Threshold/Insurance

How STR insurance actually works.

Short-term rental coverage sits in the gap between a homeowners policy and a commercial one, and most hosts are in the wrong place without knowing it. Here’s the plain-language version, and where the real exposures hide.

The bigger picture

Insurance is one part of short-term rental risk.

Coverage is where most owners start and stop. We start earlier and look wider: how the property is actually used, where the policy form fails, what your state requires, and how a claim plays out when it lands. The right insurance follows from that analysis. It does not replace it.

The core problem

The moment a property is rented to paying guests, it is a business. Most personal homeowners policies exclude rental or business use, which means the coverage a host assumes they have may not respond at all when a guest is involved. Platform “host protection” programs are real but narrow, and they are not a substitute for a policy written for the use.

Coverage types, briefly

Homeowners vs. landlord vs. STR-specific

A homeowners form assumes you live there. A landlord (dwelling) form assumes a long-term tenant, not nightly turnover. An STR-specific or commercial policy is written for the actual pattern of use, short stays, frequent guests, and the liability that comes with both.

Liability and umbrella

Guest injury is the exposure that ends operators. Base liability limits are often far below a serious judgment, and many personal umbrellas exclude business activity, so they don’t extend over your rental at all.

Loss of income

If a covered loss takes the property offline, business-interruption coverage replaces the income while it’s down. It is frequently missing from policies that otherwise look complete.

What platform protection does not cover
  • Your own structure in many loss scenarios, depending on the program.
  • Liability that falls outside the booking, or after the program’s conditions aren’t met.
  • Lost income while the property is offline.
  • Anything once a claim is disputed and the burden shifts back to you.
Why claims get denied
The pattern

The most common denial isn’t a technicality, it’s a mismatch between the policy form and how the property is actually used. Owner-occupied policies on full-time rentals, personal forms on commercial operations, undisclosed business use. The fix is almost always cheaper than the gap.

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Coverage, explained.

Coverage Gaps

Does Your Homeowner's Policy Cover Airbnb?

Picture this. A guest books your property for a long weekend. Everything goes smoothly. Three weeks later you get a lett
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Audit Guide

The 7 Coverage Gaps We Find in Almost Every STR Audit

Most hosts aren't dramatically underinsured in one obvious way. They're moderately underinsured in several specific ways
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Coverage Gaps

AirCover vs. Real Insurance

Airbnb's marketing around AirCover is impressive. Three million dollars in damage protection. One million in liability.
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Underwriting & Risk

Why Short-Term Rentals Are Underwritten Differently Than Traditional Rentals

When an insurance underwriter evaluates a property, they're answering one core question: What is the actual use of this
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Working with us

We don’t just explain coverage. We help you get it right.

Threshold STR is built to do more than diagnose. The audit is the first step toward coverage that actually responds when a claim hits, and we help you get there.

INDEPENDENT

We work for you, not one product

We look at your whole picture and what the short-term-rental market offers, rather than fitting you to a single carrier’s pitch.

SPECIALIST

Short-term rental, specifically

STR coverage sits between personal and commercial lines. We work in that gap every day, not as a sideline.

CLAIMS-INFORMED

We know what actually pays

Because we study how claims get denied, we know which coverage holds up under a real loss, and we point you toward it.

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By state

STR insurance is a state-by-state business.

What works in Tennessee will get you denied in Florida. Coverage availability, regulation, and claim outcomes shift at every state line.

Interactive mapFind your state51 guides. Every state and DC, covered. Hover the map or search the index to read your state’s profile.View the map →

Stop guessing about your coverage.

A full audit reviews your policy, your property, and your state’s rules, then helps you get coverage that actually responds.

Schedule a full audit →Start with the free Risk Score