Crazy Vacation Rental Insurance Claims: Dent Stand On The Dryer

Manic Monday – A Dryer Dent

You know how they say never judge a book by its cover? Well, just because it’s said, doesn’t mean we haven’t all done it. And when it comes to short-term rentals, judging on appearance is part of the game. In fact, according to Airbnb, short-term rental listings with professional photos get 20% more reservations.

With that in mind, it’s expected that a short-term rental host would be just as concerned about cosmetic damage to their property as they would about any other kind of damage – which brings us to our latest Manic Monday story. While this story isn’t as exciting as others we’ve shared in the past, it does teach us a few things about our claims process and our coverage. Let me explain.

Acci-dents Happen

This specific claim came in for $1,386.65, citing damage to the rental property. The description said:

“The guest stated that the bottle of laundry detergent fell behind the washer. When the guest got on top of the dryer to get the laundry detergent that had fallen, it caused a dent in the unit. Our staff tried to “plunge it” to fix the dent, but unfortunately it was unsuccessful.”

Personally, I think this claim does a good job of showing how we prioritize our customers and their needs. If we know that guests judge properties based on their appearance, the last thing we would want to do is to deny our homeowners and property managers a way to provide the best guest experience. And while this claim is no teenage rager or roof jumper, it does touch on a few points which I think would be helpful to share.

Dent Worry, You’re Covered

For starters, you may be wondering if the dent on the dryer had any impact on the function of the machine, which it didn’t. But was it still covered? Yes. The thing is, because this incident resulted in significant cosmetic damage from the guest, the function of the machine doesn’t necessarily matter. And, because there was no real way to fix the dent, we ended up covering the cost to replace the entire machine.

Another example of a situation like this would be if a guest happened to cause a large scratch on a table or another piece of furniture. Sure, it doesn’t impact the function of the furniture, but aesthetically, it’s unappealing and is more than likely something we would cover.

On the flip side, there are always limitations to these situations. While one large scratch may be covered, things like normal wear and tear would not.

Feel Confi-dent With Safely

However, this is why it’s so important to have a short-term rental insurance provider who understands their clients needs. While our goal is to make sure everyone feels protected, there are plenty of insurance providers who wouldn’t consider covering something like a dented dryer if it still functioned the way it’s supposed to. But when you team up with a provider, like Safely, who understands that the way things look in a rental property can be equally as important to the way they function, then you get coverage that reflects that.