Home-sharing insurance

Home-sharing? Make Sure You’re Fully Insured!

home-sharing vacation rental insurance

Did you know? Over half of home-sharing Canadians are unaware their insurance DOESN’T cover losses or damage that could occur.*

Short-term rentals through home-sharing platforms such as Airbnb and HomeAway are becoming more and more popular among Canadians all over the country. It’s a great way for guests to take advantage of the wonderful variety of accommodation options, city or country, as well as all the sights and amenities of a new place; while the host enjoys the benefit of additional income.

This rental arrangement is largely a positive one, beneficial to both parties, but it’s important for hosts to understand all of the possible implications and how to ensure they are fully covered in the event of an unfortunate mishap or find themselves the victim of a particularly bad guest.

If you are considering entering into the home-sharing market with your own property or if you’re currently renting your home short-term it’s important to be fully informed about exactly what’s provided in the protection you receive from the home-sharing platform as well as what isn’t.

Be Wary Home-sharing Platforms Guarantees

According to the home-sharing website, Airbnb, the Host Guarantee is “designed to protect hosts in the rare instance of property damage to their own possessions by a guest staying in the space. To be clear, the Host Guarantee is not insurance and does not replace your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance.”

This means that ONLY damage directly caused by a guest is covered. There is no liability coverage, compensation for theft, and it doesn’t cover damages to everything, such as pets and cash. Airbnb also offers Host Protection Insurance, but this only covers up to $1,000,000 in liability insurance if a guest is injured in your unit during their stay. This means that all other liability cases will NOT be covered.

You want to ensure that your insurance is designed for homes rented short-term through a home rental network such as Airbnb, VRBO or HomeAway, and Flipkey and that it covers:

  • liability arising out of the short-term rental
  • loss or damage to buildings and personal property
  • intentional acts, criminal acts, or failure to act by a guest
  • loss or damage to a guest’s property up to $1,500
  • fair rental value (loss of rental income)

This coverage is only for short-term purposes, specifically intended and designed for hosts who rent their home or a portion of their home on a short-term basis, multiple times, to different individuals throughout the year through a rental network or professional property management company.

Rented and seasonal dwellings are usually insured as a second location under your primary dwelling policy. Sometimes, however, these can be written as stand-alone policies. Although coverage is usually more limited than a homeowners policy, we have several markets that offer excellent coverage packages for vacation home insurance and rental insurance.

Renting your home on a sharing network can be a rewarding way to earn some extra income. But, don’t leave anything to chance, or to simply the home-sharing platform’s limited protection! Make sure you’re protected with insurance specific to home-sharing.

Talk to us to have it added to your home insurance policy.

*In September 2016, Aviva Canada commissioned a targeted survey of over 2,000 Canadians, ages 25+, who are currently home insurance consumers, or planning to purchase home insurance over the next five years.