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Is your rental home adequately insured?

Elizabeth Weedon | 2/27/2019 (updated 4/11/2023)
Updated April 2023 By now, most of you are aware that as of July 1, 2019, Chapter 337 of the Acts of 2018 requires that operators of short-term rentals must maintain liability insurance of not less than $1,000,000 to cover each short-term rental.  So, take a look at your current policy to determine the amount of liability coverage you have. If it’s not adequate, the first step is to contact your insurance agent.  To start, make sure that your agent is aware that you are renting your home. This is very important as a short-term rental home can be denied coverage under a primary homeowner insurance policy.  If you are currently insured through the Mass Fair Plan (MPIUA), which caps its liability coverage at $500,000, or your policy with another carrier is less than $1M in liability, you have a couple of options to comply with the state requirement: 
  1. Take out an umbrella policy to supplement your current one. 
  2. Obtain a new policy from an insurance carrier that offers coverage for your rental home and meets state requirements.  
The Massachusetts Insurance requirements for short-term rentals may seem excessive. However, there is no question that it’s in the best interests of vacation rental homeowners to be adequately protected as we open our homes to strangers. 
About Elizabeth Weedon

About Elizabeth Weedon: I have worked for WeNeedaVacation.com since 2008, and I've been a loyal homeowner listed on the site since early 1998. An enthusiastic member of the Homeowner Support Team, I provide fellow Cape and Islands vacation rental homeowners with advice about online marketing and rental management techniques to ensure them a successful rental experience each season. In addition to phone and email support to our homeowners, I also create and edit much of the content on our website, as well as our Homeowner Blog and monthly newsletters. I am also the Press & PR Coordinator for the company, responsible for drafting our press releases and responding to press inquiries and interviews. I grew up summering on the Vineyard, where I have managed my family's rental home since the mid-1980's, and I'm passionately devoted to the Island. My husband and I live in Wellesley where we have raised our 2 grown kids and our Black Lab, Maisie.

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