@LTD thats what I was wondering and there have been a few comments on this in other threads. Having a permanent base is no guarantee that the animals or home will be any better cared for. I dont have a permanent base but have completed 80 sits now with all five star reviews. Its a strange attitude I think.
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It seems to have something to do with French house insurance. The THS insurance only covers sitters if they have home policy of their own. But it also covers owners so Iām not sure why the Ownerās home insurance as well as the extra THS coverage wouldnāt be enough?
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@Kelownagurl thanks for explaining and thats just for France or other countries do you know?
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@Provence yes that has just been explained so it makes sense in your particular country around insurance regulations. In other cases where it is more to do with a negative feeling about somebody without a base, Iām sure you would agree that that is perhaps a harsh judgement with no base in reality with regard to the level of care and responsible attitude a sitter might bring to the sit?
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And to be clear, your homeās liability insurance wouldnāt cover the sitter, right?
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Not a clue. Iāve never really ever given insurance a thought to be honest, not until THS started the tiers thing and insurance topic came up.
I know I have liability insurance through my own house insurance that follows me wherever I go, and THS has some insurance that covers owners and sitters, and I would absolutely assume that every homeowner has insurance which would cover any damage done by a sitter. So itās always seemed like not too big of a worry to me.
But I guess the way the THS insurance reads, it only covers people who already have a home policy of their own. So Iām assuming Nomads wouldnāt be covered?
And if so, I also assume, they would probably be able to purchase a separate liability policy for themselves when they are travelling, right?
@Provence and of course at the end of the day that is your right.
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@Kelownagurl yes thanks for that. Insurance of any sort is abit of a minefield and from what I read and have heard, most insurance companies wriggle out of paying if they can so I think alot of people probably end up paying all sorts of insurance over a lifetime without much to show for it. I might be wrong but I suppose if it gives people peace of mind and they dont need to make a claim, then its money well spent!
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As per attached photo above, as a standard and premium home owner (HO), if you have an existing home insurance policy and have an active standard or premium owner (HO) membership you are covered for property damage, theft and public liability. Therefore if a sitter or Nomad causes any damage etc the HO has this protection through THS, providing though that the HO has an existing home insurance policy.
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A basic membership does not have this though. I have asked countless times as a sitter, how do I know if a HO has either a Basic or a Standard membership. I received a reply "Great question "
As @Kelownagurl states, I have never given Insurance a thought before. I assume the HO has it covered
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In essence if they are not a premium member then you can always ask the HO direct. 
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I would not always rely on the HOās insurance, because this can be very different in other countries.
Here in Germany we have an insurance, that covers damages to the house, no matter if you own it, rent it or rent a flat. The owner of the house has to have this insurance. It is mandatory for each building in Germany.
So obviously this goes with the building, but not whats ālooseā inside like furniture or other belongings. These things are covered by another insurance but not everybody has to have it.
Imagine turning the house upside down and everything that falls out is covered by the second one. But this doesnāt cover damage which has been caused by visitors. It would pay for example when the house was flooded and the furniture couldnāt be used after. When burglars steal your TV this would also be the one to pay.
Then thereās the private liability insurance which you use if you break someone elseās belongings. This one also is not mandatory but this would be the one a sitter needs to have.
I have no idea how other countries regulations are concerning insurances.
You can
If anyone is concerned as a sitter to sit for a HO who only has basic membership (as already mentioned above HOās are covered on THS for standard and premium) then you can ask to see the written documentation of their own insurance policy. If you are not happy then you do not have to apply for the sit. Communication is key in all house sits.
Also personal liability as you mentioned is required in certain countries by a house sitter is actually included in standard travel insurance policies so if you do not have your own insurance through owning your own home, i.e you are a nomad traveller this will suffice.
That leads to another question ā¦ why would me, the sitter, having my own home insurance (and does that mean contents or buildings or both?) affect things?
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I hope that you feature the insurance requirement prominently in the listing.
There is no way I am buying extra insurance as a no-cost house/petsitter. 
(I do, however, have auto insurance with liability for borrowing cars in the US.)
I doubt that a non resident of France would have a policy applicable to France. But as others have posted, THS covers that for the host.
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Provenceās car isnāt for sitterās use so nobody needs to worry about the insurance 
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Iām assuming that the THS liability insurance acts as a rider to your own home and liability insurance?
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Usually our own home liability insurance covers us wherever we go. Take a look at the wording of your policy. This is a screenshot of mine.
@Provence Can you clarify? When asking for proof of insurance, you are referring to Personal Liability Insurance, right?
Your home and belongings are all covered by your own home insurance.
@Vanessa_A are you able to answer this question Vanessa as it sounds like @Itchyfeet should get some reply and other sitters might like to know also? Thanks
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@carpediem It seems that there are several questions regarding insurance on this thread and Iām not an insurance expert Iām afraid. As we are seeing, there are different scenarios for different countries of which I donāt have any experience.
I have, however, made a note to bring this before the team next week so that our insurance specialist can address any general concerns.
Regarding individual insurance queries I think the best thing is probably to ask membership services directly by email so that they can look into each individual set of circumstances in relationship to the TrustedHousesitters policies.
Sorry not to be of much help on this one with any immediacy, but I wouldnāt want to mislead anyone by making any assumptions. We will take this up next week though.
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