The excitement of Cleveland hosting the upcoming Republican National Convention from July 18 – 21stlater this year is starting to really take hold around Downtown Cleveland and surrounding areas of Northeast Ohio. The city of Cleveland will be blanketed with 15,000 credentialed media, second only to the 2014 Olympic Games in Rio. An additional 50,000 people are expected to visit the Cleveland area during the gathering. What effect does this have on an independent agency in Downtown Cleveland? Well, that is a good question.
We have already started receiving calls and emails from our existing clients about the potential for them renting out their homes, condos, and apartments. These are good questions and we welcome the dialogue that goes with them. Are you thinking of renting out your home for the Republican National Convention? Many of our employees may even be considering “taking a vacation” and getting out of Downtown during this week in July and renting out their residence. So, what’s next? What things should we be considering if we are going to rent our place out for top dollar that week?
First, and most importantly, we recommend reaching out to your agent and finding out more surrounding the possibility of coverage issues and exposures you have not considered, tailored to your situation. It can be a very lucrative week to rent out your home, depending on your location, proximity and how unique your place may be. However, the exposure of having a stranger in your home or many strangers, more than you might realize, could present many perils that you are not aware of or may not want to be a part of.
One of the first issues to consider is how your specific insurance carrier might treat an invited guest that is paying rent, residing in your residence. In discussing the risk of renting to an out-of-towner attending the convention, there are a number of different things to consider. What happens if someone gets hurt on your property, while you are renting it out that week? What about someone helping themselves to your property, and leaving with your stuff, while living at your place during the convention?
Here is what we have determined through our research among a number of our carriers, in terms of answers to the above questions. Typically, the liability from your homeowners and, potentially, umbrella policies will still cover you during that week. Now, with that being said, there are a couple of companies that recommended requiring the renter to carry their own liability coverage in place, either through their existing property policy or purchasing a new policy. The other suggestion made by one of our carriers was to recommend to the homeowner that they take out their own special events policy for this type of exposure.
They mentioned the possibility of a claim not being covered. This is obviously the last thing we want! The idea of someone leaving your home with your property is also a significant concern. One of our carriers even mentioned that there would be NO theft coverage during that one week rental. Another company mentioned that they would cover your personal property, as long as the house is not rented for more than 31 days. So, as you can see, every carrier is different and therefore, it is very important to ask these questions and discuss with your agent to see how your specific homeowners insurance carrier might respond, in terms of a potential claim.
The bottom line is that there is a lot to consider before throwing your house up on a website for rent during the week of the RNC. Don’t try to do it alone. We are here to help answer your questions and give you some peace and sense of security. Our goal, as always, is to protect your assets and know ahead of time how to properly insure your home and belongings in the event that you decide to rent your house out in July. We look forward to you reaching out to us as well as the excitement around Cleveland as the next Republican candidate is nominated! As the weather gets warmer and the Republican National Convention gets closer, please call us toll-free at 1-800-725-4484 or email us with any questions!
