So you’re ready to rent out a room in your home and start earning a regular income from it, but you’re concerned about how that might impact your Home Insurance. 

We get this question a lot, so we have dedicated this blog post to answering this question for you and to guide you in making the right decision for you.

Home Insurance, Who Needs It?

Home Insurance offers peace of mind and covers you in the event of something happening to your home or, depending on the policy, to the contents in it.

In Ireland, you are not required by law to have home insurance, but most banks will require a basic home insurance policy when you draw down your mortgage with them. 

In addition to that you can take out a content insurance policy to insure any household goods, personal belongings and valuables that you have in the home. 

The cost and details of your Home Insurance policy will depend on who you have your policy with and the details of the policy you have chosen.
 

Does Renting Out A Room Impact My Home Insurance?

If you already have home insurance in place, the good news is it is possible that you are already covered when it comes to letting out a room in your home, in which case, there will be no extra cost for you! 

Some Insurance companies already have this covered on the policy, whether or not you end up renting out the spare room. The Permanent TSB for example clearly states on their website that a home insurance policy with them automatically covers up to 6 paying guests, meaning if you already have your insurance with the TSB, you are covered at no extra charge.

We investigated a little further, to see if other insurance companies had the same no additional cost policy. We contacted Zurich to verify their policy on how renting out a spare room might impact their home insurance policies and they confirmed that it is also free of charge and they even explained the process;

If you have your home insurance with Zurich, you can rent out a room in your home without it affecting the premium of your policy. All you need to do is contact them to amend the clause once your first guest checks in. Sounds easy, right?

With those 2 big players offering free covers for your guests, it is likely that the other insurance companies are doing the same and cover at no extra cost to you.

However, if you have your home insurance policy with another company, we still recommend that you contact them to confirm that and to update the clause. Better safe than sorry!  

Peace Of Mind - Support While Renting

While it’s great for your peace of mind that you are protected with your home insurance policy, it is important to note that it is still very unlikely your guest will create damage while staying with you. And if you host with Hosting Power, it is even less likely as we vet every guest that books, which includes ID verification, payment details verification and we request detailed information from them. All of this to add to your peace of mind when renting out a room in your home. 

In addition to that you always have the support of our host team throughout your booking to ensure that everything goes smoothly.
 

In Summary

Most insurance companies will increase the premium when you are renting out a room in your home, and some may already allow for it in the clause. The best thing you can do is to reach out directly to your home insurance provider and let them know that you are renting out a spare room in your home and make any necessary adjustments if needed. 

You may not need to do anything if, like the Permanent TSB, your home insurance provider has already included this in your policy. 

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