Velaris vs. Proper Insurance
Both Velaris and Proper specialize in short-term rental insurance. The difference is who they're built for. Proper sells policies to individual property owners. Velaris builds insurance programs for property managers.
Feature-by-feature comparison
Proper and Velaris both understand STR risks. The difference is the model: individual policies for owners vs. a managed program for PMs.
| Feature | Velaris | Proper |
|---|---|---|
| Built for property managers | ||
| Built for individual STR owners | ||
| Specialty STR insurance (not generalist) | ||
| PM controls program pricing and margins | ||
| Guest-paid per-reservation model | ||
| Auto-enrollment at owner onboarding | ||
| Company coverage (GL, E&O, D&O) | ||
| Workers' comp coverage | ||
| Cyber liability coverage | ||
| Business interruption coverage | ||
| Property damage coverage | ||
| Liability coverage | ||
| PMS integrations (80+) | ||
| Certificates of insurance | ||
| Compliance and regulatory filings |
Where Proper fits
Proper is a good insurer. They've built a real specialty product for short-term rentals, and they understand the risks that generic carriers miss. The question isn't whether Proper is good — it's whether individual owner policies are the right model for a property management company.
But if you're a property manager with 50, 100, or 500 properties, you don't need 50 individual policies — you need one program. That's the difference between buying insurance and building an insurance program.
What Velaris adds
Proper covers the property. Velaris covers the property, the program, the company, and the operations — through a single platform the PM controls.
Velaris enrolls every property in your portfolio through a single program. With Proper, each homeowner buys their own policy individually — which means you're coordinating 100 separate policies instead of running one program.
Velaris lets you add a per-reservation protection fee that guests pay at booking. You set the amount and keep the margin. Proper doesn't have a guest-paid model — coverage costs come out of the owner's pocket or yours.
Velaris covers the PM company itself — general liability, errors and omissions, directors and officers, workers' comp, and cyber. Proper only covers the individual property.
Velaris connects to your PMS to auto-enroll properties, deliver COIs, and streamline claims. Proper doesn't integrate with property management systems — every policy is managed independently.
Frequently asked questions
Is Proper Insurance a bad choice?
Not at all. Proper is a respected specialty STR insurer and they understand short-term rental risks better than most. The difference is who they're built for. Proper sells policies to individual property owners. Velaris builds programs for property managers. If you're an owner with one or two properties, Proper is a solid option. If you're a PM managing 50+ properties, you need a program — not 50 individual policies.
Can homeowners in my portfolio keep their Proper policies?
Yes. Homeowners can maintain their own Proper policy as their primary dwelling coverage. The Velaris program covers the short-term rental operations layer — guest damage, per-reservation liability, business interruption, and your company's coverage. The two can coexist.
How does pricing compare?
It's hard to compare directly because the models are different. Proper charges annual premiums per property, paid by the owner. Velaris lets you build a guest-funded program where coverage costs are collected per reservation. For PMs, the guest-paid model often means coverage doesn't come out of your operating budget at all.
Does Velaris cover the same STR-specific risks that Proper does?
Yes. Both Velaris and Proper understand short-term rental risks — guest-caused damage, commercial use exclusions, platform liability gaps, and seasonal occupancy. The difference is that Velaris wraps those coverages into a program the PM controls, rather than individual policies each owner manages on their own.
What if some of my homeowners already have Proper policies?
That's common, and it's not a problem. Homeowners with existing Proper policies keep their dwelling coverage. The Velaris program layers on top — covering guest-paid damage protection, company insurance, COIs, and the operational pieces that individual owner policies don't touch. Your Velaris advisor can help you map the coverage so there are no gaps or redundancies.
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