Airbnb Gains Insurance Policy For Short-Term Rental Hosts

For months, Airbnb has been in the spotlight due to the problems the service is creating for flourishing neighborhoods. Couple that with horror stories from both renters and hosts, and it’s no surprise that the company has gotten a lot of attention for all the wrong reasons. Hosts have complained about damages their homes receive during the renting period, and customers have also spoke out against not getting what they paid for.

In hopes to at least solve one of these problems, Airbnb has announced their new insurance policy, courtesy of Peers, an economy lobbying organization/ sharing marketplace.

Peers states, “Homesharing Liability Insurance provides $1M personal liability insurance for your homeshare in the U.S. no matter which company you use to short-term rent your home. Enjoy the peace of mind knowing you’re covered wherever you go.”

This insurance policy will provide Airbnb homeowners with a pretty wide net of insurance.

Previously, Airbnb had a program in place called Host Guarantee which covered slip and fall lawsuits, theft, and bodily harm. In October, the company put into place an insurance free of charge for hosts and offers up $2 million in damages.

According to Forbes, Peers will be available to Airbnb, as well as Uber, who has its own set of problems, and Lyft workers. It’s not just renters on Airbnb either.

“If hosts are renting out on multiple platforms, it might be easier to get independent liability insurance. And more importantly, Peers’ product offers income protection. It will cover up to three months or $5,000 of lost income resulting from a damaged home that can’t be rented out.”

Insurance aside, there’s still a lot of problems to consider. For instance, some people have decided to illegally rent their residencies, and providing their space almost like an illegal hotel without any regard for their present occupants. For more urban areas like New York and San Francisco, this is a huge problem.

“Landlords were evicting residents from affordable units and single-room occupancy buildings, opting to make more money by renting the residential units as unregulated, cut-rate hotel rooms, undermining the rent laws that protect our affordable housing and creating public safety issues.”

However, not everyone thinks this is such a bad thing. CEO Brian Chesky explains how it’s helping people survive in a crumbling economy.

“What the sharing economy really means is that now people in 60 seconds can be micro-entrepreneurs. We launched during the economic crisis of 2008 and there were people who really needed this change to happen. I think it’s fundamentally a good thing for the world.”

Do you think these new policies is just a way for Airbnb to misdirect their larger issues?

[Image via 360b / Shutterstock.com]