You may think that you don’t need additional insurance for your rental property, but think again. Airbnb’s AirCover for Hosts isn’t enough to protect you from liabilities and loss of income, especially in between guest stays.
We know you work hard to provide your guests with a top-notch experience. But as an experienced host, you also know that unexpected situations and coverage gaps can arise. That's why finding the right third-party insurance is crucial for protecting your property, your guests, and yourself.
Here are the six best insurance options for Airbnb hosts (outside of the platform):
- Proper Insurance: Best Overall Insurance
- American Modern: Best Affordable Insurance
- Superhog: Best for Guest Screening
- Allstate HostAdvantage: Best for Theft Protection
- CBIZ: Best for Customizable Policies
- Safely: Best for Quick Claims
How We Selected the Best Insurance for Airbnb
When it comes to protecting your Airbnb, you shouldn’t place your trust on just any insurance. You need something specifically tailored to short-term rentals. That's why we've done our research to bring you the top choices.
Here's how we determined our choices for the best third-party Airbnb insurance providers:
- Coverage Depth: We checked for comprehensive protection that covers everything from property damage to liability claims.
- Flexibility: Life as a host can be unpredictable, so we looked for policies that offer flexible terms and customizable options.
- Value: Hosting should be profitable, so we made sure these insurance options offer great value without breaking the bank.
- Claims Process: When things go wrong, you want quick resolutions. We focused on providers known for their efficient and hassle-free claims processes.
- Reputation: Trust matters. We selected companies with strong reputations and positive reviews from fellow hosts.
- Special Features: We love perks! We picked insurers offering unique benefits like guest screening, theft protection, and income loss coverage.
For the most comprehensive and best overall insurance, we love Proper Insurance. It’s designed specifically for short-term rentals, and includes special amenities like pools and even bikes. This tailored approach ensures that you’ll be well-protected against a range of potential risks.
1. Proper Insurance: Best Overall Insurance
Proper Insurance is our top pick for Airbnb hosts looking for comprehensive coverage. It specifically has plans tailored for short-term rental properties, offering plans with $1 million and $2 million in coverage to protect against accidents and damage.
Unlike other standard plans, Proper Insurance understands the unique risks hosts face, and offers much more than just commercial business liability, building and contents coverage, and business revenue protection.
Property Insurance also offers:
- Property Entrustment
- Pet/Animal Liability
- Bed Bug/Flea Protection
- Squatter Protection
- Amenities Off-Premise (such as bikes, etc.)
- Liquor Liability
In short, they offer full coverage protection for short-term rentals.
While you’ll appreciate the peace of mind that comes with extensive coverage and quick claims processing, cost-wise, you can expect that they’ll be on the higher end of the spectrum. They offer a 3 minute quote on Proper Insurance itself.
If the costs don’t deter you, then Proper Insurance is the best overall—and most comprehensive—third-party insurance that’s specifically tailored for Airbnb properties.
2. American Modern: Best Affordable Insurance
For hosts needing more affordable coverage, something that Proper Insurance can’t provide, American Modern Insurance is our recommendation.
American Modern offers insurance solutions for different types of occupancy, including short-term rentals of less than 3 months. They also have two options for coverage (Dwelling Special and Dwelling Basic, so whether you're renting out a mansion or a small cabin, their policies provide essential protection against property damage, liability claims, and more.
Cost-wise, the “add-on” feature that American Family Insurance offers means more competitive premiums, depending on the coverage limits and property details. You can easily obtain a quote and purchase a policy by finding an agent through American Modern.
Despite their extensive coverage, the policies are only recommended for homes $1M or less. Hosts operating higher-value properties will find that coverage limits with American Modern Insurance are better suited for standard to moderately priced homes.
If your home’s value is within the limits, then American Family Insurance stands out as the best affordable option. It offers cost-effective coverage that will meet all your essentials with reliability.
3. Superhog: Best for Guest Screening
We’re slightly cheating here: Superhog isn’t an insurance company in a traditional sense. Rather, it’s a platform that can help you improve the safety of you and your property with some insurance features.
It is our choice for Airbnb hosts looking for a secure and convenient guest screening and risk mitigation option.
Instead of traditional coverage, Superhog integrates advanced guest identity verification and screening services with their “Know Your Guest” feature. This proactive approach helps hosts minimize the risk of problematic guests with features like guest screening, ID capture, damage waivers, automated damage deposits, and their insurance option—called the damage protection plan—that insures up to $5M.
Superhog's pricing is competitive, and hosts can easily subscribe to Superhog's services through Superhog itself. And while we like their proactive approach, keep in mind that it only covers damages to your home by guests, and is not a comprehensive solution.
For hosts that need just that, Superhog offers an innovative solution that combines robust insurance coverage for damages with advanced guest screening capabilities, making it the perfect choice if you prioritize proactive risk management.
4. Allstate HostAdvantage: Best for Theft Protection
Looking out for your belongings in the Airbnb, rather than just the property itself? If you’re choosing to rent out your home, and not a dedicated rental property, then Allstate HostAdvantage is our top recommendation.
Aside from damage protection (up to $10,000 per rental host period), Allstate prides itself as the first major insurer to also cover theft.
As you can see, their policy isn’t very robust and should supplement your existing homeowner’s insurance. Unlike other insurance options, HostAdvantage doesn’t include liability protection, so you won’t be covered for accidents.
If you already have traditional home insurance and just want a little extra, you can find a local agent via Allstate HostAdvantage. While we wouldn’t rely on it as our only option, it is still an excellent choice for hosts prioritizing robust theft protection that’s backed by a trusted name in insurance.
5. CBIZ: Best for Customizable Policies
CBIZ stands out for offering customizable insurance policies tailored for vacation rentals. Whether you manage multiple properties or require specialized coverage for unique rental scenarios, CBIZ provides the flexibility in policy terms and coverage limits. To get a quote, you can visit the CBIZ website.
Their “Short-Term Rental” option, which is specifically for Airbnb and other similar platforms, includes commercial general liability, property damage, protection from a loss of income, and amenity coverage. As an add-on, hosts can add bed bug protection.
We like CBIZ's commitment to flexibility, allowing us to adjust coverage levels as our rental business evolves. However, these options and additional coverage does lead to higher premiums compared to more standard insurance options.
But, if you’re renting out multiple properties, or you have another unique situation, and need a more customized solution that’s fit for your exact needs, then CBIZ is our top choice.
6. Safely: Best for Quick Claims
Worried about processing your claims? Insurance companies are notorious for delaying payouts, but not Safely. This insurance provider is dedicated to short-term rentals, and is known for top-notch customer service and quick and efficient claims processing.
Beyond insurance coverage, Safely focuses on providing a seamless claims experience which will minimize disruptions to your rental business, should the need arise for you to actually use your policy.
But what we love about Safely is that it offers comprehensive policies “on-demand”, which means that it kicks in when your guests check in. It offers up to $25,000 for property contents and belongings and up to $1M for guest-caused structural damage to your property and liability.
However, this insurance policy should only supplement your existing home insurance policy. If you’ll notice, this doesn’t provide coverage during the gaps in your bookings. This also means that Safely operates at a lower price point than standard insurance options.
If you’re just looking to boost your existing coverage, and Safely sounds like a good solution, then you can get a quote directly on their website.
Just in case you ever need to use your policy, you’ll come to appreciate the reliability and ease of Safely's claims process. This is an innovative solution that is tailored specifically for the unique needs of short-term rental hosts, so you know that you’re in good hands.
Bottom Line
There are so many insurance options out there that do many of the same—or many different—things. But for the most comprehensive coverage, Proper Insurance stands out as our top recommendation. With robust insurance features that specifically target the pitfalls of short-term rental hosting, Proper will make sure you and your property are extremely well-protected against various risks.
Choosing the right insurance for your Airbnb is just the first step in maximizing your rental’s potential.
With SummerOS, you can streamline daily operations by centralizing tasks like guest communication, property management, and owner relationships into one platform, making it easier to manage your business efficiently. With Summer Forecast, you’ll gain advanced data insights, including revenue projections, occupancy trends, and market comps, to help you optimize pricing, evaluate new investments, and improve overall property performance.
Whether you're an individual host or managing a full vacation rental portfolio, Summer helps you make smarter decisions and boost your revenue. Explore SummerOS and Forecast today!
