It’s unfortunate when we hear stories about guests who have been less than respectful to the very hosts who have opened their homes to them. Yet, we’re also thrilled when we hear that we’ve helped protect one of our clients. So when we got this note from Ryan, we wanted to share it.
"After a problem guest clogged the shower drain, my unit was not rentable when the next guest arrived. I reached out to Slice to see if my Slice Homeshare Insurance policy had any coverages which would help. Slice's Claim team contacted me right away and explained that one of their Special Homeshare Coverages was for Rental Interruption. It covered the loss of income for that one day with no deductible charged. Definitely a help in a stressful situation. So glad I had Slice coverage!
—Ryan, California Resident, Slice Policyholder
Our policyholder, Ryan, regularly rents out two units in his home. He learned about Slice and knew that our coverage was a perfect fit for his situation that wouldn't likely be covered elsewhere. Our policy is designed for homeshare risks, and as Ryan found out, it contains coverages specifically written to help in homeshare claim situations. Most insurance companies haven’t updated their policies to cover people who rent their home for extra income.
Traditionally, homeowner's policies are designed to cover an owner's home and personal property from losses—they’re not written to protect a business. So when you rent out your home for profit, your insurer may very well consider it a business. Because insurance companies are just now beginning to review and understand this new “sharing economy”, and the new types of risks it poses, many homeowner's policies still contain exclusions for losses such as:
- Businesses that earn more than > $2,000/yr
- Theft to personal property in part of home rented to others
- Personal liability claims from a business
It’s true that homeowners who participate in homesharing (renting out part or all of their home for income) expose themselves to unforeseen risks—just google it if you really want to scare yourself. Organizations including the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the Insurance Information Institute are trying to educate homeowners about typical homeowners insurance policies that may not honor claims resulting from homeshare situations. We’d like to help them get the word out, too! We think it’s so important to empower people to find ways to earn an income, while still being protected.
Check out our recent blog post on other homeshare claims that the Slice policy would cover: https://blog.slice.is/isitcovered
And if you have a story like Ryan's, please share it with us at stories@slice.is.
