Airbnb and Homeowner's Insurance

[hedge]

We would like to rent our house out for 2-4 weeks a year and rent an extra bedroom out as often as it will work. I asked my Homeowner's insurance agent (State Farm) about whether I would be covered (by going through Airbnb) and this was his response:

I confirmed with our Underwriting and Claims departments that no coverage would extend to your home while it was rented out to others. We would highly discourage you from doing it. We were blocked from reviewing the web site, however I would be very cautious on depending on their insurance to cover a loss at your home.

Airbnb claims to not cover liability (https://www.airbnb.com/help/question/296):

1. Does my homeowner’s or renter’s insurance cover instances in which a guest or other third party is injured at my listing?

Some insurance policies protect homeowners and renters from certain lawsuits that result from injury to a visitor. Since the coverage contained in those policies varies, we recommend you confirm with your insurance provider that your rental activity is covered under your current policy before listing your space.

2. Does Airbnb offer liability coverage?

Airbnb does not offer liability coverage.

3. What is an Umbrella policy?

Umbrella policies often extend your liability insurance coverage beyond your minimum coverage for a fee. We recommend you discuss this with your insurance provider.

So my question is should I just get another homeowner's insurance policy? I don't think 2-4 weeks while I'm gone warrants a huge policy, especially given that we would be gone anyways.

[SnackDog]

If anything bad happens to a renter while in your house, you could be sued for a great deal of money.

[hedge]

Yes I can see that however I'm wondering if I can either get a different policy or have them sign a waiver of liability. If not Airbnb is for people who take on an enormous risk without knowing it.

[SnackDog]

A waiver of liability is not worth the paper on which it is printed. Such things are typically just to discourage people from making claims.  If they are hurt bad enough a lawyer will be involved and the waiver will be shredded.

[hedge]

I ended up going with Allstate because they agreed to insure the house with limited rentals

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[Argyle]

In my experience the problem is not so much whether they're hurt at your house as what they might do to your house.  I've rented out my house several times in a similar arrangement.  The last person did thousands of dollars worth of damage.  Since then I've known two people who had similar experiences.  All of these renters came with good recommendations.  So be sure you're covered for damage to your house and possessions.

[hedge]

Airbnb has an insurance policy for damage so I think I'm covered there too

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[P1]

I'm an insurance agent and just as a notice to others, your main home owners policy in general will not under any circumstances provide you any coverage if you rent the home out. Getting short term/seasonal rental coverage can be a pain as many major carriers do not offer it. I've never worked for All State though but if it worked for the OP then sounds like they will offer coverage for limited rentals. Would be curious to see how limited that is

[hedge]

Here is the quote from the email:

REPLY FROM UNDERWRITING:
The customer is fine renting their house out a few weeks per year. This would be not be construed as a business. We talked about this with Claims Management a few years ago when the Super Bowl was at Jerry World and it was fine.

So I'm doing it a few weeks a year and this is not a business, so we're fine. I'm also renting out a spare room, which is covered and isn't a concern.

I called a lot of insurance companies and most wouldn't even talk about it. One talked about it but quoted me thousands of dollars more per year than what I was paying.