In-Home Hosts

Definition of Short Stay

• Stays of less than 3 months.
• No formal lease agreement
• Stays usually booked via online platforms such as Airbnb.
• Not a registered Bed & Breakfast
• Not providing food service (other than self-serve supplies)
• Not a boarding-house

How would you describe your property?

You are an owner/occupier who lives in their primary residence and hosts short stay guests on the same property. The short stay accommodation may be:

• A spare bedroom or suite in your primary residence
• An extension under the same roof as the primary residence
• A double-storey residence, you & your family residing on one floor and short stay suite on the other floor
• A granny flat on the same title as your primary residence
• A duplex/dual occupancy with your family residing in one unit and short stay in the other

Covering your personal insurance needs

One of the pitfalls of insuring Home-Share properties is the need to cover the owner’s contents & personal effects properly.

We often use Landlord policies to cover the guest risk, but this is a different class of insurance to your regular Home & Contents policy, with gaps in several key areas:

1. A Landlord policy will not cover the owner’s Contents (Contents in the area of the house where you and your family live), and it will not cover the owner’s personal effects (items of a personal nature such as clothing, personal valuables, personal electronics like phones & laptops, anything you would not allow the guests to use)
2. A Landlord policy also does not provide cover for Temporary Accommodation, which is a feature of most Home policies (this is cover for the cost to house you elsewhere in the event that the property is damaged and you need to move out)

Because of these shortcomings in a Landlord policy, we often recommend that you overlay a separate Home Contents policy on top of the Landlord policy, to cover those 2 important gaps. We can advise on this during the quoting process.

Possible insurance solutions for home hosts

In-Home Hosting can be very challenging to insure as there are very few tailored solutions available. Depending on your property details, the insurer’s risk appetite for your property’s location, and your preferences, we may suggest one of the following:

• If you are only interested in covering the Public Liability aspect of the guest risk, we may be able to quote for a Home & Contents policy that allows short stay guests. This will depend on a number of factors so best to discuss with us first
• We may be able to quote for a combined Home + Hosting insurance. This will depend on your location, as the insurer will not quote for properties located in high fire or flood danger locations, or some regional locations. They also require you to be present while you have guests in residence so this may not suit everyone. Check with us before proceeding to get a quote
• If you are sometimes or often away from your primary residence while you have guests in residence, you will not be eligible for the combined Home + Hosting policy
• We may need to quote for additional Contents cover for your personal contents & personal effects

Yes, it’s complicated! That’s why we prefer to talk to you first if you are a Home Host. We can then make relevant recommendations.

Get a quote for insurance for in-home hosts

FAQ

I am purchasing a property. Should I wait until settlement to arrange insurance?

No, you need to commence your insurance as soon as you sign a Contract of Sale. This is because you can’t guarantee that the vendor will have or maintain their insurance and if something happens to the property before settlement, it may not be covered.

Is my property a Bed & Breakfast?

A registered Bed & Breakfast is not the same thing as an Airbnb property. There are council, planning, licencing and registration requirements for Bed & Breakfasts, which by definition usually include a level of food service. Always check with your local council or state authorities to see if there are any licencing requirements in your area. Visit the Business Victoria website for more information.

Can I pay by the month at no extra cost?

That depends on the insurer. Some offer instalment payments at no extra cost, and others don’t. We will always present you with the best value quote, and that may not be from the insurer that offers free monthly instalment payments. We do have an alternative solution: You can pay by the month via our premium funding facility with IQumulate, but charges apply (application fee of $20 for Home Hosts, with approx. 10% interest charged).