STR Insurance

What a policy written for this business actually contains, what it costs, and why the thing the platform gives you for free is not one.

The four parts that matter

• Liability. The big one. A guest injured on your property. Look for $1M per occurrence as a floor, and consider an umbrella above it.
• Property / dwelling. The building itself, at replacement cost rather than actual cash value — the difference matters enormously on a roof.
• Contents. Your $25,000 of furnishing. Homeowners contents cover assumes your possessions; this is commercial-grade wear from strangers.
• Loss of income. The house is uninhabitable for four months after a storm. This is the line that decides whether you can still pay the mortgage while it is offline.

Capiche? Now the thing people mistake for insurance.

Host protection is not a policy

It is secondary coverage with a claims process and real carve-outs. Commonly excluded: wear and tear, cash, pets, mould, and loss of income — which is four of the things you would most want covered.

It also only applies to bookings made through that platform. Your direct bookings have no protection at all.

What your carrier will ask about

Compliance and coverage are the same conversation. A carrier that finds a non-compliant pool barrier after an incident has a clean argument that you breached a policy condition — which is why Level 5’s cheap $200–$600 safety list is also an insurance decision.