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Vacation Rental Restoration

By William May
Published: 12/28/15 Topics: Insurance, Lodging Management, Vacation Rentals Comments: 0

Vacation rental homes are susceptible to the same problems as full-time residences. Sometimes pipes break, basements flood and even smoke or fire damage can happen.

It may be possible to have maintenance firms handle such problems but for larger problems it is necessary to hire a company that specializes in restoring homes to their original condition.

Such companies are referred to as Restoration Specialists and having the name of one or more firms on hand is just good preparation. Odds are high that they will never been needed.

Because damages may result in cancellation of bookings, the loss to owners may exceed even the cost of repairs. So here are some steps to be prepared for what you can hope will never happen:

(1) Property Insurance - When insuring your home for vacation rentaling, that use must be clearly communicated to your insurance agent who should provide a policy specifically allowing short-term rental use.

Most basic second home policies are not sufficient for offering a home as a vacation rental. Take care before you have a claim to properly protect you in the unlikely hood a claim becomes necessary.

(2) Business Loss - Second home insurance can cost more than your primary resident. And vacation rental policies cost more than basic second home polices. However, such policies should also cover the owner for loss of income should the home become unrentable for a period of time.

(3) Restoration Specialist - To find a company that specialize in quick and through restoration use Google Maps for your location searing for "Fire Restoration" because that is the most common keyword on which these firms advertise.

(4) Remote - If your home is remote or in a sparsely populated area, it may be necessary to question restoration firms closely to insure that they would be willing to come to your address should you later need their services. Keep good notes.

(5) Records - Be sure to record the name of several restoration companies because, in the case of local flooding or severe weather, any one firm may not be able to handle your needs quickly.

(6) Property Managers - If you use a local property manager, good firms will already know of restoration providers and be able to quickly get help on site.

Lodging managers are not in the restoration business and claims are so unusual that the manager may never have had to use a restoration company. But do not hesitate to ask the manager if they can recommend anyone.

(7) Schedule - Restoration firms can not guarantee that any given property will be restored over night. In fact, time may be required to allow a house to dry.

Even when repairs will take a longer period, restoration firms can often arrive quickly to stabilize the situation and then return later to complete repairs.

(8) Fire - Should your home become partially damaged due to fire, your local fire department will often board over a home to make it is weather tight or to protect it from intruders. Do not hesitate to ask their help when they are on site.

(9) Franchises - Here are the names of several franchises that brand and endorse local partners to do restoration. This does no guarantee the quality of the work. Even local non-franchises are often skilled and dependable.

- ServePro.com

- ServicemasterClean.com

(10) Action - Try to secure your insurance company's approval before completing restoration. By calling their claim number you should be able to secure approve to start the restoration with full approval secured once the restoration firm can provide a more detailed estimate.

Not long after its founding in 1907, the Boy Scouts organization adopted the motto "Be Prepared." When it comes to unexpected events for your vacation rental home, being prepared is great advice.

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Author: William May – Volunteer, Vacation Rental Association
Blog #: 0473 – 12/28/15

Vacation Rental Insurance for Condo Owners

By April Klazema
Published: 10/12/15 Topics: Insurance, Lodging Management, Vacation Rentals Comments: 0

Vacation Rental Insurance for Condo Owners

Say you own a condo in Florida that you have been visiting every spring break for ten years now. Next spring, you have a different trip planned and won't be able to make it down to the condo at all. However, the condo is in an area that is a hot tourist destination during the winter and spring months. If you aren't going to be using it, you figure someone else would pay good money to rent it out for a few weeks. Who knows? You might even be able to finance most of your other trip just by renting out your condo to other Florida tourists!

Remember Vacation Rental Insurance!

Before you start setting up an Airbnb account or uploading pictures of your condo to VRBO.com, you need to take a moment to look into getting vacation rental insurance for your condo. While your condo is probably currently insured as a second home on your homeowner's insurance policy, you need a different type of coverage if you are planning on renting out the property to anyone else.

Let us explain. When you are utilizing a vacation property for personal use—be it a condo, a cottage, or an actual second home—it can be considered a personal residence for insurance purposes. That's because what you are using the property for—more or less, as a place of lodging for you and your family—is not really different from what you use your primary home for.

The moment you rent out your condo, the primary use of the property switches from residential to commercial. If you are letting someone stay at your condo in exchange for money, then you are, by definition, using the property for the purpose of business. This type of commercial use of your property is not covered under traditional homeowner's insurance policies.

What You Get with Vacation Rental Insurance

As with any other type of insurance, your vacation rental policy will vary depending on the value of your condo and the value of its contents (furniture, appliances, etc.). However, most vacation rental insurance policies will likely come with the following types of coverage:

Commercial liability coverage: Keeps you from being held liable if a guest is injured or killed while using your property.

Replacement cost coverage: Reimburses you for the cost of your condo or your belongings in the case of catastrophic damage or theft.

Coverage for damage: Helps you pay for damage caused to your condo or building by a guest.

Loss of income coverage: If a guest damages your condo to a point where you have to cancel other reservations or take it off the rental market for an extended period, this type of coverage will reimburse you for lost rental income.

You will want to speak with your insurance agent to see if you can add a vacation rental insurance policy to your condo, and to learn about the types of coverage that are available in their vacation rental policies.

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Author: April Klazema – Reporter, Vacation Rental Association
Blog #: 0417 – 10/12/15

Sponsor: Yes We Insure Rentals – Say you own a condo in Florida that you have been visiting every spring break for ten years now. Next spring, you have a different trip planned and won't be able to make it down to the condo at all. However, the condo is in an area that is a hot tourist destination during the winter and spring months. – YesWeInsureVacationRentals.com

How Much Vacation Rental Insurance Do You Need?

By April Klazema
Published: 09/01/15 Topics: Insurance, Lodging Management, Vacation Rentals Comments: 0

When you are looking to buy vacation rental insurance coverage for the first time, you will likely have a laundry list of different questions that you want answered. Specifically, how much vacation rental insurance coverage do you need, how much can you expect to pay to insure a home that you are renting out to vacationers, and how will the cost of the policy compare to what you are currently paying to insure your own personal home?

To get answers to these questions, we reached out to Eric Kossian, the Agency Principal at InsurePro (www.insurepro.info). Based in Washington and serving the entire state, InsurePro is a respected and reputable insurance agency, and Eric is a longtime industry expert with extensive knowledge in all kinds of insurance coverage—including vacation rental insurance.

In regards to how much vacation rental insurance cover homeowners should get, Eric emphasized the importance of commercial general liability coverage. He noted that buyers should look for policies that include $1 million in liability per occurrence and $2 million aggregate per year (in case there is more than one liability claim in the space of a calendar year).

"When dealing with renters who don't know you, you are more likely to be sued, as [the renters] view you—the property owner—as a business," Eric said, explaining why liability coverage is the crux of most vacation rental property insurance policies.

In addition to $2 million aggregate liability coverage, Eric also noted a number of other "must-haves" for vacation rental insurance policies, including income coverage (also known as "loss of rents"), replacement cost valuation for the building, replacement cost valuation for the contents of the building, and enhancement coverage (in the case of theft or damage to the property caused by a guest). The coverage amounts for the replacement cost valuations for your vacation rental property "should match fairly closely" to an existing homeowners policy, according to Kossian.

As for the cost of a vacation rental insurance policy versus, Eric did caution that insuring a rental property can end up being substantially more expensive than insuring a secondary home whose function is personal use only.

"For the same location, compared to insuring the home as a secondary residence used just personally, a Vacation Income Property policy will be 25 to 100% more in premium, depending on amount of lost income coverage needed and liability needed," Kossian explained.

Do you have any addition questions about how much vacation rental insurance coverage you might need for your property, or how much you should plan to spend on a vacation rental policy? Reach out to us today!

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Author: April Klazema – Reporter, Vacation Rental Association
Blog #: 0414 – 09/01/15

Sponsor: Yes We Insure Rentals – Vacation Rental Property Insurance is not impossible to find. Get the best coverage and the best deal. We have the experts to help you now. – YesWeInsureVacationRentals.com

Do I Need to Get Special Insurance for My Condo or Vacation Home?

By April Klazema
Published: 08/01/15 Topics: Insurance, Lodging Management, Vacation Rentals Comments: 0

If you own a condo in Florida or Hawaii, or a vacation home in some other exotic locale, you are likely curious about what kind of insurance you need to get to cover the property. Will a general homeowner's policy do? Or will you have to acquire a different kind of insurance to cover the vacation home?

Determining the Purpose of Your Vacation Home

To answer this question, we'll ask you a question of our own: for what purpose is the vacation home being used?

If the purpose of the vacation home is for personal use only, then a homeowner's insurance policy will be sufficient to cover the property. Perhaps you and your family take frequent trips to the West Coast and always stay at the vacation property when you do. Or maybe you spend your summers in one part of the country and live out your winters somewhere else. In these and other similar scenarios, your insurance company will usually be more than happy to provide you with a second homeowner's policy to cover your vacation home.

The bottom line in these scenarios is that your vacation property is still being used as a residence. As a result, the insurance rules for the property are the same as for your full-time home.

Using Your Vacation Home as a Rental

On the other hand, if you rent out your property to vacationers or other tenants when you are not using it, then it cannot be protected under a homeowner's policy. If you are accepting money to allow someone to stay at your vacation home, that qualifies as commercial use, and your vacation home qualifies as a business. Businesses can never be insured under homeowner's policies, and you will need to set up a different kind of insurance policy as a result.

If you are renting out your vacation home for profit, the insurance you are looking for is vacation rental insurance. A policy of this type will provide you with commercial liability insurance—meaning that if a customer sues for your injury sustained on your property, you will not be liable. It should also include provisions that reimburse you in case your guest damages the property, steals your belongings, or skips out without paying rent.

Don’t fall victim to insurance confusion when it comes to your condo or vacation home! If you are only using the property for personal residential use, a homeowner's policy will cover it. If you are using the condo or house as a rental, then vacation rental insurance is pivotal to keep you, your building, your belongings, and your finances safe!

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Author: April Klazema – Reporter, Vacation Rental Association
Blog #: 0413 – 08/01/15

Sponsor: Yes We Insure Rentals – Vacation Rental Property Insurance is not impossible to find. Get the best coverage and the best deal. We have the experts to help you now. – YesWeInsureVacationRentals.com

Special Insurance for My Condo or Vacation Home?

By April Klazema
Published: 07/01/15 Topics: Insurance, Lodging Management, Vacation Rentals Comments: 0

If you own a condo in Florida or Hawaii, or a vacation home in some other exotic locale, you are likely curious about what kind of insurance you need to get to cover the property.

Will a general homeowner's policy do? Or will you have to acquire a different kind of insurance to cover the vacation home?

Determining the purpose of your home

To answer this question, we'll ask you a question of our own: for what purpose is the vacation home being used?

If the purpose of the vacation home is for personal use only, then a homeowner's insurance policy will be sufficient to cover the property. Perhaps you and your family take frequent trips to the West Coast and always stay at the vacation property when you do.

Or maybe you spend your summers in one part of the country and live out your winters somewhere else. In these and other similar scenarios, your insurance company will usually be more than happy to provide you with a second homeowner's policy to cover your vacation home.

The bottom line in these scenarios is that your vacation property is still being used as a residence. As a result, the insurance rules for the property are the same as for your full-time home.

Using your home as a rental

On the other hand, if you rent out your property to vacationers or other tenants when you are not using it, then it cannot be protected under a homeowner's policy.

If you are accepting money to allow someone to stay at your vacation home, that qualifies as commercial use, and your vacation home qualifies as a business. Businesses can never be insured under homeowner's policies, and you will need to set up a different kind of insurance policy as a result.

If you are renting out your vacation home for profit, the insurance you are looking for is vacation rental insurance.

A policy of this type will provide you with commercial liability insurance—meaning that if a customer sues for your injury sustained on your property, you will not be liable. It should also include provisions that reimburse you in case your guest damages the property, steals your belongings, or skips out without paying rent.

Don’t fall victim to insurance confusion when it comes to your condo or vacation home! If you are only using the property for personal residential use, a homeowner's policy will cover it.

If you are using the condo or house as a rental, then vacation rental insurance is pivotal to keep you, your building, your belongings, and your finances safe!

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Author: April Klazema – Author, Vacation Rental Association
Blog #: 0406 – 07/01/15

Sponsor: Yes We Insure Rentals – Vacation Rental Property Insurance is not impossible to find. Get the best coverage and the best deal. We have the experts to help you now. – YesWeInsureVacationRentals.com

The Vacation Rental Property Insurance Difference

By April Klazema
Published: 06/01/15 Topics: Insurance, Lodging Management, Vacation Rentals Comments: 0

A vacation rental property may look like a home, but in the eyes of an insurance company, it's a business. If you own a second home that you frequently rent out to temporary guests, then that property is a business and cannot be covered under a homeowner's insurance policy.

Even if the property was used as a residence at some point, the moment you start bringing in out-of-town guests for daily or weekly vacation rentals, the rules change.

What Do I Need Instead?

Most insurance companies will offer a specific vacation rental insurance policy that you can purchase to protect your rental properties.

This kind of policy will provide certain types of coverage that a homeowner's policy won't, including commercial liability insurance to protect you in the event that a guest is injured at your property.

Replacement and repair coverage is usually included as well, in case a guest steals from you or damages your property during their stay.

Why Do I Need Vacation Rental Insurance?

There are subtle differences between homeowner's insurance policies and vacation rental insurance policies.

For example, a homeowner's policy will include personal liability coverage, which essentially means that if a guest is injured while visiting your home—perhaps they fall down the stairs—then your insurance company will help defend you if you are sued and cover medical bills for the injured party.

Meanwhile, a vacation rental insurance policy offers commercial liability coverage, which offers the same basic type of coverage, but for a business instead of a person or family.

Homeowner's insurance policies exclude commercial activities from protection, so if a renter at your vacation home falls down the stairs, the incident won't be covered under the personal liability section of your homeowner's insurance.

Instead, you will need to have commercial liability coverage to be protected, as the injury was suffered by a customer instead of a guest. Similar differences and separations apply for other types of coverage (theft, property damage, etc.) as well.

Unsure if you have the correct vacation rental property insurance? Today is the day you need to find out, before it is too late.

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Author: April Klazema – Author, Vacation Rental Association
Blog #: 0402 – 06/01/15

Sponsor: Yes We Insure Rentals – Here's where to go to find a variety of vacation rental property insurance experts and agents. We watch the market so you don't have to. . Get the best deal and the best coverage. – YesWeInsureVacationRentals.com

DETAILS: We work to keep this information up to date, but details do change from time to time based on circumstances, often on short notice, and sometimes beyond our control. To verify any answer or other information you may need, please call or email us anytime. Allow a reasonable amount of time for response. Only legitimate inquiries will be answered.