Choose a policy that matches how the property is rented
The right path depends on how often the property hosts paying guests, whether you also live there, and how long it sits vacant between stays. Texas Department of Insurance consumer guidance says most home policies will not pay for damages or injuries that occur during short-term rentals and tells owners to ask whether they need more coverage.[1]
American Family describes a home-insurance add-on for a home rented for 62 days or less each year. Its examples include covered damage to the home and contents, certain theft after the deductible, and temporary-occupant damage, all subject to the issued policy, limits, exclusions, state availability, and that stated use limit. Compare the 62-day limit against the nights you actually book, and treat the add-on as one carrier's structure rather than an option every insurer offers.[2]
Proper describes a different structure: a commercial homeowners product presented as a replacement policy for short-term-rental use, combining building, contents, business revenue, commercial general liability, guest-caused damage, theft, vandalism, amenity liability, and vacancy features. Proper says not every property is a fit for its product, and its underwriting decision and issued policy control a specific account.[3]
A filed endorsement is a third structure. A 2020 First Floridian filing in Florida says its home-sharing endorsement provides property and liability coverage when the residence is rented or held for rental to a short-term lodging occupant. That filing is one carrier's 2020 Florida submission and does not establish current availability, a Florida-wide rule, or another carrier's form.[5]
Protect the property and the income it produces
Read the property and income terms in each proposal side by side. The three sources below describe three different structures, and each one states its own limits.
| Source | What it says about property | What it says about income or revenue | Stated limits on the example |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Family home-insurance add-on | Examples include covered damage to the home and contents and certain theft after the deductible, subject to the issued policy, limits, and exclusions | The evidence for this page does not describe income coverage under the add-on | Home rented or used by house guests for 62 days or less each year; state availability applies; one carrier's add-on, not a market-wide rule |
| Proper commercial homeowners short-term-rental product | Describes building and contents protection as part of its own product | Describes business-revenue coverage as part of its own product | Proper says not every property is a fit; its issued policy and underwriting decision control a specific account |
| First Floridian Florida filing 20-020988 (2020) | Home-sharing endorsement provides property and liability coverage when the residence is rented or held for rental to a short-term lodging occupant | The filing does not establish income coverage | One carrier's 2020 Florida filing; does not establish current availability or coverage outside the filed terms |
American Family Insurance product page; Proper Insurance product page; First Floridian Auto and Home Insurance Company Homeowners Multi-Peril filing 20-020988, filed with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation on September 2, 2020.[2][3][5]
Where a product does include revenue coverage, the mechanics decide what it pays. Proper names business revenue as a feature of its own product, so ask that carrier and every other carrier for the basis of the calculation, any waiting period, the maximum restoration period, the limit, and whether extra expense to resume bookings is included.[3]
Coverage questions in this guide
A shared record keeps related coverage questions in one place.
- Building and contents during guest stays
American Family's add-on examples include covered damage to the home and contents and certain theft after the deductible, subject to the issued policy, limits, exclusions, state availability, and its limit of 62 rental days or less each year. Proper describes building and contents protection in its own replacement product. These are two carriers' descriptions, not features every short-term-rental policy includes.[2][3]
Review: Ask each carrier for the valuation basis, the covered causes, the deductible, and how the form treats damage that happens during a guest stay.
- Rental income and business revenue
Proper names business-revenue coverage as a feature of its own short-term-rental product. The evidence for this page does not show income coverage in the American Family add-on or in the 2020 First Floridian Florida filing, so income is a term to confirm rather than assume.[3][5]
Review: Ask whether income coverage is included, what basis it uses, what waiting period applies, how long the benefit continues, and whether extra expense is covered.
- Liability for a guest injury
Proper describes commercial general liability as part of its own product. The 2020 First Floridian Florida filing says its home-sharing endorsement provides property and liability coverage when the residence is rented or held for rental to a short-term lodging occupant, and that filing does not establish current availability or another carrier's form.[3][5]
Review: Compare who qualifies as an insured, the covered premises and activities, per-occurrence and aggregate limits, whether defense costs sit inside the limit, medical payments, and amenity exclusions in the form you are offered.
- Damage a guest causes
American Family's add-on examples include temporary-occupant damage and certain theft after the deductible. Proper names guest-caused damage, theft, and vandalism in its own product. Airbnb's Host damage protection can reimburse certain guest-caused damage after the guest does not pay, but Airbnb says it is not an insurance policy and does not include all damage.[2][3][6]
Review: Ask whether the form covers guest-caused damage, theft, and intentional damage; then decide what the owner policy needs to do when a platform program denies or limits reimbursement.
- Flood
FloodSmart says most homeowners and renters insurance does not cover flood damage. That federal source does not establish whether a specific short-term-rental, landlord, commercial, or private policy covers flood, so the answer comes from the form in front of you.[8]
Review: Read the flood terms in the proposed short-term-rental form. If it excludes flood, compare National Flood Insurance Program or private flood coverage for the building and for the contents.
Compare liability and guest-damage protection separately
Liability to an injured guest, damage to a guest's belongings, damage to your building or contents, theft, and intentional damage are five separate claim questions. Work through them one at a time instead of assuming a single coverage answers all five, and put each question to the carrier in writing.
- Who qualifies as an insured: the owner, a spouse, a co-owner, an LLC, a property manager, or a cleaner.
- The covered premises and the covered activities, including stays booked outside a platform.
- The per-occurrence limit, the aggregate limit, and how many claims the aggregate has to absorb in one term.
- Whether defense costs sit inside or outside the limit.
- Medical-payments coverage and its separate limit.
- Liability exclusions that apply to amenities such as pools, hot tubs, bicycles, and small watercraft, which Proper names as amenity-liability features of its own product.[3]
- Guest-damage terms: whether damage a guest causes is a covered peril, an endorsement, or excluded, and how theft and intentional damage are treated.
- How the policy responds when a booking-platform program pays part of a loss, denies it, or limits reimbursement.
Treat platform protection as a separate layer
Airbnb describes two different things for hosts, and they are not interchangeable: Host damage protection and the Host liability insurance program.[6][7]
- Host damage protection can reimburse certain guest-caused damage after the guest does not pay. Airbnb says it is not an insurance policy, that it has terms and exclusions, and that it does not include all damage.[6]
- Host liability insurance is a separate insurance program. Airbnb's summary says it covers a host's legal liability for bodily injury or property damage arising during an Airbnb stay, subject to the policy, and that it does not insure damage or loss to the host's own property.[7]
- For a host with six or more active listings, the liability program may require contribution from other insurance or apply as excess coverage depending on that policy. The summary does not contain the full policy terms and says terms and limits vary by jurisdiction.[7]
Airbnb recommends that hosts purchase separate insurance for property damage the damage-protection program does not protect.[6]
Because the liability program applies to a stay arranged through Airbnb and does not insure the host's own property, compare what an owner policy would do for the building, the contents, the revenue you want to protect, and any stay booked directly or through another channel. Decide how much of that exposure you want to insure; the Airbnb program summary does not settle that question for your property.[7]
Review the gaps before comparing price
Texas Department of Insurance consumer guidance identifies flood, earth movement, wear and tear, and specified vacancy periods as common home-policy gaps that require review. Work through the exposures below before you compare premiums.[1]
Flood is a separate decision. FloodSmart describes National Flood Insurance Program building coverage and contents coverage as separate choices, so a host who buys flood coverage has to decide on each one.[8]
- Vacancy and owner occupancy
Texas consumer guidance discusses renewal for a house vacant 60 days or more under residential home policies, and Proper lists vacancy features and periods of vacancy in its own short-term-rental product. Neither source sets a vacancy period that applies to another carrier's form.[1][3]
Review: Ask each carrier how the form defines vacancy, what period triggers a restriction or exclusion, whether owner stays or cleaning visits change that count, and how owner occupancy affects the coverage.
- Pools, hot tubs, and other guest amenities
Proper names amenity liability, including pools, hot tubs, bicycles, and small watercraft, as part of its own product. The evidence for this page describes only that product, so it says nothing about how another form treats these exposures.[3]
Review: List every amenity guests can use and ask each carrier, in writing, whether liability for each one is included, added by endorsement, limited, or excluded.
Mixed uses can collide inside one program. The 2020 First Floridian Florida filing says its unit-owners rental-to-others endorsement may not be written with its home-sharing endorsement. If the property is listed on more than one platform, takes direct bookings, or mixes short-term and longer rentals, ask whether one form covers every pattern or whether the carrier splits them.[5]
Texas consumer guidance also tells owners to ask whether they need more coverage for short-term rental use. Bring the questions below to each carrier, and check the local rules yourself.[1]
- Business activity beyond ordinary guest stays, such as events, weddings, or photo shoots: ask whether the proposed form covers, limits, or excludes it.
- Motor vehicles, golf carts, ATVs, or boats you let guests use: ask whether liability for them sits with the property policy, a separate auto or watercraft policy, or neither.
- Cleaners, maintenance help, and property managers: tell each carrier whether they are your employees, independent contractors, or a management company, and ask how the form treats that arrangement and whether separate workers' coverage is expected.
- Guest data and payment information you collect or store: ask whether any cyber or data liability is included, available by endorsement, or excluded.
- Local permit, registration, licensing, or insurance conditions where the property sits, plus HOA, condo, or lease terms: read them yourself and confirm the proposed policy satisfies whatever they require.
- Lender requirements in your mortgage documents: confirm the proposed limits, deductibles, and mortgagee wording meet them.
Give each carrier the same short-term-rental facts
Proper's guide names the facts a buyer compares in its short-term-rental product: whether the policy matches guest, owner, and vacant use; the building and contents protection; the business-revenue basis; guest-caused damage; liability; and amenities such as pools, hot tubs, bicycles, and small watercraft. Proper also says not every property is a fit for its product.[4]
Progressive tells business owners preparing a commercial property quote to gather the location, operations, owner experience, building age, square footage, construction type, safety features, other occupants, mortgage information, and five years of claim dates and paid amounts. That is a general commercial-property checklist rather than a short-term-rental application.[9]
The list below combines both into practical comparison facts. Neither source publishes a carrier's full application or underwriting rules, and a short-term-rental carrier may ask for different facts, so treat this as preparation rather than a required form.[4][9]
- Property address, building age, square footage, and construction type.[9]
- Ownership and management of the property, including your experience operating it and any other occupants.[9]
- Guest, owner, and vacant use: roughly how many nights per year fall into each.[4]
- Booking channels you use, including whether the property is listed on more than one platform or takes direct bookings.
- Annual bookings and the rental revenue you want to protect.[4]
- The building and contents values you want insured, including furnishings and appliances.[4]
- Pools, hot tubs, bicycles, small watercraft, and any other amenity guests can use.[4]
- Safety and protection features at the property.[9]
- Mortgage information.[9]
- Your current coverage, and whether you rely on a platform program such as Airbnb's Host liability insurance, which may require contribution from other insurance or apply as excess for a host with six or more active listings.[7]
- The liability limits and property deductibles you want quoted.
- Prior claim dates and paid amounts for the past five years.[9]
Property Covered is a property insurance marketplace operated by Switchboard Risk Technologies Inc., a licensed insurance producer with access to more than 400 carriers and market options. Owners, landlords, and property managers can hand one consistent set of these facts to licensed support, which can use it to compare available carrier terms for the property. A request is free and carries no purchase obligation, and carriers make the final eligibility, pricing, binding, policy, and claims decisions.
Related: How Property Covered works, Online quote request for licensed follow-up
Sources
- 1.Texas Department of Insurance – Home insurance guide
- 2.American Family Insurance – Short-term rental insurance product page
- 3.Proper Insurance – Short-Term Rental Insurance for Hosts product page
- 4.Proper Insurance – Short-Term Rental Insurance for Hosts, coverage comparison sections
- 5.First Floridian Auto and Home Insurance Company – Homeowners Multi-Peril filing 20-020988, filed with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
- 6.Airbnb – AirCover for hosts help page, Host damage protection section
- 7.Airbnb – Host Liability Insurance Program Summary
- 8.FEMA National Flood Insurance Program, FloodSmart – What you need to know about buying flood insurance
- 9.Progressive Commercial – Getting a Business Insurance Quote
Common questions
Texas Department of Insurance consumer guidance says most home policies will not pay for damages or injuries that occur during short-term rentals and tells owners to ask whether they need more coverage. Carriers handle the exposure differently: American Family describes a home-insurance add-on for a home rented 62 days or less each year, and a 2020 First Floridian Florida filing used a home-sharing endorsement for a residence rented or held for rental to a short-term lodging occupant. Read your own form and ask your carrier how it treats your rental pattern. [1][2][5]
Partly. Airbnb's Host damage protection is not an insurance policy; it can reimburse certain guest-caused damage after the guest does not pay, and Airbnb says it has terms and exclusions and does not include all damage. Host liability insurance is a separate insurance program that, subject to its policy, covers a host's legal liability for bodily injury or property damage arising during an Airbnb stay, and it does not insure damage or loss to the host's own property. Airbnb recommends that hosts buy separate insurance for property damage the damage program does not protect, and these terms describe Airbnb only. [6][7]
FloodSmart says most homeowners and renters insurance does not cover flood damage, and it describes National Flood Insurance Program building and contents coverage as separate choices. That source does not say whether a particular short-term-rental, landlord, commercial, or private policy covers flood, so check the flood terms in the form you are offered. If the primary policy excludes flood, compare NFIP or private flood coverage for the building and for the contents. [8]
Proper's guide names the comparison facts for its product: guest, owner, and vacant use; building and contents protection; the business-revenue basis; guest-caused damage; liability; and amenities such as pools, hot tubs, bicycles, and small watercraft. Progressive's commercial-property quote page adds the location, operations, owner experience, building age, square footage, construction type, safety features, other occupants, mortgage information, and five years of claim dates and paid amounts. Neither is a short-term-rental application, and carriers ask different questions, but one consistent set of facts makes the terms you receive easier to compare. [4][9]
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