Short-Term Rental Insurance: What Airbnb and Vrbo Require From Hosts

Short-Term Rental Insurance: What Airbnb and Vrbo Require From Hosts

Airbnb and Vrbo both require hosts to carry insurance under their terms. A standard homeowners policy generally limits or excludes coverage for renting to paying guests. Many hosts need liability protection and property coverage designed for a rental property. Milepost, a Berkshire Hathaway company, helps owners who rent a second home or an investment property to guests find property coverage. The Airbnb and Vrbo terms, coverage amounts, and states on this page are current as of October 2026.
 

What Is Short-Term Rental Insurance?

Short-term rental insurance commonly refers to coverage for a property that its owner rents to guests for short stays, such as through Airbnb or Vrbo. Hosts often call it STR insurance or vacation rental insurance. Short-term rental coverage typically includes protection for the building, liability, and lost rental income. Some insurance companies combine these in a dedicated short-term rental policy, and others sell liability or rental income coverage separately.
 

A short-term rental is commonly defined as a stay of 30 days or fewer.
 

Do Airbnb and Vrbo Require Hosts to Carry Insurance?

Yes. Airbnb's and Vrbo's terms require hosts to carry insurance.
 

What Airbnb's Terms of Service say

Section 5.7 of Airbnb's Terms of Service is titled "Your Insurance Obligations." In the version that applies in the US, you agree "to obtain and maintain at your expense primary insurance covering your liability." Primary insurance generally pays before other coverage. The required insurance covers liability for third-party bodily injury and property damage arising from a guest's stay. Airbnb can ask you for proof of the insurance. You must also tell Airbnb if the insurance lapses or is cancelled. Section 5.1 adds that you are "responsible for obtaining appropriate insurance for your Host Services."
 

What Vrbo's Host Terms of Service say

Vrbo's Host Terms of Service make hosts "solely responsible for obtaining insurance coverage sufficient to protect their Properties and Guests, as applicable." The coverage must be in place before the first guest arrives and through each guest's departure. This clause is section 16.1 of the terms effective October 29, 2026, and section 15.1 in earlier terms.
 

Local rules and lenders can add requirements

Some states and cities require short-term rental operators to carry liability insurance. In Massachusetts, for example, operators must have at least $1 million in liability insurance for each short-term rental (Chapter 337 of the Acts of 2018). The state says a hosting platform's insurance may be sufficient if it carries equal or greater coverage. We recommend that you check sources such as your city or county short-term rental regulations, homeowners association rules, and mortgage documents. If your city, association, or lender asks for proof of coverage, our agents can prepare a certificate of insurance for the property coverage you purchase through us.
 

Do Airbnb or Vrbo Provide Coverage?

Yes. Airbnb and Vrbo both include coverage for hosts at no added cost. Airbnb's program is called AirCover for Hosts, and Vrbo's is its $1 million liability insurance program. Each applies only to stays booked through that platform, with its own coverage limits and exclusions. Both platforms say their programs don't replace your own insurance, and both still require you to carry your own coverage. Neither program typically covers losses unrelated to a guest stay, such as storm damage to an empty property. Given these and other coverage gaps, platform protection is usually not enough alone.

Who pays for each type of coverage, and who it protects:

• AirCover for Hosts: free for Airbnb hosts. It protects hosts, and its liability insurance also covers people who help them host, like co-hosts and cleaners.

• Vrbo's liability insurance program: included at no additional cost to Vrbo hosts. Vrbo holds the policy, and owners and property managers are covered under it.

• Vrbo's Property Damage Protection: optional insurance that guests buy. The host chooses the coverage level offered, and the plan can help cover accidental damage to the host's property during the stay.

• Your own insurance: purchased by you, and required by both platforms.

AirCover for Hosts

AirCover for Hosts includes $1 million in host liability insurance and $3 million in host damage protection. Host liability insurance, formerly called Host Protection Insurance, is underwritten by third-party insurers. It can respond when a host is legally responsible for injury to a guest or others. It can also cover damage to or theft of a guest's or others' property. Its exclusions include intentional damage or injury, among others. Host damage protection reimburses hosts for certain guest-caused damage to their home or belongings. Airbnb says AirCover is not a substitute for personal insurance and suggests that hosts ask their insurance company whether their policy overlaps with it.
 

Vrbo's $1 million liability insurance program

Vrbo's $1 million liability insurance program applies automatically to reservations processed online through Vrbo's checkout. It can respond to liability and medical payments claims, such as a guest's accidental injury at your rental. It is not designed to pay for damage to the host's own property. Vrbo says the program works alongside your existing liability policy, and that a 25% deductible applies if you don't have your own liability policy for your vacation rental.
 

Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Short-Term Rentals?

Homeowners insurance usually does not fully cover short-term rentals. Many homeowners policies treat renting to paying guests as a business activity, which they limit or exclude.
 

If you rent out your primary residence or a room in it

You might rent out a room while you live in your home, or rent out the whole home while you travel. Either way, the home is still your owner-occupied primary residence, which is not eligible for the property coverage we place. Some homeowners insurance companies offer an add-on for occasional rentals, called a home-sharing endorsement or rider. Availability and limits may vary. We recommend that you ask your current homeowners insurance company whether your policy covers paying guests and whether it offers an endorsement.
 

Does landlord insurance cover Airbnb and other short-term rentals?

It depends on the policy. Many landlord policies are designed for long-term tenants. We recommend that you ask your insurance agent whether your landlord policy covers short-term guests. If your policy does not, our agents can check whether your rental property is eligible for coverage.
 

Short-Term Rental Insurance for Second Homes and Investment Properties

Second homes and investment properties that you rent to guests can be eligible for coverage with the insurance companies we represent.
 

A second home is a property you use for part of the year, such as a vacation home, and rent to guests when you're away. Many second homes sit empty between seasons. If yours does, we recommend that you ask our agents how the empty period affects your coverage.
 

An investment property is one you own to earn rental income rather than to live in. It can be rented to short-term guests, long-term tenants, or both.
 

These are some of the types of properties we help our customers find insurance for:

• Rental homes and dwellings, for short-term or long-term rental

• Airbnb and Vrbo rentals

• Secondary and vacation homes

• Chalet and mountain rentals

Eligibility depends on the type of property, how it is used, its condition, and the state where it is located. We can help you find property coverage in the 28 states on the property map on our About page.
 

What Short-Term Rental Insurance Typically Covers

Short-term rental insurance typically includes liability, guest damage, and lost rental income coverage. Coverage for furnishings and other contents, as well as theft or vandalism by guests, may also be available. [Decision #3] [Decision #4]
 

Liability coverage for guest injuries

General liability coverage is usually available for rental properties. After a covered incident, this coverage can help pay a guest injury claim or other liability claims. It can respond when you are legally responsible for bodily injury or damage to others' property. Purchasing enough coverage is also critically important. We recommend that you discuss liability limits with our agents.
 

Damage caused by guests

On the policies we place, damage caused by tenants or guests is generally covered when both of these are true:

1. The property is not vacant.
2. The policy is not set up with vacant property coverage forms.

Coverage for guest damage is not a guarantee. Things like normal wear and tear and "hard living," meaning damage that builds up from rough or careless use, are often not covered.
 

Lost rental income

Rental income coverage, also called loss of rental income or business interruption coverage, is usually available. If a covered loss results in direct physical loss of or damage to the property that makes it unusable, business interruption coverage can help replace the rental or business income that would have been earned during the period of repair or restoration.
 

What is typically not covered

Things that are often not covered include:

• Normal wear and tear and "hard living"

• Damage from some natural disasters, such as floods and earthquakes, which generally need separate coverage

• Fences, sheds, and detached garages, unless they are specifically requested and scheduled (listed) on the policy

• Guests' own belongings, under your property coverage

What Affects the Cost of Short-Term Rental Insurance?

Short-term rental insurance cost typically depends on factors such as the property's age, value, and construction type. The policy limits, deductible, and cause of loss, meaning the types of events the policy covers, also matter. There is no set price, because the insurance company generally prices each property individually.

How to Get a Short-Term Rental Insurance Quote

Our agents prepare property quotes by phone during business hours, usually in about 15 minutes. Online quotes are not currently available for property coverage. Because our agents aren't paid on commission, the coverage we recommend is the coverage that fits your property.
 

Milepost Insurance is a licensed agency, and a Berkshire Hathaway company. The insurance companies we represent are rated A++ (Superior) by A.M. Best, the highest financial-strength rating an insurance company can hold*.
 

Have details like these ready when you call:

• The property's address

• How the property is rented and which platforms you use

• The building's age, value, and construction type

Call 1 (844) 380-6009 during business hours (Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm central time) to get a short-term rental insurance quote from one of our non-commissioned agents.