I would like to make everyone aware that the premium insurance is not covered if both Sitter and Home owner are not members of Trusted House Sitters.
Our sitter that is due to come to our home in a few days advised us that this would be her last SIT and she did not renew her membership with Trustedhousesitters a day earlier.
We found out that if both parties are not insured all possible insurance is invalid. A huge liability.
Trusted House Sitters does not have a method on thier APP to detect if A SITTER has not renewed their membership after accepting a SIT and Before arriving to the HOME.
At this point until TrustedHouseSitters fixes this important ISSUE I would advise homeowners to ask their Sitters if they are still a TrustedHouseSitter member as the insurance for homeowners is void.
Hopefully TurstedHouseSitters will fix this important issue repidly as it should not be home owners responsiblity to verify if or if not a sitter is insured.
All the best,
Andy
Edited title and first couple of sentences as per OP request.
I think you mean that the insurance is ONLY valid if both sitter and home owner are fully paid up members of THS?
I was under the impression that if a sitter didnât renew their membership, then all future confirmed sits would automatically be cancelled - in order to avoid the situation that you seem to describe. Iâm not sure how this would work if the home ownerâs paid membership expired prior to a confirmed sit taking place. Presumably the same - automatic cancellation.
Of course, the planned sit could still go ahead if you wanted it to, and have each othersâ contact details (as unpaid members lose access to their inbox, along with any previous correspondence), but it would then be a private arrangement, unrelated to THS. You would be right to consider the insurance implications in this scenario.
Iâve actually completed a sit in these circumstances, having originally made contact through THS five months prior to the sit. I was no longer a paid-up member by the time the sit came around. Iâd previously had basic membership, which I think would have offered little, if any, insurance cover anyway. It was a bigger risk for the home owners, who were essentially letting a random stranger into their home.
Yes , Insuracne is only valid if both the Sitter and Home owner are fully paid up members with THS during the whole SIT.
Yes, this would of be of importance for a home owner.
For example:
We have the Premium insurance with THS. Should a Sitter cancel a few days before a sit and the Sitter is no longer a member and if the Home owner cannot find a suitable sitter in time for their departure.
The Premium Insurance would no longer cover the cost of placing your pet in a kennel.
And no THS does not automatically cancel a sit if a SITTER is no longer a member with THS before or during a sit. This should be corrected be THS or they should advise Home owners of this situation.
Whatever arrangements a Sitter or Home owner does knowing they are no longer members is up to them.
I am just giving the group a heads up of this issue.
Hopefully THS will fix this issue and let HOME Owners know when their planned sitter coming to their home is no longer a member.
For us the insurance is important and it is needs to be valid.
I suggest home owners contact THS to see if this will fix this loop whole in there policy.
Iâm fairly sure that when I wanted to switch off the âauto-renewâ option on my membership, it brought up a message about my upcoming confirmed sit being cancelled if I did so. Iâm no longer in a position to be able to check this, but perhaps someone who has a sit booked in could give it a try?
However, home owners could still be left in the uninsured position that you describe, as a sitterâs renewal date could fall immediately before, or even during a sit. Either way, if they choose not to renew, and switch off auto-renew at the last minute, a home owner could be left in a tight spot.
If a memberâs renewal date was shown on their profile, at least home owners could ask whether sitters intend to renew if necessary. Although as it stands at the moment, youâd still be relying on someone doing what theyâve said theyâll do.
Hi Andy,
Can you please edit your post title and the first sentence in your post? Itâs very confusing. Iâm sure you meant to say âif sitter and homeowner are not members of THSâ as later you wrote this:
As mentioned, sits are supposed to be automatically cancelled if a member is not current. It seems likely that your sitterâs membership is current through your sit but after that they are letting their membership lapse, unless they told you otherwise, in which case Iâd ask Membership Services why you werenât notified. In any case, I hope all goes smoothly and it isnât an issue for you or your sitter
