Why do Accommodation Providers need insurance?
While you look after all of your guests, we’ll definitely look after all of your business insurance needs. Whether you own a large hotel, provide student accommodation, run a guest house, a lodge or even a caravan park, we have got you covered. With just a few clicks or a single phone call you can get multiple competitive quotes from some of South Africa’s leading insurers, and get covered instantly.
What should I consider before purchasing insurance for my Accommodation business?
Ultimately protecting your business from unexpected events and challenges is where business insurance comes into play – providing cover for your business when you need it most for things like buildings, theft and public liability.
Fundamental Insurance for Accommodation Providers
Regularly selected Insurance for Accommodation Providers
Insurance for Accommodation Providers
Buildings
Buildings are usually one of the most important assets for accommodation providers. Hence this can protect your business when your buildings are damaged due to fire, storm, earthquake, wind and more.
Contents
Contents insurance is designed to provide cover for the contents of your address when an insured event occurs – due to fire, storm or flood (for theft cover see the Theft section). The contents of an accommodation place should be covered in the contents – miscellaneous items section when you are doing the quoting journey.
If you own the building where your business activities take place, you might also consider Buildings insurance.
Public Liability
There are many possible accidents that could happen in an accommodation-providing environment. This cover is designed to provide protection for you and your business in the event that a customer, supplier or a member of the public is injured or sustains property damage as a result of your negligent business activities.
Personal injury claims could arise from a guest tripping over a small step, a guest slipping on a wet floor, or a heavy item falling on your guest.
Theft
Theft is one of the most common claims accommodation providers file on their insurance for. Your business might be the victim of theft or fraud from your guest or sometimes one of your employees may steal from you and you’ll need Employee Dishonesty cover.
The right business insurance will cover you against acts of theft and fraud, whether these come from your own employees or from outside of your business.
Accidental Damage
Accidental damage covers loss from unexpected and unforeseen physical loss of or damage to business property at your premises; can also include damage caused by discharge or leakage of chemicals, oils, liquids, fluids, gases or fumes which can cause severe damage to your business.
Business Interruption
Business Interruption is important for the continuity in the accommodation industry. What happens if your building gets damaged and you cannot accommodate guests for a prolonged period of time? This type of insurance covers for financial loss as a result of an interruption to your business caused by an insured event (such as fire).
There is also an option to be covered if you are prevented from accessing your premises.
Electronic Equipment
Electronic Equipment is important as many accommodation providers depend upon a full range of equipment which includes computers, refrigeration systems, air conditioning, hot water heaters, heating boilers, jacket kettles, steamers, electrical systems, and commercial grade sound systems.
These high value items need to be specifically included in your business insurance policy to protect you in case of accidental damage due to flood, fire, snow, hail, wind, impact, explosion, subsidence, as well as malicious damage or theft and damage caused by power surges or power dips.
Glass
Glass is a very expensive element in a building and can cost an arm and a leg to replace if it breaks. Many accommodation providers have large glass panes. This glass can range from the outward-facing windows of your building to the internal glass and mirrors in the rooms you rent out.
Accidents happen, and many businesses get this cover to protect themselves against damage to their glass.
Getting the Right Insurance for Accommodation Providers
Your accommodation business is unique, and has its own insurance needs and risks. Bi-me gives you access to multiple quotes to compare with some of South Africa’s top insurers, so you can choose the right cover to suit your business.
Our friendly team is only a phone call or a few clicks away to assist with getting your business covered in minutes.
Did you know?
There are more than 13 000 AirBnb listings in South Africa – but many hosts are not covered if something goes wrong.
Could this happen to your business?
- Guest slipping
A guest walks into the reception area and slips on the wet floor. The cleaner forgot to put out the warning sign and the customer did not see that the floor was still wet and got severely injured. Public Liability insurance covered the accommodation provider for the legal claims arising from this event.
- Sneaky guest
A guest booked a last minute overnight stay and the next morning you found the bedding and cutlery as well as the guest were nowhere to be found. Theft cover compensated the business for its losses.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can cancel your policy with immediate effect 24/7 on your Bi-me portal. We will then process your pro-rata refund (if applicable) – the money should be back in your account within 7 working days.
Public Liability is intended for third party claims made against the company by guests, for injuries, damages or losses against them and their property due to negligence.
Cover for employees can be taken out under Employers Liability and Personal Accident which is intended to cover for claims made against the company due to injury, damage, loss and death.
The obvious factors are your selected sections and amount of cover – more protection means higher premiums. Other major factors include occupation, address and claims history. If other businesses in your occupation or area have had lots of losses in the past, premiums will generally be higher.
If your business has had lots of losses in the past, your premiums will usually be higher. It is very important to be honest when disclosing all of your information – if an insurer finds that you were dishonest, you may not be covered when you have a claim.