Cover risk for home sharing

A TASMANIAN insurance provider is urging local Uber drivers and short-stay accommodation hosts to check their assets are properly covered with new figures showing thousands may be exposed to risk.

The warning from RACT Insurance follows another from the Insurance Council of Australia that cars and houses used for commercial purposes may not be covered by existing insurance.

RACT Insurance CEO Trent Sayers says data collected in November showed there were more than 5000 Tasmanian properties listed with a popular short-stay website.

“When we compare this figure with our data, we can make a fair assumption that a significant proportion of these properties may not have the appropriate insurance coverage for their homes and contents,” Mr Sayers said.

“In 2018, RACT Insurance received just 35 notifications from policy holders that their homes were being used as short-stay accommodation. We are concerned there could be thousands of Tasmanian homeowners out there that may not have appropriate cover should the worst happen while a holiday-maker is staying at their property.”

Mr Sayers said RACT In- surance data for rideshare insurance policies told a similar story.

“Data obtained from Transport Tasmania shows there were 873 vehicles registered as ‘ride-sourcing’ as of November 2018. These figures could be higher given some drivers may not have correctly registered their vehicles yet,” he said.

“Our data indicates we only received notifications from 104 policy holders, letting us know their vehicles were being used for ride sharing, less than 11 per cent of the current fleet.”

Mr Sayers said a small number of insurers now provided cover for rideshare vehicles and short-stay properties, but typically, policy holders must notify their insurer of their intentions before starting their services.

“If you fail to disclose this information and you need to make a claim, it may have an impact on your claim,” Mr Sayers said.

He said short-stay homeowners could also reduce their risk by removing valuables and irreplaceable possessions like artworks, jewellery or collectors’ items during the shortterm stay and by ensuring their properties are safe and secure.

“Rideshare operators can reduce their risk by ensuring that GPS and mobile devices are not interfered with while driving,” he said.