Owning a holiday home is exciting. It’s a private getaway for family and friends while being a potential source of income. But just like your primary home, a holiday home must be protected against unexpected events like vandalism, theft, and natural disasters.
What is holiday rental insurance?
With the rise of people renting out their holiday homes to generate income or pay bills like land tax, it’s essential to understand why short-stay insurance is important. Using booking websites like Airbnb and Stayz can be lucrative; however, what happens if damages, theft, storms, or fire damage your beloved home?
Renting your home out to either friends or total strangers comes with risks many insurance companies won’t cover. Atlantic Insurance holiday rental insurance, sometimes called short stay insurance, assists our clients in Melbourne, Victoria and throughout Australia who are taking advantage of making money from their holiday homes.
It is imperative to prepare for the risks that are associated with lending your property out to strangers.
Short Stay Insurance is an essential consideration that can offer peace of mind and protection when leasing out your holiday home to protect your short-term holiday rental and avoid costly challenges later down the track.
Our short-stay insurance benefits include:
- Specialist and individual advice to every client tailored to their requirements and budget.
- We agreed on service levels with our preferred assessors on every Atlantic Short Stay claim.
- Emergency assistance.
- Competitive monthly premiums are available at no additional cost.
- Coverage for malicious damage and theft by tenants if specified in the insurance policy.
Our holiday rental insurance can also cover your contents, building, loss of rent, rent and rent default.
Holiday rental insurance – what coverage do you need?
Whether you rent your holiday home for a week or more doesn’t matter. Short-stay insurance covers you for damages that may occur. It’s important to note that many general insurers don’t offer coverage for holiday homes. Holiday rental insurance protects both you and your guests. Inadequate insurance coverage exposes you and holidaying people to unnecessary risks.
A good holiday insurance policy should include:
- Public liability insurance: Provides protection if a guest on your property is injured. It protects you if you are found responsible for personal injury to a visitor or guest at your holiday home.
- Rent protection: If your holiday home is unavailable for rental due to a flood, fire or other unexpected damage, this type of insurance will provide coverage for the loss of rent incurred up to a specified amount.
- Landlord insurance: While most holidaymakers won’t damage your beloved home, some may. It’s important that the coverage includes theft, loss or rent, damage and legal liability.
Top questions you must ask your current insurer
If you haven’t taken out specific holiday rental insurance, you should find answers to the following questions from your current insurer:
- Are your building and contents covered if it is rented out for short periods?
- Does the current insurance offer an option for lessee/tenant damage?
- Do you need specific landlord’s insurance, or should the policy be explicitly tailored to short-term Airbnb and Stayz-type rentals?
- Does the product disclosure statement (PDS) for your current policy require you to use reasonable care when selecting tenants?
- Does your insurance require you to have regular internal and external inspections of the property and to keep a record of the inspections?
- Have you let your current insurer know that you’re renting the property out to holidaymakers? If not, you may not have the insurance coverage you thought you did.
Insurance coverage for when you use your holiday home
If you enjoy your holiday home only for use by yourself and friends when you’re there, you’ll need to purchase home and contents insurance similar to the type you have at your primary residence. It’s important with this type of insurance that you let your insurer know if the home is going to be unoccupied for periods of time. Some policies stipulate the holiday home cannot be left vacant for 60 days. Every insurer has different guidelines, so it’s crucial to read the product disclosure statement carefully.
There may also be requirements that you regularly inspect your holiday home for wear and tear and to check for any maintenance issues. Some insurance policies may not cover you if you can’t provide evidence, you’re regularly maintaining your holiday home. Got questions? Contact us today for a no-obligation free quote at (03) 9836 3733.
Protect your holiday rental property with Atlantic Insurance
While some short-stay holiday rentals offer advice and suggestions about insurance, Atlantic Insurance suggests you don’t rely on this for your insurance coverage. Our experienced Client Managers can tailor specific short-stay insurance quotes to suit your budget. Atlantic Insurance Brokers can help you develop affordable, tailored holiday rental insurance that works for your budget. Contact us today to discuss your Short Term Stay Insurance needs and ensure your holiday home is protected this holiday season.
Any information contained on this page of the website is general advice only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Your should consider these, having regard to the appropriateness of this advice and the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (‘PDS’), Target Market Determination (‘TMD’) and Financial Services Guide (‘FSG’), which will be provided following any formal recommendation to you.
