You will need specialist host liability insurance if you want to let out your property on Airbnb. In this post, we’ll be looking at what you need specialist insurance, why insurance you need and why could happen if you find you’re not covered.
Who Needs Insurance for an Airbnb?
You will need a dedicated policy whether you let:
- A single room in your home, or an annex
- The entirety of a property, such as a second home or a holiday home
- A smaller structure on your property, such as a shepherd’s hut, a glamping pod, or similar
Why Do You Need Specialist Insurance for an Airbnb?
A standard home insurance policy will not cover you if you let your property to paying guests using Airbnb. This is because there are numerous unique risks associated with letting members of the public stay on your property as paid guests, none of which will be included in your home insurance policy.
These risks include:
- Guests injuring themselves while staying on your property.
- Guests causing accidental damage, or even intentional malicious damage, whether to your property or any nearby properties or common areas.
- A guest damaging or losing their own property while staying on your property.
- A guest compromising your home security system (such as through accidentally leaving a door unlocked), resulting in theft or vandalism.
What Insurance Do You Need For an Airbnb?
If you want to let your property on Airbnb, you will need:
- Host Liability Insurance – This will cover you for any claims that may arise for loss, damage, or injuries guests experience while staying on your property. It can also cover damage caused by guests to other properties or common areas near your property.
- Host Damage Protection – This can cover any damages that guests cause to your own property or belongings. It can also cover instances of theft, whether a guest steals from your property, or they accidentally leave a door unlocked, making your property vulnerable to thieves.
- Second Home or Holiday Home Insurance – If you list a second home or a holiday home on Airbnb, a dedicated insurance policy can cover it for any leaks, fires, break-ins, or other incidents that occur while your property is unoccupied. Please note that a standard home insurance policy will not provide any cover if the property is unoccupied for extended periods.
What Happens If You Do Not Get Insurance For Your Airbnb?
Airbnb may require you to get some form of cover in place before you can list your property on their site. Beyond this, you have no legal obligation to get host liability insurance. However, if you do not get sufficient cover, you may face extensive costs, and even some legal difficulties, should something go wrong while a guest is staying at your property.
A guest could trip over a rug, or a wire, or a loose bit of carpet. They could injure themselves, or they could drop the expensive laptop they happened to be carrying at the time.
In either case, as the accident happened on your property, you may be held liable for their injury, or for the damage to their property. So, if the guest makes a claim against you, you could be responsible for covering all legal fees along with any compensation payments that may arise.
Also, as we pointed out above, a standard home insurance policy will not cover your property if it is left unoccupied for extended periods. And when a property is unoccupied, it is more vulnerable to vandalism and burglary, and small issues can quickly spiral into major disasters. For example, over time, even a small leak could result in severe water damage.
We Can Help You Get The Insurance You Need For Your Airbnb
If you want to let part of your property, or your full property on Airbnb, we are here to help.
We can help you understand the unique risks you face, and we can advise you on how to manage and mitigate these risks. We can then help you access the specialist insurance you need to cover your property on Airbnb, including host liability insurance, host damage protection, and comprehensive second home or holiday home insurance.