Homeowners insurance - success!

After a week of research I just bought a new homeowners insurance policy. It's more than I was paying ($300/yr increase), but with peace of mind that the company is cool with me hosting on AirBnB.

In case this is helpful to you, here is what I learned:

I list half my duplex on AirBnB year-round and live in the other half, so this is a policy for my primary residence. I live in Wisconsin, and policies may vary state-to-state.

The insurance guidance I was getting online and from other hosts was, "Eh, I'm sure you're fine."

I don't lose sleep over property damage, but I was uneasy about a worst-case scenario, like a guest burning down my house.

I told each company I was looking for a homeowners policy that allowed for short term rentals or homesharing.

Every agent acted like they had never heard the question before and had to look into it before giving me an answer. Twice I heard, "I think it's OK," only to be told in a follow-up, "Actually, you have to limit it to 14 days a year."

Here's what I was told:

-- American Family (the policy I had previously) -- My base homeowners policy allowed 62 nights/year of homesharing. Beyond 62 nights requires a $4K+ commercial policy.

-- Travelers Insurance (what I went with) -- allows unlimited homesharing with a $215 rider on a homeowners policy

-- American Modern Insurance -- Also allows homesharing, but the quote came in about $600 higher than Travelers

-- State Farm -- Homeowners policy does not cover homesharing beyond a minimal number of days/year.

-- Liberty Mutual -- Homeowners policy does not cover homesharing beyond a minimal number of days/year.

-- Homesite Home Insurance -- This one killed me because I got a really great quote and nearly bought the policy. The agent insisted homersharing was OK, but I pushed to see it in writing. Ultimately I talked with three agents who had three different answers for me. After a week of researching they told me the policy in fact did not cover homesharing.

There ya go!