Looking for Guest House Insurance?
If you’re providing holidaymakers with great hospitality then it can get quite stressful. With guest house insurance you can at least have the peace of mind that you’re protected should something go wrong.
When running a guest house there’s so much to think about and many plates to spin. Although there are similar problems experienced by most property owners, they will feel more pronounced due to the size and turnover of people staying there, so it’s important that you get the right level of protection against things like:
Protecting your investment
Even the smallest incident could result in an expensive claim that could take time and money to resolve – particularly if it goes through the courts. There are many kinds of guest house insurance that you may find useful, and if you have employees then there’s one kind that’s compulsory by law:
Taking out public liability insurance
As you’ll have plenty of guests coming and going it might be worth purchasing a public liability insurance policy. If a member of the public is injured, becomes ill or has their property damaged in your guest home, then they may want to claim compensation. Adding public liability to a guest house insurance policy will help you to pay the claim as well as cover the legal costs of both parties if you’re found to be at fault.
This kind of claim can be quite common in the leisure sector and can occur if someone slips on a wet floor in the restaurant or trips over a rug in their room.
You may want to think about contents insurance
If you’ve put work into providing beautiful rooms and accommodation for guests, then it can be soul-destroying if it becomes damaged or stolen. Big ticket items such as televisions, beds and wardrobes are expensive, and if you need to replace them you’ll want to do it quickly so that other guests’ stays aren’t effected. Conversely, things like hair dryers, kettles and irons may seem cheap to replace, but if you have to do it for all of the rooms in your guest house then it can work out to be quite expensive.
Contents insurance on a guest house insurance policy can sometimes include accidental damage too, although as this isn’t standard for many insurers, you’ll need to double check and opt in when taking out the policy.
Guest House Insurance – Useful FAQs
Some insurers may require you to have a minimum or maximum number of rooms before they’ll offer you cover. Make sure that you’re looking at a policy that’s suitable for your circumstances or you may have a claim denied at a later date.
If you’d like to combine policies with the same insurer then you may be able to. This will make it easier to manage and usually has one single monthly payment too.
You may have to cover this expense yourself. Typically, insurers won’t pay out for general wear and tear to your guest house and may only pay out if you’ve experienced damage or there’s a need for repair.
If you’re lucky enough to have a guest house with facilities like a pool, sauna and spa then you may want to cover these with a guest house insurance policy too. Although it may not be offered as standard, you can speak to your insurer to find out if they can offer a policy extension.
As not all guest houses serve alcohol, this kind of policy isn’t always included. You’ll need to ask for a policy extension to help cover you for a loss of income and business value decrease if you’re unable to sell alcohol anymore.
You’ll need to factor this into your insurance policy, so make sure that you’re letting your insurer know all the information when taking out a guest house insurance policy.