Real Estate Investor · Brunswick, GA · Member since 2013 · 22 posts · 3 votes
Hello, I have a STR unit next to my house thats insured properly as a temp rental, but am considering turning a multi family into one as well. This type of insurance is twice as much as my former single family home insurance policy so Im wanting to get quotes from several companies that do this. Ive heard of Prosper & CBIZ, but what else is out there that others have experience with? I cant believe how difficult it is to find coverage, & how expensive it is! Thanks for your help!
I agree with @Andy O'Neal about Proper. It's coverage areas are pretty good, and I like that it acts as your homeowner's policy as well. I don't know what policy you currently have, but I've found that the policies in my experience were about 50% more than a traditional homeowner's policy.
In general, good for you for looking to get covered. I talk to a lot of people in our Airbnb workshops here in Denver that are relying on their normal homeowners' insurance.
@Schelley Stamps - I've only had a listing up and running on AIrbnb for a couple weeks, but I've already used two: Slice and Proper. The premium will vary depending on the size of the property, but to give you an idea I have quoted both a 600 sqft / 1 bedroom and a 2500 sqft / 5 bedroom in roughly the same area of Baltimore.
Slice is app-based and you can get both a quote and a policy in five minutes. It is sooo easy. With Slice, you only insure the nights you have a booking. My little house runs $6-$7 per night. The bigger house is $9-$10 per.
Proper is a more classic annual policy that you can get quoted in a day and probably get a binding policy in 24-48 hours, provided your home doesn't require anything special*. For a year of Proper, the little one is around *820 and the big house $1480.
Since Proper took a little longer to get up and running, I used Slice to cover my house for the first few stays. But I'm a Proper customer going forward.
*The homes I'm insuring are 100+ year old townhomes and Proper required inspections of both the wiring and plumbing... another expense to consider. I happily paid because when push comes to shove, I just feel more comfortable with the more proven Lloyds of London policy that Proper is selling me.
Hey Andy, thanks for the quick reply! My concern with the Slice coverage is this...what happens if the home catches fire ect when no one is renting it? The coverage I have now is for rentals with yearly tenants, so it has no provisions to be considered a secondary insurance policy. Its a "grandfathered" policy with great coverage so I kinda hate to cancel it. Meanwhile I have a unit ready to go but havent got my coverage in line yet...
I had the same concern and only used Slice because it took me a couple extra weeks to get Proper underwritten. Though it took a little longer than I expected, I've been very happy with the follow-up/service at Proper.
I agree with @Andy O'Neal about Proper. It's coverage areas are pretty good, and I like that it acts as your homeowner's policy as well. I don't know what policy you currently have, but I've found that the policies in my experience were about 50% more than a traditional homeowner's policy.
In general, good for you for looking to get covered. I talk to a lot of people in our Airbnb workshops here in Denver that are relying on their normal homeowners' insurance.
I have a policy through Lloyd's of London, which is who underwrites Proper's insurance. I did it through my insurance broker, since I already have a policy with LLoyds for one of my other rental properties.
I added a short-term policy onto my current homeowner's policy, and the premium barely went up. My homeowner's is through a broker, not a classic insurer. You may want to check with your existing carrier first to see if the costs are that different.
Hi @Schelley Stamps I use American Modern Insurance (few people have heard of this for STRs). It is taking a while for the larger insurance companies to enter the market but you could also call around for commercial policies. I think the biggest thing to look at is the liability exclusions and the overall amount of liability coverage if a guest decides to sue. Hope this helps!
There's a company called My Property Protect that offers a $5 per night policy similar to Slice. I believe it's just for damage or theft. Not full comprehensive coverage.
@Daniel Scott Yes, I went with My Property Protect. It is just $5 a night and links to my Airbnb calendar. It is the only thing I have found that is similar to Slice. I have used it several times now, but have not had any claims. I am shocked their aren’t several companies like this.
@Daniel Scott you would use this as a supplement to your regular Home Owners insurance policy, it is not meant to be the main policy for the property. If you have a commercial policy rated for STR, then this $5 per night would be duplicate Property coverage.
Looks like a nice option if your Homeowners policy does not allow STR, but pretty pricey compared to an annual STR policy for what it is covering.
@Jason Bott thanks for the explanation. I checked with insurance broker and they shared a policy from progressive, $100 more for the year and they allow short term rentals as long as they’re by the week.