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Comment by JVerstry | Hacker News Reader

Renting to strangers is like having sex without protection. Period.

There's lots of ways to protect yourself when renting to strangers. The fact that EJ and others do not avail themselves of the necessary insurance, etc. is what's reckless.

As has been pointed out multiple times, there is probably no insurance policy that would cover your apartment if you rent it out with AirBNB. Renter's insurance won't cover it, and individuals can't get the kind of insurance hotels get because they don't own the property. And if you meet the classification of a hotel, then there's a good chance you're breaking the law in some places. You can't get insurance while breaking the law.

Why wouldn’t insurances want to insure, though? This is a rare event, insurances love rare events. One problem might be AirBnB’s lack of transparency: Insurances have to know exactly how rare something is. They currently only know it’s rare, not how rare it is.

(That said, it seems they could start with a relatively high estimate and adjust it up- or downwards when they start insuring, depending on how often and how much they have to pay. It seems like this would be something insurances excel it, seeing as it’s how they make their money. I’m sure at least AirBnB could work something out with insurances.)

You should see what happens when you rent to friends, or worse: family.

What would happen in such a case? You sound like you have experience with it. They stay forever?

They pee'd on the radiators before they left.

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