Guest house insurance

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What is guest house insurance?

Guest house insurance is specifically designed to cover the risks associated with running a guest house or a bed & breakfast (B&B). If you have paying guests staying at your property, standard home insurance won't cover the additional risks.

Guest house insurance covers your premises and stock from damage caused by guests. It also provides liability protection if guests are injured during their stay.

You need buildings insurance to protect the structure of your property from events like fire and flood. But B&B insurance policies offer a range of additional cover to suit your needs.

Policies often come with public liability insurance as standard to protect you from claims for damages from guests or other third parties. But you can also get cover for your business contents as well as insurance for your guests’ possessions.

While guest house insurance policies tend to come with a variety of cover as standard, there are often extras available to enhance your policy. Some insurance companies also provide more specialist cover for things like swimming pools.

Can I buy additional cover for my bed & breakfast or guest house?

There are several options when it comes to B&B and guest house insurance. It all depends on the policy you get and what add-ons you want. While some of these may be included as standard with your policy, you may also want to upgrade the level of cover that’s included:

Guest and employee possessions cover
Public liability cover
Products liability insurance
Employers’ liability insurance
Business contents and stock cover
Business interruption insurance
Business takings cover
Buildings cover

Guest and employee possessions cover insures you against loss or damage to your guests’ and employees’ possessions.

Public liability cover protects you against claims for injury or damage to property from your guests. For example, if one of your guests slipped on a wet floor and hurt themselves, this cover helps pay your legal fees and any award of compensation up to a certain limit.

Products liability insurance is important if your guests are injured or damage their property due to a product you’ve sold them. For example, if you've served them expired food, then you could be sued for damages. Products liability cover helps pay any legal fees and resulting compensation up to a certain limit.

Employers’ liability insurance covers you for claims of injury or illness sustained by your employees while carrying out their work.

Business contents and stock cover means you don’t have to cover the costs of replacing your business contents due to an event like fire, flood or burglary. It’s possible to insure everything from pillow cases to vacuum cleaners and office equipment. If you'd like to know more, read our guide on contents insurance.

Business interruption insurance covers loss of revenue due to business interruption. This includes events like fire, flood or theft that mean you have to cease business while repairs or cleaning are carried out.

Business takings cover insures your takings against theft, including the cash you might keep on the premises.

Buildings cover protects you against damage to the structure of your buildings, including exterior and interior walls, roofs and flooring. It covers all the permanent fixtures and fittings of your B&B and any outbuildings against events like fire, flood, theft and vandalism.

What affects the cost of guest house insurance?

It's difficult to get an average figure that realistic to all businesses because no 2 properties are the same.

There are several factors that affect the cost of your guest house insurance. These include:

How long you've been established
How many guests you can accommodate
The rebuild cost of the property
What extra features are added to the policy
Whether the property is at particular risk of fire or flooding
The number of staff you employ
Your claims history

Different insurance providers might place more importance on certain factors over others. A B&B owner with several decades' experience might be seen as lower risk than someone new to the industry. Likewise, the more guests or employees you have means a greater risk of making a claim.

The area surrounding your property can affect your risk too. A property in an area prone to coastal erosion for example.

It's always worth shopping around and getting guest house insurance quotes from multiple providers. This ensures you're getting the best deal for your policy.

What if I live in my B&B?

If you run a B&B and live at the property too, some insurers can still offer you a personalised guest house insurance policy.

Get in touch with your chosen provider before committing to a policy to make sure they'll provide cover for you.

Remember to compare a few insurance providers and see which one offers the best deal for your situation.

Can I get guest house insurance if I’m an Airbnb owner?

Yes. If you plan on renting out your home regularly on Airbnb, it could be worth considering guest house insurance for additional protection.

But if you’re an Airbnb owner, there are a few other things to consider if you’re looking for cover.

First, you should check if your mortgage agreement or mortgage provider allows you to rent out your home. If your property is leasehold rather than freehold, the terms of the lease may affect whether you’re allowed to sub-let or rent it out.

There’s also the question of whether the property you’re looking to rent out is your main residence. Insurers will want to know if you live at the rented-out property full time or if you’re solely renting it out to guests.

You might need to look for a specialised policy to add extra cover if you want to use your home as an Airbnb.