Newark, NJ · Member since 2015 · 162 posts · 102 votes
Hi. I'm looking for an insurance broker to combine a policies for a rental condo, our home, and a third unit that we are using as a vacation rental. This last one is the one that is a bit tricky to insure. I was just reading that All State launched a policy for home sharing in the past few months. It's called All State Host Advantage. Has anybody use this service from them? Would anybody recommend them?
No experience with All State. I like State Farm--huge discounts compared to other companies. Although the property can't be to close to the water as Jeff mentioned.
USAA is great for long-term rentals; they don't do short term or LLCs unless all members are USAA members.
I'm currently using RLI for my one bedroom vacation rental. It's around $500 annually.
I've been trying to consolidate my various policies as well but have not yet found anyone who can. Great question @Ro Maga
In Hawaii, All State won't insure a property within 1,000 feet of the ocean...so depending on the location of your vacation rental they may or may not work for you.
No experience with All State. I like State Farm--huge discounts compared to other companies. Although the property can't be to close to the water as Jeff mentioned.
USAA is great for long-term rentals; they don't do short term or LLCs unless all members are USAA members.
I'm currently using RLI for my one bedroom vacation rental. It's around $500 annually.
I've been trying to consolidate my various policies as well but have not yet found anyone who can. Great question @Ro Maga
@Ro Maga I have a good friend who's an Allstate Agent and had inquired with him about it. He said they had only rolled this out in a few test markets so far, but I totally am on board with consolidating this resource/expense. In the meantime, I did come across a fascinating solution slice.is (not .com) which is also in Beta test. Their model is to only insure for the nights that are actually rented. This might allow us to pass on the cost of the insurance to a guest as opposed to a damage deposit or damage insurance that Homeaway offers. I believe there will be additional solutions coming soon as well.
Thank you, @Michael Greenberg! It's really bewildering that there isn't a real insurance solution (let alone options) for vacation rentals yet. I mean, Airbnb has been around for almost a decade now, and VRBO for over two!
Slice.is doesn't really do what I need since my vacation rental is not a room in my own home, but a dedicated unit. If I understand correctly how the work, that means I would have to double up on insurance: one for whenever its rented, and one for when it's vacant (and policies for vacant homes are a pretty penny). Besides, it's been over a week since I requested information from them and they're yet to contact me. Maybe others have had better luck with them.
I contacted proper, but their quote is 3x my current insurance.
@Ro Maga no problem. Yes, it is surprising that there isn't a solution yet and the "others" are indeed expensive. I think Slice can insure more than just a room but I believe they are not in NJ yet. If you want to PM me I can give you the contact info for the woman I met with Slice and at least have a direct contact. I believe BP will not let me send an email address across this open forum.
@Ro Maga. I agree with you and @Michael Greenberg about the dearth of options for short-term rentals or vacation rentals. It's such an untapped market and virtually none of the major carriers are offering a product to meet the need. And there is definitely a need. A regular homeowner's policy or tenant policy won't cover any claim if the carrier finds out that the incident occurred during a short-term stay.
I like Slice because it's totally on-demand. It's relatively cheap per day and it seems to cover a lot that other services don't. (Loss of income due to not being able to use your rental, liquor liability -- as in, if a guest gets drunk off your booze and then drives drunk.) Like Michael said, I don't think they're in Jersey, yet. CBIZ, which partners with VRBO's parent company HomeAway, is another good one.
I out this question to my insurance agent - a man of many competitive plans. I will post his response sometime Wednesday afternoon when I hear back from him.
I have been using CBIZ for about 18 month on my STR per another BP user's recommendation. So far no complaints but I haven't needed to file any claims. It is about $950/yr for a 1/1 condo which I think was about 50% more than my old homeowner policy but still not too bad.
"I would be able to help someone in that situation. Most companies give discounts for bundling policies but it doesn’t always make sense to do so to optimize on value – the combination of price and coverage. Most companies don’t price all types of home locations and types of occupancy equally well."
Rocco Esposito of Esposito Insurance, in Nutley is closer to you than I am in South Jersey, Rocco is a business affiliate of SJREIA like me and chairs at least one of the subgroups up your way (unlike me)
Disclaimer: Rocco is not related to me and I receive no commission or referral fee. He does work with a number of saisified investors at the SJREIA