Being an Airbnb host in Vancouver, BC, is like trying your luck in a lottery. You never know who will stay in your vacation rental home next time: a responsible guest who will respect your property, or a true troublemaker who will make your neighbors call the police.
Although the Airbnb platform has useful functionalities to screen guests before signing a deal, there is still a risk that a client might get hurt in your short-stay rental house in Vancouver. Falling down the stairs, getting burnt in a kitchen, slipping on a slippery bathroom floor – possibilities to come to harm in a short-term rental home are numerous. In all bad-case circumstances, Airbnb homeowners hold liability and are exposed to financial risks.
To help homeowners stay on the safe side while operating an Airbnb business in Vancouver, BC, the Airbnb Corporation has introduced the AirCover program – insurance coverage for both homeowners and guests. Hosts get automatically entailed in this protection program the moment they publish their listing on the Airbnb website and start paying a service fee to the platform.
What Type of Insurance Does Airbnb Offer?
For its users, the Airbnb platform offers AirCover, an insurance scheme that protects both homeowners and guests throughout the deal. The protection plans of AirCover are basically divided into two large groups: host liability insurance and host damage protection. Below is an explanation of how both options work.
Host Liability Insurance
Host liability insurance (HLI) of Airbnb offers $1 million coverage for homeowners to cover the cases when a guest gets injured or when their belongings are stolen or damaged during their stay at the host’s place. The program works not only for guests but also cleaners and other workers who help a host run their businesses. This lets Airbnb homeowners in Vancouver operate their rental homes with confidence.
Host liability insurance compensates for instances when a host is found liable for:
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- Bodily injuries/traumas to a guest or other people involved.
- Damage or theft of a guest’s (or others’) possessions.
- Damage inflicted by a guest (or others) to common areas like a lobby in the condominium corporation, a house backyard, or nearby properties/constructions.
HLI does not cover damages or injuries that were inflicted purposely.
The benefits of AirCover for homeowners are always included and always free. Once a host agrees to list or continues to list their holiday rental property on Airbnb, they are automatically covered for all bookings that take place through Airbnb.
Host Damage Protection
Another part of the AirCover protection program, Host Damage Protection will pay a host up to $1 million in coverage in case their short-term rental unit or personal items are destroyed or damaged by a guest during an Airbnb stay.
It covers:
- Damage to a host’s place or belongings afflicted by a guest or other people involved.
- Unforeseen cleaning/upkeep expenses a host’s incurs because of the guest’s (or other’s) irresponsible behavior during an Airbnb stay.
- The lost profit opportunities because of canceling confirmed Airbnb bookings due to damage caused by a guest (or other people involved).
Host Damage Protection of Airbnb does not cover damage from wear and tear and damage caused by natural phenomena (earthquakes, floods, etc). It also covers unexpected expenses incurred by a host when they need additional cleaning or property repairs after an Airbnb stay with pets.
Why Do Airbnb Hosts Need Additional Insurance?
Although very useful and necessary, Airbnb’s AirCover program is not comprehensive and has an extensive list of exclusions and limitations if you read the details of AirCover’s terms of use. For instance, damages and losses resulting from excessive use of electricity, gas, water, or other utilities are not covered. Neither are hostile acts or acts of war, terrorism, or rebellion.
Guests’ animals are also not protected by AirCover, but only the losses they theoretically can inflict. If the damage is caused due to ordinary wear and tear, a poor roof, weak ceilings, cracked walls, or old foundations, it will not be compensated for either. The maximum reimbursement of Airbnb is also capped to $1 million.
In many-many scenarios, Airbnb protection will fail to provide sufficient compensation for all the damages and losses that may arise from operating a short-stay rental business in Vancouver. To help short-stay rental entrepreneurs steer clear from bad surprises after a check-out, HeartHomes offers great Airbnb insurance programs that cover homeowners and guests in a far more efficient way than the Airbnb platform itself.
Airbnb Insurance from HeartHomes
We help our clients find the best insurance company for Airbnb businesses in Vancouver, Canada. HeartHomes will assist you in buying a business insurance policy that will give you and your customers absolute peace of mind with transparent terms of use and decent coverage. Apart from aid in purchasing the best insurance plan for your specific Airbnb business, we will also take measures to protect your vacation rental home against threats. We will inspect your property and suggest necessary repair and maintenance jobs.
If you desire, we can also install a home monitoring security system, smart locks, and noise & smoke detection units for safety of your rental unit. Charging your guests a security deposit is also a way to mitigate Airbnb stay risks. If you partner with us to manage your Airbnb property in Vancouver, we will take upon ourselves the procedure of guest screening to prevent dubious characters from staying at your rental home.
We know how to make your Airbnb business in Vancouver profitable. And we also know how to protect it against possible liability and losses. Contact us today to get the best insurance for your Airbnb business in Vancouver, BC.
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