Frequently Asked Questions

Vacation rental damage protection covers accidental damage a guest causes to a rental property during a covered stay. Instead of collecting and refunding security deposits, the host or manager buys a flat-price plan for the stay, covering up to $1,500 or $3,000 in damage.

Damage protection is designed for vacation rental hosts and property managers who want protection against accidental guest damage without holding a security deposit. The lodging provider is the covered party and typically purchases the plan, then passes the cost to the guest through the rental rate or a separate fee. Guests benefit too — they aren't on the hook for the full replacement cost of an accident.

Unlike a security deposit, damage protection doesn't require the guest to put up money that may or may not be refunded. There's no deductible — an approved claim is reimbursed 100% up to the coverage limit you selected, $1,500 or $3,000. The host adds the plan's cost to the reservation instead of managing deposit collection and refunds.

Products offered by InsureStays and powered by the RentalGuardian.com platform. InsureStays is a dba of Sandhills Insurance Group, LLC, a licensed insurance producer in all states (NPN 16269113). Protection Brands, which runs this site, is an authorized retailer and referral provider of Sandhills Insurance Group LLC.

Call 877-248-1275 (843-501-2180 from outside the U.S.), Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm Eastern, email customercare@protectionbrands.com, or send a message through /contact. For a claim already in process, call the claims hotline at 833-610-0736 or the alternate line at 843-501-1064, or fax 800-560-6340. New claims start on the claims page.

Damage protection covers accidental damage a guest causes to the rental unit or its contents during a covered stay — things like a broken lamp or glassware, damaged furniture, a carpet spill or tear, or a damaged appliance. It's meant for accidents, not intentional harm: think a dropped skillet cracking a glass cooktop, not deliberate destruction.

The program covers accidental damage only. It doesn't cover gross negligence or willful destruction of property by the renter and members of their party; pet damage; damage by someone not part of the reservation; damage by the homeowner; damage outside of the booking period; damage to common areas not part of the rented unit; damage caused by motor vehicles; damage to golf carts; or normal wear and tear.

There are two plans, purchased for a single guest stay of up to 30 days: $1,500 Coverage for $59 and $3,000 Coverage for $79. Registered property managers pay member pricing of $49 and $69. See purchase options for details.

There is no deductible. An approved claim is reimbursed in full, up to the coverage limit you selected — $1,500 or $3,000.

You can purchase $1,500 or $3,000 of coverage for a guest stay directly at /purchase. Registered property managers get member pricing and a faster purchase flow by saving their property details in advance — see /register.

Coverage is purchased per guest stay, typically at the time you set up the reservation. Each stay needs its own plan — coverage doesn't carry over between bookings.

Damage protection is designed for short-term rentals and covers a single guest stay of up to 30 days. If a stay runs longer than 30 days, reach out through /contact and we can help you figure out options.

Yes — participating in the program means adding coverage to every guest stay. It's part of how we're able to offer $1,500 and $3,000 coverage at such low cost, and we recommend making it a standard policy to add the damage waiver fee to each reservation.

Ideally, the lodging provider (the host or property manager) purchases coverage, since they're the party who gets reimbursed if something is damaged. Most providers pass the cost along to the guest through the rental rate or a separate fee, so the guest isn't out of pocket if an accident happens and the host has an easy way to be reimbursed without chasing the guest for money.

Usually, if you have an account. Open the policy under /account/policies to change the booking number, guest name, check-in or check-out. Changes are possible until the claim window closes, 14 days after check-out. Dates can only move to tomorrow or later, so once the stay has started the check-in date is locked, though check-out can still change. A plan covers up to 30 days, so a stay can't be extended past that. Some older policies only allow a guest name change. For those, or if you bought without an account, contact us through /contact.

Document the damage as soon as you find it — photos and a short description — then submit your claim with your policy details. The full checklist and filing deadline are on our claims page.

Every claim needs photo(s) of the damage and, later, a paid receipt for the repair or replacement. Claims are guest-verified by a claims adjuster before payment. Start the process on the claims page.

You must initiate a claim within 14 days of the guest's departure date, and it must include photo(s) of the damage to get started. Paid receipts with proof of payment are due within 45 days of opening the claim. These dates are strictly enforced — the underwriter does not allow extensions.

Registered property managers and homeowners get preferred pricing — $10 off each plan, bringing them to $49 and $69. Registering also saves your property information for a faster purchase on future stays. Register here.

Yes. Registering as a partner lets you save details for multiple properties, so you can quickly buy coverage for any of them at the time of booking. Manage your saved properties from /account/properties.

VRBO and HomeAway let you add a separate fee to the reservation for the damage waiver. Airbnb doesn't support extra fees, and its own damage deposit feature isn't a substitute — any amount collected there is returned to the guest at the end of the stay. On Airbnb, the workaround is folding the cost into your cleaning fee and disclosing in your listing terms that it includes a damage waiver.

Passwords from our previous site don't carry over. Go to /sign-in, enter the email address on file, and choose "Email me a one-time PIN" — we'll email you a code to sign in with. Once you're in, you can set a new password from your account. Use the same email to keep your saved properties and pricing.

Yes. Registered partners earn $2.00 on every policy bought by a host they refer and $0.50 on policies bought by hosts those hosts refer. Fees are held until the covered stay ends. See your balance and sign-up link at /account/referral-fees, or register to get started.