Hostaway Insurance powered by Safely: Coverage details

Please note that this product is only available in the US for now, excluding New York State.

Damage Insurance Policies and Cost

The Hostaway Insurance powered by Safely encompasses a policy designed to safeguard your rental properties against damage caused by guests. When a guest books a property covered by this policy, the reservation is automatically enrolled in the protection program. The coverage is active only during the reservation period.

Invoicing

Hostaway will invoice you each month for the guests that departed the prior month, and you will receive your invoice. You will not be charged for reservations canceled before the stay begins. Alterations to reservation dates will be automatically adjusted.

The same credit card as the one used for the listing subscription will be used. 

What does the insurance cover?

Claims are subject to the terms and conditions of the policy. The following are highlights of what is covered.

1. Guest-Caused Damage: The Hostaway Insurance powered by Safely covers both intentional and accidental guest-caused damage to the covered rental property and its contents during the covered period.
2. Pet Damage: The Safely Damage Protection Program covers pet damage, minus any pet deposit or fee the property manager charged the guest. Liability related to pets, such as pet bites, is not covered.
3. Excessive Cleaning:
   • The policy covers excessive cleaning fees from cleaners when extraordinary measures need to be taken, such as stains on carpets and rugs, markings on walls (e.g., a child scribbling on a wall with crayons), biohazardous materials left in the home (vomit, fecal matter, blood, etc.) or cleaning up glass from a broken window, etc
   • The policy does not cover things like dirty dishes in the sink/dishwasher, towels on the floor, full garbage bins, or food left in the fridge as these do not constitute actual damage and are considered part of doing business
   • Damages covered by the policy include instances where guests break dishes, damage a trash can, or break a shelf in the refrigerator
4. Smoke Remediation: Excessive cleaning requiring a third party to remediate smoke in your home above the normal cost of doing business is covered. This is only applicable to homes where smoking is not allowed
5. Guest’s Stolen Property: The policy covers the Homeowner’s liability to the guest. It is important to determine if there is potential liability to the homeowner. For example, the homeowner (or property manager) is likely responsible if the theft is committed by someone hired for property services or if the property lacks proper security, such as functional locks and latches. If the property is adequately secured and the thief forcibly enters by breaking a lock, the homeowner is likely, not liable, and the loss may not be covered
6. Homeowner’s Stolen Property: The loss may be covered under the policy if the theft was committed by the guest or the guest was involved in the theft. Otherwise, the theft may be covered under the regular homeowner’s policy because the theft is not due to the guest.
7. Items Covered up to $200: Money, banknote, bullion, gold other than goldware, silver other than silverware, platinum other than platinum-ware, coins, medals, smart cards
8. Items covered up to $2,500 or the Policy Contents Limit, whichever is lower:
   • Securities, accounts, deeds, evidence of debt, letters of credit, notes other than bank notes, manuscripts, personal records, passports, tickets, and stamps
   • Watercraft
   • Trailers
   • Theft or damage of jewelry, watches, furs precious and semiprecious stones, artwork
   • Theft or damage of firearms
   • Theft or damage of silverware, goldware, platinum-ware

What is excluded/not covered?

1. Bodily Injury
2. Damages not reported within the 60 calendar day reporting period
3. Home for personal use / Owner Stays
4. Damage outside of the rental period
5. Wear and tear or maintenance/neglect
6. Registered motor vehicles
7. Watercraft liability
8. Mysterious Disappearance
9. Fees and Fines: The policy does not cover fees assessed by HOAs or Authorities, late checkout fees, etc.
10. Damage caused by acts of nature
11. Loss of income
12. Formal Events (example: wedding)
13. Properties with Aluminum Wiring: Aluminum wiring is not up to building codes and if the connections to switches and outlets have not been checked by an electrician, there is the danger of a fire putting the guest at risk related to homeowner negligence.
14. Squatters (Post-Reservation): The policy covers damage during the insured rental period but does not have coverage for squatters who stay and refuse to vacate following the end of the rental period.
15. Certain property types that are not covered: https://hello.safely.com/support-center/types-of-short-term-rental-properties
16. iCal reservations

Enrolling in the Hostaway Insurance powered by Safely 

Enrolling in Hostaway Insurance powered by Safely is a straightforward process conducted directly through Hostaway, and activation typically takes just one business day upon receipt of all necessary information.

To sign up for Hostaway Insurance powered by Safely:

1. Navigate to “Insurance” 
2. Click the “Sign up in 2 easy steps” button and follow the prompts on the screens
3. Upon completion, an email will be sent notifying you that your policy is active. Policy documents will be sent in a separate email. All future bookings are covered from the date you receive the Notification of Coverage email from Safely

Rental Property Enrollment

During the enrollment process, you cover all rental properties.

• New rentals added to your Hostaway account will be automatically enrolled in your selected coverage

Claims: Submitting and Managing Claims

Completing a claim requires just 5 minutes once you have gathered all necessary photos and invoices. Claims must be submitted within 60 days from the departure date. If you do not have all the required information, initiating a claim as a “Draft” is encouraged as soon as possible so you do not miss the 60-day filing period and so that the Safely Claims team can offer support.

You may view the status of your claim from within your Hostaway account.

For detailed instructions on filing a claim, please visit Safely’s knowledge base: https://hello.safely.com/support-center/how-to-submit-a-claim-hostaway 

The “file a claim” button is only active for reservations that are:

1. Past the departure date
2. Have a departure date that is still within the 60-day filing deadline

Your reservation may show as not covered if:

1. The rental property is not enrolled
2. The reservation is a non-commercial booking such as an Owner Reservation or a Maintenance Block

Claim best practices:

• Submit claims within 60 days of the loss: Safely is unable to review claims submitted after the 60-day deadline
• Save as a Draft: Sometimes it may take longer to gather the information needed to submit a claim. If you are not ready to submit immediately, you should save the claim as a draft. The timestamp for the draft claim will preserve the filing date requirement if it is not more than 60 days after the departure date
• Submit invoices or estimates that add up to the claimed amount
• Take great photos: Photos tell the story. It is best to include a close-up, as well as a broad view. 
• Obtain a police report for stolen items

For questions about your claim, please email concierge@safely.com.

Canceling Hostaway Insurance powered by Safely

Should you wish to terminate the damage protection program, click on “Deactivate coverage” under “Insurance”. A member of the Safely team will contact you to confirm the cancellation.

Upon cancellation, any upcoming reservations will no longer be covered by the damage protection policy. However, reservations that have either checked out or are currently in progress, and for which the premium has been paid, will remain covered by the policy.

Insurance coverage is offered through On Demand Insurance Agency, LLC, a licensed insurance producer and affiliate of Safely. All insurance information is provided by On Demand and does not alter or amend the terms of any insurance policy. Insurance is not available in all jurisdictions or to all customers.