Guest house insurance
Guest house insurance can protect you, your property and your guests from risks that won’t typically be covered by your home insurance policy. Find out more with our guide.
Guest house insurance can protect you, your property and your guests from risks that won’t typically be covered by your home insurance policy. Find out more with our guide.
Guest house insurance
If you’re running a guest house, even a small incident could turn into a large claim. So if you have paying guests in your guest house, you’ll want to make sure you’re covered. That’s why we’ve created this handy guide to help give you the information you need, to help you decide on the right guesthouse insurance.
Please note, currently you can’t compare quotes for guest house insurance through Compare the Market.
What type of insurance do I need for my guest house?
If you’re running a guest house, you’ll need to consider insurance cover to protect you, your guests, your property and contents.
Here are a few different types of insurance that you may want to consider, to help protect your guest house and keep it running smoothly.
- Public liability insurance: if someone is injured at your guest house or their property is damaged, you can claim on your public liability insurance to cover any compensation due to them, or any legal costs if they take you to court.
- Product liability insurance: product liability covers you for the things you may provide your guests with. It could be the food, it may be the soap or even something on your tea and coffee tray. If your guests become ill because of something you provide, they may be able to make a claim.
- Employers’ liability insurance: could cover you if one of your employees becomes ill or is injured as a result of working for you. If you employ one or more people or are a limited company with multiple directors, it’s a legal requirement to have cover.
If you’re not a limited company, it’s not a legal requirement to have employers’ liability insurance if the employees are immediate family members. If a policy is in place, though, it will still cover immediate family members working for you.
- Contents insurance: this can cover your possessions such as linens, curtains, furniture and equipment against theft or damage, including accidental damage if you opt for it. For example, a guest accidentally spills coffee or wine over a pale sofa and ruins it.
- Buildings insurance: if you own the building where your guest house is located, you'll need buildings insurance. This usually covers the cost of repairs to a building's structure, or even full re-building if needed.
What affects how much guest house insurance costs?
Guest houses and B&Bs can vary in style and each one is individual. The cost of your policy will depend on:
- location
- the number of rooms
- staff you employ
- food you offer
- whether your premises is licensed or unlicensed
- the level and type of cover you want
- what add-ons you want to include
Personal factors can be taken into consideration, too. Your premium may also depend on:
- the length of time you’ve been running your business
- how many properties you own and if you use more than one building to host your guests
- your claims history in recent years
What should I consider when choosing a policy?
Make sure your policy or policies offer you the cover you need. Check carefully to see what is included as standard cover and whether you need to consider add-ons. For example, are stock or guest possessions, including their cars, covered as standard? Will food be covered if the freezer breaks down or if there’s a long power cut in your local area? A Deterioration of Stock insurance policy typically also covers any food that is delivered after the incident that you’re unable to store safely.
What kind of additional cover can I get for my guest house?
You might want to consider some optional extras, including:
- Business interruption insurance if, for example, a flood means you have to close your business as your property is unlettable
- Cash on the premises cover.
How much does guest house insurance cost?
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Number of rooms The number of rooms you let will affect the cost of your insurance |
Location Where your guest house is based affects your insurance costs |
Claims history You may have to pay more if you’ve made claims in the past |
What do I need to get a quote?
Currently you can’t compare quotes for guest house insurance through Compare the Market.
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Mubina Pirmohamed - Business and landlord insurance expert
With almost 15 years’ experience in the insurance industry, Mubina is an expert from one end to the other. From leading the introduction of new products, marketing them, innovating them, all the way to handling claims with customers. At some point in her career, she’s done it all.