Airbnb Unveils $1 Million Liability Insurance for Hosts

Airbnb on Thursday announced a new liability insurance (called as Airbnb Host Protection Insurance) that will offer up to $1 million worth of protection to US hosts in case a guest is accidentally injured during stay at the host's property.

Announcing the news on its official blog, the company writes, "Today we're announcing Airbnb Host Protection Insurance, a liability insurance program that will provide up to $1 million worth of protection to Airbnb hosts for their listings in the U.S." Airbnb, under its Host Guarantee program, already offers up to $1 million in case of property damage.

Interestingly, under the new Host Protection Insurance program, Airbnb is also providing coverage to landlords "where applicable." The company details, "If a guest is accidentally injured anywhere in a host's building or property during a stay, the Host Protection Insurance program provides coverage for Airbnb hosts and, where applicable, their landlords."

Airbnb Host Protection Insurance is expected to go into effect starting January 15, 2015 and will automatically cover US-based Airbnb hosts. The company notes, "If you're a host, you won't need to take any action to be covered under this policy - it's automatic for every stay at a listing in the United States."

The company plans to expand the Airbnb Host Protection Insurance program to more countries.

Back in July, Airbnb announced major rebranding with a new logo and an overhauled website design. The redesign included a new symbol called 'Belo' that's supposed to represent belonging, and a revamped Web and mobile interface that, according to the founders, better reflected "the people who make up this community."

For those unaware, Airbnb is a service for people to rent-out their homes and other properties as lodging, connecting lodgers with home and 'bed and breakfast' property owners. Founded in August 2008 with the name Airbedandbreakfast.com, it was shortened to Airbnb.com in March 2009. Headquartered in San Francisco, the company is privately owned and operated by Airbnb Inc.