Article by Sherelyn Schoch on March 12, 2025

Turning your home or a spare property into an Airbnb rental is an exciting opportunity to boost your income, but it comes with risks that standard homeowners insurance often doesn’t cover. Before you welcome your first guest, it’s crucial to get the right protection in place. At Yetter Insurance Agency, we’re here to guide you through the insurance landscape and ensure your Airbnb venture is secure. Here are some things you need to consider about insurance when starting an Airbnb property.
Why Standard Homeowners Insurance Falls Short
If you’re planning to rent out your property—whether it’s a room in your home, your entire house, or a separate vacation rental—your typical homeowners insurance likely won’t cut it. These policies are built for personal use, not the commercial activity of short-term rentals. When you open your space to guests, you’re stepping into a business role, facing risks like guest injuries, property damage, or theft that your current coverage might not handle.   Remember, your homeowner’s insurance is intended to cover your personal exposures, not your business or income-producing exposures.  Without proper protection, you could be left covering costly damages out of pocket. At Yetter Insurance Agency, we’ve seen this firsthand and want to help you avoid those pitfalls -it could be costly!
Airbnb’s AirCover: A Starting Point, Not a Solution
Airbnb provides AirCover for Hosts, a free program that offers some protection when you list on their platform. It includes:
  • Host Liability Insurance: Up to $1 million if you’re held liable for a guest’s injury or damage to their belongings during their stay.
  • Host Damage Protection: Up to $3 million for damage to your property or belongings caused by guests, covering things like pet mishaps or extra cleaning costs.
While AirCover is a helpful perk, it’s not a substitute for comprehensive insurance. It has gaps—excluding intentional damage, normal wear and tear, or lost rental income—and the claims process can be slow since it’s handled through Airbnb. At Yetter Insurance Agency, we recommend treating AirCover as a backup while securing a policy that truly fits your needs.
Insurance Options Tailored by Yetter Insurance Agency
To fully protect your Airbnb property, you’ll need insurance designed for short-term rentals. Here are the options we at Yetter Insurance Agency can help you explore:
  1. Homeowners Insurance with a Rental Endorsement
    If you live in the property and rent it out occasionally—like a spare room or your home while you’re away—we can check if your current homeowners policy allows a home-sharing endorsement. This extends liability and property damage coverage to short-term rentals, though it may cap rental days (often around 62 per year). We’ll review your policy and clarify what’s covered.  Erie has these endorsements if your property qualifies for an Erie Insurance policy.
  2. Landlord Insurance
    For a separate property or frequent rentals, landlord insurance might be the right fit. This covers the structure, liability, and sometimes loss of rental income from events like fire or water damage. Since not all landlord policies include short-term rentals, we’ll ensure yours aligns with your Airbnb plans.  There are endorsements with our carriers to make sure that the Air BnB coverage will apply.
  3. Short-Term Rental Insurance
    For properties dedicated to Airbnb, we partner with top providers like Proper Insurance, Steadily, and Obie to offer specialized short-term rental insurance. These policies blend homeowners and commercial coverage, protecting against property damage, liability, theft, and income loss when your property’s unrentable due to a covered event. It’s perfect if hosting is a steady income stream for you.  However, these policies are a little harder to obtain with the current insurance market.
  4. Commercial Insurance
    If you’re managing multiple Airbnb properties or your local rules classify your rental as a business, we can set you up with commercial insurance. This offers broader liability and property coverage, with options like an umbrella policy for extra protection. It’s a bigger investment, but we’ll tailor it to your goals.
Risks and How Yetter Insurance Protects You
Renting out your property introduces unique risks. Here’s how we can help:
  • Guest Injuries: A guest slips and sues for medical costs. Our liability options may cover legal fees and settlements.
  • Property Damage: A rowdy guest damages your furniture. We’ll find coverage for repairs, beyond what AirCover offers.
  • Theft or Vandalism: A guest steals your TV or trashes the place. Our policies may fill gaps AirCover doesn’t.
  • Natural Disasters: Fire or flood strikes. We’ll ensure you have the right homeowners or landlord coverage, plus extras like flood insurance if needed.
  • Loss of Income: Damage cancels bookings. We can include income loss protection in your plan.
How Yetter Insurance Agency Gets You Started
  1. Review Your Current Policy: Bring us your existing policy, and we’ll see what’s covered for Airbnb use. Honesty about your plans ensures no surprises later.
  2. Assess Your Hosting Goals: Are you renting casually or building a business? We’ll match you with an endorsement, landlord policy, or short-term rental plan.
  3. Customized Quotes: We’ll shop around with our trusted partners to find coverage for liability, property, and income that suits you.
  4. Navigate Local Rules: Some areas require permits or commercial insurance.  Make sure your township allows these types of rentals.
Partner with Yetter Insurance Agency
Starting an Airbnb is a thrilling step, and at Yetter Insurance Agency, we’re committed to making it a safe one. With the right insurance, you can host with confidence, knowing your investment is secure. Whether it’s a simple endorsement or a robust short-term rental policy, we’ll customize a plan that fits your property and vision. Contact us today to speak with one of our licensed agents—let’s protect your Airbnb journey from the ground up!