Renting Out Your Property Over The Summer Holidays - Are You Insured?

A recent AFR article highlights the possibility of home-owners not being adequately covered by their insurance policies for short-term rentals as the summer and Christmas holidays loom. If you are getting ready to rent out your home through platforms such as Airbnb, Stayz, Homeaway or booking.com, it would be wise to check to see if your Home and Contents Insurance policy covers you for possible risks that can happen. Risks include cases of your renters not being covered if they injure themselves on your property, or your contents being accidentally or maliciously damaged or stolen. A simple call to your broker for short-term rental stays can help to mitigate you from the financial loss if anything does go wrong. The Insurance Council of Australia recommends this checklist before you let out your property via a short-term online platform:

• Check your insurance and consider specialist insurance
• Don't rely on platforms' host protection insurance
• Remove valuable items such as jewellery, original artworks
• Check council and strata rules that may prevent short-term leasing
• Make sure your property is safe and secure