Vacation & Short-Term Rental Insurance

Protecting hosts, their property, and their guests

Short-term rental insurance covers a residential dwelling rented to paying transient guests through platforms like Airbnb and VRBO or by direct booking, whether the host runs one property or a portfolio. Unlike a long-term landlord policy — which assumes a stable, screened tenant with their own renters coverage — short-term renting brings constant turnover, owner-furnished contents, and hotel-like hospitality liability. And unlike a purpose-built hotel, the property is a residential structure being used commercially, which falls between a home policy and a hotel policy and is exactly where standard forms fail. A host needs coverage built around the business-use gap, guest liability and damage, and lost rental income. This is a specialized corner of hospitality insurance built for how hosts actually get denied.

Properly structured coverage protects the host, the property, and the booking revenue.

The Host's Signature Exposures

The business-use coverage gap is the differentiator — a homeowners or even a landlord policy was never priced for paid transient commercial guest activity, and accepting payment triggers the business-activity exclusion, which can void coverage for ordinary perils like fire, storm, and theft, not just guest claims. Some insurers cancel outright when they discover undisclosed rental activity, so the host believes they are covered and learns otherwise at claim time. Beyond the gap, the host owes a duty of care to paying guests, so a slip or amenity injury becomes a lawsuit; the landlord "property entrustment" exclusion leaves guest-caused damage and theft uncovered; loss of rental income after a covered loss has no protection under standard forms; and amenities like hot tubs, pools, and fire pits are disproportionate injury sources. Platform guarantees are a supplement, not a substitute, for a policy the host actually holds.

Key Risks in Short-Term Rental Operations

Hosts face exposure related to:

A homeowners or landlord policy voided for undisclosed business use

Guest bodily injury and premises-liability lawsuits

Guest-caused damage and theft excluded by the landlord property-entrustment rule

Lost booking revenue while the property is un-rentable after a loss

Hot tub, pool, and fire-pit injuries to guests

Over-reliance on a platform guarantee that excludes income and off-platform stays

Bed bugs, squatters, and privacy claims standard forms omit

The business-use gap between a home policy and a hotel policy is what most defines the host.

Core Coverages for Short-Term Rental Hosts

A properly built short-term rental program typically includes:

Commercial / Hospitality General Liability — Covers guest and third-party bodily injury and property damage with legal defense, including on- and off-premises incidents standard home forms restrict.

Dwelling / Property Coverage — Rebuilds or repairs the structure after fire, storm, or other covered loss, written to reflect commercial use so a claim isn't denied.

Business Personal Property — Replaces owner-provided furniture, appliances, linens, and electronics.

Guest-Caused Damage & Theft — Covers vandalism, theft, and accidental damage by paying guests — the gap the landlord property-entrustment exclusion leaves open.

Business Income / Loss of Rents — Reimburses lost booking revenue while the property is un-rentable after a covered loss — the coverage that makes a short-term rental different from a home.

Amenity Liability — Extends liability to hot tubs, pools, bikes, and other guest amenities.

Liquor / Host Liability — Responds to alcohol-related incidents when alcohol is provided or consumed on-site.

Umbrella / Excess Liability — Adds limits above the primary policy for a catastrophic guest-injury verdict, especially for multi-property operators.

Specialty Add-Ons — Address bed-bug remediation, squatter expense, invasion-of-privacy, and pet liability.

What's Commonly Overlooked

Short-term rental programs are most often weakened by:

Assuming a homeowners or landlord policy covers paid guest activity

No loss-of-rents coverage for revenue lost during repairs

Relying on a platform guarantee that excludes income and non-platform bookings

Amenity liability ignored despite a hot tub or pool on-site

Umbrella missing on a portfolio exposed to a catastrophic verdict

The gaps that hurt most are the voided-policy business-use gap and missing loss of rents.

Real-World Claim Examples

A guest fire is denied because the homeowners policy was voided for undisclosed rental use

A guest is injured falling from a deck after using the hot tub

A pool drowning or diving injury produces a catastrophic-value claim

A guest steals electronics or trashes the unit, and the landlord policy denies the loss

A kitchen fire makes the home un-rentable for months during peak season

Any one of these can be significant, and the voided-policy denials are the most distinctive.

Regulatory & Licensing Context

Many cities and counties require a short-term rental permit or registration — often with proof of insurance — before a host can list, and zoning or home-occupation rules may also apply, with regulations tightening through 2026 toward caps and primary-residence requirements. Hosts must register for and remit transient occupancy tax, also called lodging or bed tax, typically a percentage of the rental amount; platforms auto-collect it in many jurisdictions but not all, leaving the host to self-remit in smaller municipalities or face back taxes. A growing number of localities now require proof of liability insurance as a permit condition, and local safety codes increasingly mandate smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors, extinguishers, occupancy caps, and pool and hot-tub safety measures.

Why Proper Placement Matters

Underwriters rate on location and catastrophe exposure, rebuild cost and dwelling value, property type, rental frequency, number of properties, amenities like pools and hot tubs, claims history, and requested limits. Coverage is available through specialty and program admitted markets, while higher-value, coastal, wildfire-exposed, or large multi-property portfolios often land in the excess-and-surplus market. Documented safety equipment, professional management, guest screening, and higher deductibles improve terms. Placing the account so the policy reflects commercial use — and adding loss of rents and umbrella — is what keeps it responsive.

Our Approach

At Cory Washington & Co., we insure short-term rental hosts around the gap their existing policy leaves. We write dwelling and liability coverage that reflects commercial guest use so a claim isn't voided, add guest-damage, loss-of-rents, and amenity coverage, and layer umbrella over a portfolio — placed in specialty and surplus-lines markets for higher-value or catastrophe-exposed properties. We also insure related hospitality businesses, including hotels and motels, bed and breakfasts, and RV parks and campgrounds.

The day the first paying guest checks in, the home becomes a business — we build the coverage so the policy keeps up with the use.

All insurance descriptions on this website are provided by Cory Washington & Co. LLC strictly for general informational purposes. They are not intended to be, and should not be relied upon as, legal, financial, or insurance advice. The information presented is general in nature and does not guarantee the availability, terms, conditions, or scope of any insurance coverage. Actual coverage is determined solely by the specific policy language issued by the insurer and remains subject to underwriting approval. Nothing on this website creates or implies an agent-client relationship, binds coverage, or alters any existing policy. Cory Washington & Co. LLC expressly disclaims any liability for actions taken, or not taken, based on the content provided here. For advice regarding your particular situation, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional at Cory Washington & Co. LLC or another qualified insurance professional, and always review your policy documents in full.

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