In the growing sharing economy, home-sharing has become a hot-button topic and a valuable source of income for homeowners. If you're considering taking the plunge into the home-sharing marketplace, here are some important homeowners insurance considerations and questions to ask your agent.
1. Is there a difference in homeowners coverage for a one-time rental versus multiple rental periods? Most homeowners insurance policies will provide both property and liability coverage for a single, special occasion; however, multiple rentals may become a business exposure that needs to be handled differently.
2. Does homeowners insurance cover personal property of a paying guest? In many cases, paying guests would need to look to their own homeowners, condo or renters policy for personal property coverage.
3. Will homeowners insurance respond to injuries or damages caused by paying guests? Typically, the liability section of the homeowners policy would not extend to the guest.
There are precautions that should be taken in order to make the home-sharing process a smooth venture. Start by talking to your agent about what a standard homeowners policy does and does not cover and discuss possible endorsements that can be added to the policy to provide coverage for this growing facet of the sharing economy.
|