Airbnb Insurance in Australia: 101 for Hosts

Renting your property to vacationers and business travelers using Airbnb or its alternatives in Australia can be a fantastic opportunity to earn extra income and meet new people from all walks of life. But although hosting on Airbnb is certainly a rewarding experience, you don’t always get the perfect guests; sometimes, things can go wrong.

Whether you are renting out a single room in your primary residence or a holiday home you’re not using, you need to protect your property from the potential risks that could emerge from running Airbnb with the right insurance.

So, if you’ve decided to start Airbnb in Australia, you might wonder how much insurance coverage you need to protect your assets and what your options are as a homeowner.

In this blog article, we’ll discuss the main ways to get Airbnb insurance in Australia so you can protect your home and belongings against damage and yourself against personal liability claims.

Airbnb Insurance Australia: Why Do You Need It and What Are Your Options?

Remember that standard home and contents insurance packages are specifically tailored to homeowners who live in their homes and extend to their visiting guests. But they don’t include guests using your home as travel accommodation.

Most insurance providers consider renting short-term through Airbnb and other platforms as “commercial or business use.” They will cancel your residential home and contents insurance policies if they discover you’re using your home to operate an Airbnb simply because their insurance cover is not designed for the short-term rental market.

What protection does Airbnb offer?

Hosts who list their properties on Airbnb are protected through AirCover for Hosts. Airbnb markets this free program as “top-to-bottom protection for Hosts.” It includes guest identity verification, reservation screening, $3M USD Host damage protection, $1M USD Host liability insurance, and a 24-hour Safety Line.

AirCover for Hosts covers Airbnb activities and can give you some peace of mind so you can focus on providing your guests with the best customer service. Although managing Airbnb involves a lot of work and can be time-consuming, you can automate the entire process using vacation rental software like Hospitable.

Host damage protection covers you if a guest damages your place or belongings during an Airbnb stay. You’ll be reimbursed for certain damage caused to your home and belongings by guests if the guest does not pay for it. Host damage protection program covers you for:

• Damage to your home, furnishings, art, and valuables
• Damage to parked cars, boats, and other vehicles that you store at your home
• Costs of extra cleaning services needed after a guest’s stay
• Lost income if you need to cancel Airbnb bookings due to guest damage

It’s important to remember that host damage protection offered by Airbnb isn’t an insurance policy, and not all damage is included within its terms. That’s why Airbnb suggests you also purchase personal insurance for any property damage caused by guests that this program doesn’t protect.

Host liability insurance covers you if you’re found legally responsible for a guest being hurt or their property being damaged or stolen while staying at your rental. It also protects you if you’re found legally responsible for damage caused by a guest to common areas, for example, building lobbies and nearby properties. Members of your team who help you host, like co-hosts and cleaners, are also included in this policy.

Landlord insurance

Most landlord insurance packages require residential tenancy agreements and/or minimum stays of 90 days to qualify. Still, some landlord insurance policies can cover you for Airbnb and other short-term rentals, but generally only if you’re renting out a room. Landlord insurance isn’t good for entire homes, and other restrictions exist. For example, you need to be living in the house to be covered.

Short-term rental insurance

There are also insurance providers that are offering supplementary insurance packages tailored to Airbnb and other short-term rentals. Short-term rental insurance can provide hosts with protection against different risks, including expensive legal costs and accidental damage caused by paying guests.

This type of insurance can cover you if you’re renting out your entire house or apartment or just part of it, like a room on Airbnb. You can often choose from the following options:    

• Pay-per-night short stay, when you only need to pay insurance for the days that your rental space is booked
• Short-stay rentals are designed for homes rented out for most of the year and can cover you for up to 12 months.

Direct booking website with built-in insurance

Listing your property on Airbnb is a good option if you’re just starting your vacation rental business, as it gives you a lot of exposure and offers you some protection. But your bookings depend on its ever-changing algorithms. You need to pay a commission fee for each completed reservation.

So, if you want to become more independent and keep more money in your pocket, you should consider building your own website where guests can make direct bookings. Don’t worry if you don’t have any technical skills. If you opt for Hospitable, you can easily create your direct booking website with built-in insurance using our professional, easy-to-customize website templates.

You can list your Hospitable direct booking website with Google Vacation Rentals, and we’ll insure your property with up to $5M worth of damage protection (powered by Know Your Guest by Superhog). Insurance will cover all your reservations as long as your guests are verified through Superhog’s guest screening process.

By creating your direct booking website with Hospitable, you’ll get an insurance policy that will protect your property from damage. You’ll also benefit from guest screening that will help prevent damage from occurring, reduce the risk of dealing with squatters, and protect you from scams. 

You may also want to check out our blog article, where we discuss what you can do as a vacation rental owner to minimize the risks of Airbnb theft and protect your valuables.