Do vacation rentals need special insurance coverage?

As a short-term rental owner, is there insurance when a guest damages your home? Does your personal homeowner's insurance cover damages?

A great way to generate some extra income is by owning a second home in a resort town and renting it out for additional income. This is a great way to put a little extra cash in your pocket. However, when something goes wrong for your renters, this can cause major stress for homeowners. If a toilet overflows causing flooding or heaven forbid, your renters cause damage to your property it can be a logistical nightmare for the homeowner. What is the second homeowner to do? Does your personal homeowner's insurance cover these damages? Should you go through your rental websites such as Airbnb or VRBO? These issues can cause a lot of stress for landlords. Many times second homeowners may live far away or even in a different state. Welcome to the what if's of managing a home through the online vacation rental marketplace.

When renting out a cabin, you do have insurance options.

So many families buy second homes in ski towns like Big Bear Lake, California with the hope of renting them out. Popular online vacation rental companies like Airbnb can make the rental process easy. It may sound like a simple way to produce some extra income. When purchasing that ski cabin amidst the pines of the San Bernardino Mountains many homeowners don't think about what kind of insurance do you need for your short-term rental property? Many second homeowners may not even be aware that companies like Airbnb and HomeAway offer their own insurance policies.

Airbnb's Host Protection is here to help

I decided to rent out my home through Airbnb a few years back. After months of successfully profiting off of my vacant second home, I had no idea what to do when a guest purposely damaged my home. Should I use my personal homeowner's insurance? Should I contact Airbnb and open a claim?
My mountain retreat under the tall Jeffrey Pines near Big Bear Lake was my serene cabin to escape to. I decided to rent it out to skiers and travelers for some extra income one ski season. After my renter moved out, I discovered my furniture was vandalized. My carpet was destroyed and the whole cabin (A non-smoking property) reeked of cigarettes. It was thousands of dollars worth of damage. I was so shocked (and pleased) when I called my rental agency, Airbnb, to hear about their host protection policy.

Short-term rental insurance plans to the rescue

Your second home is your sanctuary. What do you do when a guest damages your property?
When listing a home you have purchased for rental through companies like Airbnb their host protection program takes all the guesswork out of what to do if you have to make an insurance claim. This program acts as primary insurance and provides liability coverage to hosts and if applicable also to their landlords. When my property was vandalized by a renter, this insurance policy came to my rescue.
It's always a good idea to let your personal insurance carrier know about rental activity in any space you own. This means whether you are renting out a spare room or that vacant motorhome sitting in your driveway. An insurance policy like Airbnb's host protection policy automatically applies to every Airbnb reservation. On the off chance, you do need to process a claim, they can be filed directly through Airbnb.

Online vacation rental marketplace offers more insurance than you would expect

VRBO or HomeAway is another popular way to rent out that mountain cabin you own, just sitting vacant. HomeAway offers a $1,000,000 liability insurance plan. This provides owners and property managers with plenty of liability protection for all those trips booked through the HomeAway checkout. If something goes wrong with your renter experience, and trust me, it could, this gives you $1,000,000 in primary liability coverage. That is at no additional cost to you. This could be a lifesaver for you and your property if you don't already have a liability policy.
Airbnb's Host Guarantee and Host Protection Insurance are included for every booking. This covers up to $1,000,000 under each program. If you have a short-term rental property and have any issues pop up there is no worry. You just need to contact Airbnb support about their insurance protection program. Their global support is available twenty-four-seven in eleven different languages.

Insurance protection is even offered for experience/adventure hosts like me!

If a hiker takes a fall on one of my scenic hikes, it's good to know Airbnb's Experience Protection Policy has my back!

Short-term vacation rental companies may offer better insurance protection than you would suspect. I work as a local hiking guide in Big Bear Lake California. I had no idea that if a guest takes a fall or rolls an ankle on one of my scenic guided hikes, Airbnb actually has Experience Protection Insurance. Heaven forbid if a guest hiker gets hurt this helps my guests get the help they need. This removes the stress off my back, as the hiking guide. Not only that but as the host, if I get hurt while taking guests on any of my experiences from my snowshoeing tour to my snow play adventure, Airbnb insurance policies will be there to help.

As a rental homeowner and as an Airbnb experience host, it's great to know that there is actually insurance in place to help me out, if I or my guests have bodily injuries during an experience . I love the fact that these vacation rentals by owner companies help out homeowners by providing additional insurance coverage. That way if something were to go wrong with your short-term rental property from legal responsibilities to guest's property or belongings damaged to an injury during an experience, the homeowner has less stress to worry about.

This article was contributed by Amber Woodyard, Big Bear’s hiking, adventure, AirBnB experience expert and nature guide. For more info and contact information please visit Amber's website/blog http://hungrymountaineer.com/ .