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Homeowners insurance may cover your guests during a short-term stay, but if you’re renting out your property for a long period of time, you’ll need rental property insurance, or landlord insurance.
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If you rent out your home for short periods of time, homeowners insurance may cover your property and liability while it’s being rented, but if you rent out your home for longer periods of time, you’ll need rental property insurance, or landlord insurance to be sufficiently covered.
As the landlord, you’re only responsible for the building and your own property. Tenants’ personal belongings are not covered by your policy — so they’ll need renters insurance to cover their own personal property.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
If you rent out your property for short periods of time, standard homeowners insurance may cover your guests, but some insurance companies may require you to add short-term rental coverage to your policy
If you plan to rent out your property for a longer period of time, you’ll need rental property insurance, or landlord insurance
As the property owner, you’re only financially responsible for the building and your own property, but not your tenants' personal belongings
If you buy a house and plan on living there full-time, you'll need homeowners insurance to protect your property and personal belongings. But if you're using the home as a rental property, your insurance needs may change, as standard homeowners insurance may not cover your rental property or any injuries you’re responsible for as the owner.
If you plan on renting out the home long-term, you’ll likely need rental property insurance, or landlord insurance, which is a type of policy designed to protect rental properties. In terms of insurance risk, insurers view a rental property differently than a home you primarily live in but rent out intermittently. Be sure to talk to your provider to discuss your coverage needs.
If you live at your home most of the year and rent out the entire property or a room intermittently, your existing homeowners insurance policy may cover your guests, provided you let your insurance company know the deal beforehand.
While some insurers may be cool with covering short-term guests, others may, at the very least, view it as a contentious issue, as rental properties present an increased risk for insurance companies.
If you rent out your property intermittently through short-term rental services like Airbnb, be sure to let your insurance company know in advance of the rental period. Some insurers may not require additional coverage if you let them know in advance, but others may require you to purchase a home-sharing coverage endorsement that supplements your homeowners insurance policy.
Additionally, Airbnb provides a couple of their own options, including:
Be sure to read the fine print carefully to see what your carrier's policy is regarding insurance coverage for guests, or speak with a licensed representative at Policygenius who can walk you through your policy's terms and conditions and let you know if you need to add coverage.
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If you're planning on renting out your home long term, you're going to need rental property insurance, or perhaps more commonly known as landlord insurance.
Landlord insurance generally costs about 25% more than standard homeowners insurance policies, and provides:
If you rent out property, your rental property insurance will cover the structure of the building and your financial interest in the property, but your policy won’t cover your tenant or guest’s personal property. Your tenant will have to purchase their own renters insurance policy to cover their personal belongings and liability.
Pat Howard
Homeowners Insurance Expert
Expertise
Pat Howard is a homeowners insurance editor at Policygenius in New York City. He has written extensively about home insurance cost, coverage, and companies since 2018, and his insights have been featured on Investopedia, Lifehacker, MSN, Zola, HerMoney, and Property Casualty 360.
Education
Pat has a B.A. in journalism from Michigan State University.
Stephanie Nieves
Property and Casualty Insurance Expert
Expertise
Stephanie Nieves is an insurance editor at Policygenius in New York City, specializing in auto and home insurance. She's been writing about insurance, finance and financial planning since 2018, and loves helping readers get the knowledge they need to make financial decisions with confidence. Her words can also be found on PayScale, Fairygodboss, and The Muse.
Education
Stephanie has a B.A. in writing and rhetoric from Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
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