Airbnb Insurance

Renting out a room in your home or an excess space on Airbnb can help you earn a little extra cash on the side. But it’s important to know that your home is protected when you have guests. Though Airbnb offers limited protection, you may want to enhance your coverage with extended insurance options. Explore your choices with Benzinga’s guide to Airbnb insurance. 

Types of Airbnb Insurance?

Maintaining insurance is crucial if you’re renting out your space — not only to protect your home and personal property from damage but also to protect your family against injury liability claims. Depending on your situation and the type of property you’re renting, you might need more than one type of insurance protection. 

1. Airbnb Host Protection

Airbnb offers its AirCover host protection to every host that uses the app. AirCover offers coverage for: 

• $3 million in host damage protection 
• $1 million in host liability insurance 
• $1 million in  emergency liability protections

Airbnb Host Protection also includes access to a 24/7 helpline as well as guest verification services before they arrive at your property. Airbnb Host Protection is included free of charge when you book a guest through the Airbnb platform. 

1. Airbnb Host Guarantee

Airbnb’s Host Guarantee (now sometimes referred to as a portion of the Airbnb Host Protection Plan) is a type of limited property protection insurance you receive as an approved Airbnb host. The Airbnb Host Guarantee offers property damage liability coverage that helps replace the depreciated value of your things if a guest destroys or damages them while staying in your space. 

Keep in mind that the Host Guarantee protection is not a replacement for homeowners insurance and will not cover valuables like fine art and jewelry. It also does not provide protection for cash and other tangible investments (like gold bullion) that you store on your property. 

1. Homeowners Insurance

No matter how often you use Airbnb, you’ll need a comprehensive homeowners insurance policy to fully protect yourself as a property owner. Homeowners insurance helps compensate you for damage done to your personal property and your dwelling in the event of a covered peril. Some commonly covered perils that homeowners insurance can protect you against include fires, vandalism and electrical storm damage. 

Your homeowners insurance alone will not provide adequate coverage if you rent out a portion of your home through Airbnb. But when used in conjunction with Airbnb’s protections, your homeowners insurance will provide important protections for the day-to-day liabilities you face. Be sure to review your homeowners insurance policy for clauses and caveats that limit coverage when you rent out a portion of your primary home. 

1. Commercial Property Insurance

If you own a commercial property that you regularly rent out to short-term guests (like a hostel or investment property you’ve formatted for multiple guests), you’ll need commercial property insurance. The protections you’ll find on a commercial property insurance policy are similar to those you’ll see on a homeowners insurance plan, including property and liability protections. Commercial property insurance policies are specialized to fit the needs of spaces you don’t live in full-time.

Commercial property insurance is typically more expensive than homeowners insurance, so it usually doesn’t make sense to purchase unless the space you’re renting out is entirely commercial in nature. Commercial insurance plans also usually include higher limits on coverage, which small and medium-sized hospitality businesses will need.

If you use Airbnb in conjunction with a hospitality business, you may want to consider a business owner’s policy (BOP). A BOP combines commercial property insurance, general liability insurance and sometimes business income loss together under a single policy. A BOP allows you to save on each individual coverage through bundling and provides you with a more manageable monthly premium. 

1. Umbrella Insurance

Every insurance policy includes upper coverage limits that dictate the total maximum payout your insurer will provide in the event of a total loss. If you own a high-value property or you have unique liability concerns, you can purchase umbrella insurance to add to your home or commercial property insurance.

Umbrella insurance policies are add-ons that extend your coverage to better fit your unique needs. For example, you might have a homeowners insurance policy with a general liability insurance limit of $1 million. You might be able to purchase an umbrella insurance policy that extends coverage to $5 million for a few extra dollars a month. Essentially, umbrella insurance helps extend benefits when you’ve exhausted other coverage.  

How Much Does Airbnb Insurance Coverage Cost?

Many of the protections you’ll receive through Airbnb are free when you book guests through the platform. For example, the $3 million in personal property damage protection included with AirCover comes free of charge for all hosts. Coverage for these insurance protections is partially funded by the fees you pay to Airbnb when booking through the platform — so don’t expect coverage if you book outside of your Airbnb account.

No matter how you rent, it’s a good idea to purchase some form of liability protection when hosting guests. Liability insurance helps you cover the cost of legal expenses and court-ordered judgements in the event that a tenant or guest sues you for an injury or property damage. Some of the factors that will determine the cost of your liability insurance can include:

• Your location
• Distance to local emergency services (like police or fire station)
• Upper coverage limit
• Riders to cover high-value items
• How often you rent your space
• How your space is divided and which parts guests have access to

The specific type of insurance protection you’ll need to complement Airbnb’s host protections might vary depending on the type of property you’re renting and how often you have guests. Consult with a local insurance expert to learn more about the coverages that Airbnb provides to hosts in your state and how you can best bridge any gaps in coverage left over.  

Compare Homeowners Insurance Options

The best homeowners insurance company for your home or rental property might vary depending on where you live and how you rent it out. Benzinga offers insights and reviews on the following home insurance providers. Consider continuing your search with a few of the links below. 

Frequently Asked Questions