Short-term rental insurance in Idaho.

Boise has grown into a genuine urban STR market, while Sun Valley and McCall run mature resort economies that attract serious investor capital. A long tail of remote and recreational properties rounds out the state, each with its own access and response-time questions.

Wildfire documentation leads: most carriers want current defensible-space evidence before writing mountain and foothill properties, and smoke seasons have made even non-burn losses, soot, air handling, cancellations, part of the conversation. Elevation drives pricing, with high-country properties facing meaningful surcharges, and snow-load engineering is a real underwriting question for older structures. Resort-market owners should look hard at how loss-of-income limits are valued against peak-season revenue, the same trap as Colorado.

Idaho just became the most host-friendly state in the country, and the timing matters. House Bill 583, signed in March 2026 and in effect since July 1, 2026, is the broadest state preemption of local short-term rental rules anywhere. It bars cities and counties from requiring owner-occupancy, professional management, or additional insurance, and any conflicting local program has to be repealed or revised. What local governments keep is narrow and safety-based: smoke alarms, extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors, escape ladders, and occupancy limits, and only where the same rules apply to every residence. Statewide, hosts still register with the Tax Commission and collect the 6 percent sales tax plus the 2 percent travel-and-convention tax, with resort-area local option taxes on top. The point worth naming: removing the insurance mandate does not remove the risk. Idaho is the rare state where coverage is now your decision rather than the permit’s, which makes getting it right a matter of judgment, not compliance.