Best Insurance Practices for Vacation Rental Hosts 

As a vacation rental host, it’s vital that you protect your properties with a great insurance policy. Vacation rental insurance coverage varies greatly from both business-use and homeowners policies, so it’s important to get a policy tailored to your intended use case.

If you’re not sure where to begin, there’s no need to worry. We’ve got you covered! Below are seven insurance best practices that every vacation rental host needs to know: 

Understand Your Insurance Needs

Your first step involves assessing your insurance needs. Vacation rental properties have unique risks that standard homeowners insurance policies may not cover. For instance, a typical homeowners policy might exclude coverage for short-term rentals, leaving you vulnerable to potential losses. 

Thoroughly review your current policy, paying special attention to any limitations or exclusions mentioned in your agreement. There’s a good chance that your homeowners policy does not protect against business use or cover incidents associated with short-term rental use. 

But what does that imply? For one, it means you’ll be on the hook for any damages that occur to your home while short-term guests are occupying it. You could also face a lawsuit if one of your guests gets injured. And if the property becomes uninhabitable, you’ll lose your rental income, too.

Identify Any Gaps in Your Coverage

Review your homeowners insurance policy to identify any gaps in coverage. Pay special attention to the following areas of your policy:

• Liability Coverage: Ensures you’re protected if a guest is injured on your property and decides to sue 
• Property Damage: Covers damage to your home caused by guests, such as broken furniture or vandalism
• Loss of Income: Compensates you for lost rental income if your property becomes uninhabitable due to a covered event, like bed bug remediation.

If you have a business-use policy, review that, too. These types of policies typically apply if you are using your home as a traditional long-term rental, which means they may not cover short-term rental usage. And even if they do, there are most likely gaps, so you need to know what you are and aren’t protected against. 

Make Sure You Have the Right Kind of Policy

After you’ve assessed your needs and identified any shortcomings in your current policy, it’s time to upgrade. Vacation rental hosts like yourself need a short-term rental insurance policy. 

The best vacation rental insurance policies will cover everything from legal and medical expenses to damage caused by guests. More importantly, though, they’ll offer loss of income benefits, meaning you’ll receive compensation if your home is temporarily uninhabitable due to damage. (Note: Safely only covers loss of income due to bed bug remediation).

As such, a solid short-term coverage plan will give you peace of mind while you host temporary guests. You can focus on providing them with a great experience and earning positive reviews on popular rental platforms instead of worrying about whether your home is being taken care of. 

Don’t Rely on Your Homeowners Coverage

One of the worst mistakes you can make as a vacation rental host is to fall victim to the “It will never happen to me” mindset. If you’ve been renting out your properties without the right coverage, it’s a matter of “if” something bad will happen, but “when.” 

Eventually, someone will get hurt at one of your rentals and decide to file a lawsuit. That, or they may accidentally damage your home, costing you thousands in out-of-pocket expenses. 

You don’t want to rely on a homeowners insurance policy to protect your rentals. Doing so is an incredibly risky proposition that will threaten your long-term profitability and expose you to unnecessary liability. You need to protect your investments with vacation rental insurance. 

Regularly Inspect Your Rental Properties

After selecting the right policy, your focus should shift to maintaining your properties. You’ll need to file any claims that arise in a timely manner so you can take advantage of the protection your insurance provides while also ensuring future guests have a pleasant experience. 

Always inspect your rental properties in between guest visits. Even if a guest only spends one or two nights there, you should thoroughly inspect everything, from major systems and appliances to amenities like pools and any other features of the home that guests frequently interact with. If something is out of place, fix it right away. 

Install Safety Features

A vacation rental insurance policy will protect against lawsuits and other claims associated with a guest’s injury. Be that as it may, you still owe your guests a safe environment. To that end, equip your rental properties with modern safety features to help reduce the likelihood of an accident. Doing so will also demonstrate that you did everything in your power to prevent injury to your guests.

Maintaining a modern home with the latest safety features can also help keep your insurance rates down, as you’ll be less likely to file a claim if your home has safety features and other protections. 

Maintain Proper Documentation of All Rental Features 

If you need to file a claim, you’ll need to provide supporting documentation detailing the condition of key features, appliances, and equipment. Therefore, it’s important to maintain accurate records of your rental properties’ features and amenities. If you install a new appliance, upgrade one of the rooms, or equip the home with desirable features like a pool, retain records and photographs of those add-ons.

You also need to update your insurance company about any changes you make to the home. Adding certain amenities, like a pool or hot tub, can change your insurance rates and necessitate a higher coverage threshold. Staying up to date with your insurance company will ensure you have enough protection against damage or liability claims. 

Obtain a Vacation Rental Insurance Quote Today 

If you don’t have insurance for vacation rentals, it’s time to remedy that issue. Safely offers flexible policies for vacation rental hosts so you can enjoy peace of mind while also generating short-term rental income revenue. 

Our team specializes in providing coverage for property managers who oversee ten or more short-term rental properties. Request a quote today, and one of our specialists will be in touch with a custom policy!