Airbnb has announced the launch of its Home Protection Insurance program for Australia and New Zealand.
The policy, which offers up to $1 million in liability protection, has been made available to nearly 1 million customers across 16 countries and aims to placate the fears of some hosts who worry that insurance will not cover their temporary leasing.
The coverage was
originally launched in the United States in November last year and sees hosts covered for accidental injury anywhere in a listing or the surrounding area and could provide cover for damages in certain circumstances, the company said in a blog post on its site.
The company also announced that there have been changes made since the US launch with the protection now offered as primary insurance program.
“Additionally, we have redeveloped the program and it is now a primary insurance program, rather than secondary insurance,” the blog post continued.
“This means that the Host Protection Insurance program may provide coverage to hosts irrespective of what other insurance arrangements they may have.”
The company also revealed that the cover is backed by a key international player, but the name of the partner was not revealed.
“The Host Protection Insurance program is a ground-breaking collaboration between the insurance industry and Airbnb, and coverage under the program is provided in partnership with a Lloyd’s of London participating insurer, one of the world’s most reputable insurance organisations.”
“This is a program that our hosts have been eager to see,” Jonathan Golden, Airbnb’s product lead on the project told
Insurance Business in a statement.
“Going back to the launch of the Host Guarantee in 2011, we have a track record of innovating products that provide peace of mind for hosts. This program is the latest step. For the past year we’ve been working hard to expand it internationally, and we’re proud that we can now offer it to nearly one million hosts worldwide.”
Jakob Kerr, a spokesman for the San Francisco-based start-up told tech website
CNET.com, that the cover is designed to give peace of mind to hosts across the globe.
"The majority of our hosts are middle-class people that use Airbnb to make ends meet, and we try to make hosting as simple and stress-free as possible for them.
The expanded Airbnb
launch follows a move earlier this month by IAG, who announced an Australian-first with ShareCover that sees hosts on a range of home sharing sites covered for as little as $4 per day.
