AirCover vs. host insurance
What Airbnb gives you for free, and where a policy of your own takes over
AirCover for Hosts is useful and it costs nothing. It is also not host insurance in the sense a city, a lender or a homeowner means it. Here is the line-by-line comparison, with the numbers Airbnb publishes.
By Andrew Bate, Co-founderReviewed by Stuart BateUpdated
In short
AirCover for Hosts combines up to $1M of Host liability insurance (a real policy, held by Airbnb) and up to $3M of Host damage protection (a reimbursement program Airbnb runs), both limited to stays booked on Airbnb. Host insurance is a policy in your own name that covers every booking on every channel, can be evidenced with a certificate of insurance, and pays lost income while a home is repaired. Keep AirCover as the free backstop; rely on your own policy as the primary layer.
AirCover and host insurance, line by line
Figures for AirCover are from Airbnb's published AirCover for Hosts terms as of 2026-09-09. The host-insurance column describes a commercial short-term rental policy such as a Velaris program.
| Feature | AirCover for Hosts | Host insurance (Velaris program) |
|---|---|---|
| Covers damage to your own home and contents | Host damage protection, up to $3M, on Airbnb stays | Building and contents on every stay, any channel |
| Third-party liability (guest injury, neighbor's property) | Host liability insurance, up to $1M, on Airbnb stays | $100K–$1M per occurrence on every home, any channel |
| Is it an insurance policy you hold? | Liability half is insurance Airbnb buys; damage half is Airbnb's own reimbursement program. Airbnb is the policyholder | Yes — you or your company is the named insured |
| Applies to Vrbo, Booking.com and direct bookings | No | Yes |
| Certificate of insurance for a city permit, lender, HOA or owner | Cannot be issued | Issued on demand, with additional insureds |
| Lost rental income while the home is repaired | Not covered | Business interruption available |
| Normal wear and tear, currency, natural disasters | Excluded from damage protection | Wear and tear excluded; perils per policy |
| Claim deadline | 14 days after checkout or before the next check-in, whichever is first | Per policy; a damage program documents at turnover |
| Who decides the claim | Airbnb | Your insurer — in a Velaris program, typically within 2 business days |
| Cost | Free with Airbnb hosting | Premium, or in a program: guest fee you keep plus $9 per reservation |
When AirCover is enough
We would rather tell you when you don't need us. AirCover can genuinely be sufficient when all of these are true:
If any one of them is false, the free layer has a gap you are carrying yourself.
Where host insurance takes over
AirCover's liability and damage protection exist only on Airbnb bookings. The same guest, booked on Vrbo or your own site, arrives with no platform protection at all.
Cities such as Chicago, Nashville, New Orleans, Denver and Palm Springs require $500K–$1M of liability with the STR permit, evidenced by a certificate in your name. Airbnb's policy cannot produce one.
Management agreements promise owners coverage. That promise has to be backed by a policy you control and can endorse, not by a platform benefit attached to a host account.
Fourteen days sounds generous until the next guest arrives in two. A damage program documents at turnover and pays from program funds on your schedule.
The two halves are complementary, not competing: AirCover stays in place at no cost while a policy of your own covers what it cannot. The cases above are simply the ones where the free layer is silent.
AirCover vs. insurance questions
Is AirCover the same as host insurance?
No. AirCover for Hosts bundles two things: Host liability insurance (a genuine policy, up to $1M, that Airbnb buys from third-party insurers with Airbnb as the policyholder) and Host damage protection (up to $3M, a reimbursement program Airbnb administers itself). Both apply only to stays booked on Airbnb. Airbnb's own help center says AirCover is not a substitute for personal insurance.
Is AirCover enough for an Airbnb host?
For a single home listed only on Airbnb, in a city with no permit insurance rule, it can be. It stops being enough the moment you list on a second channel, a city or lender asks for a certificate of insurance, you manage homes for owners, or a loss exceeds what Airbnb approves. Most professional operators keep AirCover as a free backstop and carry a policy of their own as the primary layer.
What does AirCover not cover?
Host damage protection excludes normal wear and tear, lost currency, and natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes, and it requires you to show the guest caused the damage within 14 days of checkout or before the next check-in. Neither half covers lost rental income, stays booked off Airbnb, or your management company. Read the AirCover glossary entry for the full picture.
Do I still need AirCover if I have Velaris?
You keep it automatically — it comes with hosting on Airbnb and costs nothing. A Velaris program sits in front of it: your damage waiver program handles guest damage on every channel, your liability is written in your name from $100K to $1M, and AirCover remains available as a secondary layer on Airbnb stays.
Can AirCover give me a certificate of insurance?
No. A certificate of insurance evidences a policy in your name, and AirCover's liability insurance is Airbnb's policy. If a city, lender, HOA or homeowner asks for a COI, it has to come from your own coverage. Velaris issues certificates of insurance from the dashboard with the limits and additional insureds each jurisdiction requires.
Not sure which gaps you are carrying?
Tell us your channels, your cities and whether you manage for owners. We'll tell you plainly whether AirCover is enough — including when it is.
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