How much does Airbnb insurance cost?
More than the homeowners policy it replaces and less than the homeowners policy plus the claim that policy would have denied. We do not print a number, because the carriers that write this class publish none and any figure would be wrong for your house. What we can tell you is what moves the price. A short-term rental policy is priced as a small commercial account: on the cost to rebuild, the state and the distance to a fire station, the pool, hot tub or waterfront, the construction and roof age, your claims history, and then on how you operate, meaning minimum stay, occupancy, events and the number of listings. The number of nights you host moves it less than any of those.
Tell us the situation.
One licensed human replies the same business day — not five agents, not an auto-responder. If the policy you have is already the right one, we will tell you.
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The detail
The leading short-term rental program "is written on a Commercial General Liability (CGL) form—the same policy structure used by hotels and hospitality businesses", and "was created to replace the property owner’s current Homeowners (HO) or Landlord (DP) insurance policy."
That program is "underwritten by Lloyd’s of London and Concert Insurance Group", and "is available in all 50 states, including Washington, D.C."
Vrbo requires hosts to carry their own insurance: "As part of listing on Vrbo, you are required to have sufficient insurance coverage." A host without a liability policy of their own pays a 25% deductible on any claim under Vrbo’s program.
A homeowners policy excludes liability "arising out of or in connection with a ‘business’", defines business as any activity paid more than $2,000 in the prior twelve months, and exempts only rental "on an occasional basis if used only as a residence".
ISO Homeowners 3 Special Form, HO 00 03 05 11 (Maine Bureau of Insurance forms library)
What this means for you
- Price the house, not the listing. The largest component of a short-term rental premium is the property cover, and it is set the same way any building is: rebuild cost, construction, roof, protection class and the catastrophe perils at the address. A $900,000 rebuild on the coast costs more to insure than a $300,000 cabin inland whether or not either has a single booking. If your quote came in high, the first question is what rebuild value it was priced on, because the second most common defect after the wrong form is a limit set on purchase price.
- The amenities are the second lever. A pool, a hot tub, a dock, a trampoline or a fire pit each add exposure the underwriter prices or declines. Fencing, a locking spa cover, alarms and signage bring the price down and sometimes bring a declined risk back. The photographs in your listing are the underwriter’s inspection; assume every amenity you advertise is rated.
- How you run it matters more than how often. A three-night minimum, a firm occupancy cap, no events, a cleaner between stays and a keypad instead of a lockbox all price better than their opposites, because they describe a host who screens guests and inspects the property. A one-night minimum with sixteen guests permitted describes a party house, and it is priced like one or not at all.
- Compare it to the right number. The wrong comparison is to your current homeowners premium, because that policy is not insuring what you are doing. The right comparison is to the homeowners premium plus the cost of the first denied claim, or to the cost of a rescinded policy after a fire. A short-term rental policy also carries cover the homeowners policy never had, notably the lost bookings after a loss, which on a seasonal property can exceed the repair.
- Get a quote rather than an estimate. Because the carriers publish no rates, any number on a blog is a guess about a different house. A quote takes the address, the rebuild value, the amenities, the operating rules and your loss history, and comes back in a day or two. Send us your current policy paperwork along with it and we will tell you whether the policy you hold today excludes the listing, which is the number that actually matters.
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Related questions
- Why won’t anyone publish a price?
Because the policy is priced as a commercial account on the specific building, and the range across two ordinary houses is wide enough that a published figure misleads more people than it helps. Rebuild cost, catastrophe exposure at the address, amenities and operating rules each move the number by a large factor. The carriers that write this class publish none, and a blog that prints one is describing a house that is not yours.
- Is it cheaper to keep my homeowners policy and add an endorsement?
Often, and for some hosts it is the right answer. A home-sharing or rental endorsement on a homeowners or second-home policy suits an owner who lets occasionally and lives in or regularly uses the property. It stops suiting you when the listing runs most of the year, when it is a second property you never occupy, or when you need the lost bookings covered. The endorsement is cheaper because it covers less; whether that is a saving depends on what you are actually doing.
- Second-home cover with a rental endorsement
- Does the number of listings change the price?
Yes, in two directions. Each property is priced on its own building and amenities, so more houses means more premium. But an operator with several listings is underwritten as a business, asked about screening, house rules, cleaning and loss history across the portfolio, and priced on the pattern rather than on each house alone. Airbnb also changes its own terms at six listings, after which its liability protection may pay only as excess of yours, which is one more reason the policy underneath has to be real.
- What information do you need for a quote?
The address, the year built and construction, the square footage, the roof age, a rough rebuild value if you have one, the amenities, your minimum stay and occupancy rules, whether events are permitted, how many listings you run, and any claims in the last five years. Your listing URL answers half of that. Your current policy paperwork answers the other half and tells us what you are replacing.
Need this handled?
Reading about it and having it handled are different jobs, and the second one is ours. We place the accounts other brokers decline — claims history, a cancellation, an unusual operation, a business nobody wants to underwrite twice — and we will tell you when the policy you already have is the right one. Tell us the situation and a licensed human replies the same business day.
Written by the licensed brokers at Boring Insurance. Last updated 2026-09-03. See all guides.