would suck, but always curious to hear more.

As with others, I get a little more reassurance from having my own policy.

Jon Crosby · Answer

I use Evolve who also has that $1M liability coverage included with each guest.  I already had $1M (non-umbrella) on my VR policy however and choose to keep it there just to be safe, it really doesn't cost that much for the extra piece of mind.  It's easy for the companies to offer that extra insurance but what the process is like to actually get it is hopefully something nobody has to go thru, so to be safe I prefer to have my insurance company to go thru as well in case it's a horrendous experience with the booking companies insurance process.

James Carlson · Answer

@Ariel Vincent That's great to hear. I have not had a lot of confidence in what Airbnb would do, but I also haven't spoken to many who actually had to touch base with them. Do you mind me asking what you had to ask for? And did you have pictures of items before the guest arrived to compare to after-pictures?

Have you had to use the Host Protection at all?

How do you handle your Insruance?

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