This can vary greatly depending on what country you live in, and what insurance company you use.
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Tbh the sitter isnt a lodger. Its just like having a guest/friend staying.
I think the insurance company is charging for any amnendment here.
Interesting though.
@Wavingfish Every insurance policy (and likely country) would have different timeframes for occupancy requirements. I live in Canada and must have someone check my home every seven days (but not necessary live there) for my policy to remain valid.
I’m curious to know whether, had you said they were invited guests, whether you would have been charged the additional coverage. 
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And my insurance (Canadian) says I can leave my house empty for 30 days. More proof of the different between companies.
@Kelownagurl @Snowbird exactly the same when we had a home in Canada … that’s why we had sitters every time we left the country, sometimes for 6 months.
Insurance products vary widely from company to company let alone country to country.
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The only difference being they don’t pay money to stay, but I think the insurance company is picking up on the fact they are not friends or family.
I don’t think that would have changed anything, it was because they are not friends or family.
I did see one HO listing on THS where the sitters had to be DBS checked due to a clause in their house insurance.
To be honest I would be very surprised if that was the real reason - that sounds to me something a home host would say as they felt they needed to give a reason for wanting to see a DBS.
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As @Angela_L and @Snowbird says : it depends on the country and on the assurance policy : In France it’s usual that floading is not covered by insurance if you haven’t been in your house for… 3 days ! 3 days is nothing !
… In France it is very often that you are not properly covered by your insurance because there is always a reason why you are out of the boxes (written in tiny tiny letters at the very bottom of the contract you signed ages ago ! 
)
Bit of a thread resurrection
I have just joined THS, I am in UK. My home insurer (AA) flat refuses to provide cover if house sitters are used, and wanted me to take out a new policy at £1000 a year.
Not sure what to do except cancel the policy and go elsewhere.
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Have you looked at other insurance companies policies yet? If its just AA I’d walk
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Hi @phil_C as @Sarah22 suggests have you searched other providers? Insurance policies and practices differ widely from provider to provider, location and country to country. In Canada we would have been penalized for leaving the property unoccupied, there were no conditions attached to caretakers.
In the end I couldn’t get anywhere with AA. I cancelled the policy and took out a new one.
It cost me 50% more because they load the quote if you exit another policy early.
c’est la vie
@Wavingfish,
We did a sit in Kent, England. They had had a break in prior to our sit.
But they told us that having a house sitter while they were away, reduced their home insurance bill, because the house was not left empty.
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All depends on the insurance company. I can leave my property empty for up to 60 consecutive days without it affecting my premium.
It’s always worth checking the insurance companies clauses in your policy, as you can easily invalidate your insurance.
I just had a long conversation with my insurance agent in Florida and came away discouraged. Florida is a unique market because many insurance companies have stopped writing homeowners insurance because of losses incurred after hurricanes Irma and Ian. More importantly, they are looking to deny claims based on misrepresentation, the most relevant here being the rep that the homeowner is the occupant of the home.
A pet sitter who occupies the house while the owner is present is a third party and not within the scope of the representation… If the sitter is injured, trashes the residence or sets it on fire, the claim would be deniable as the event was not a risk assumed by the carrier.
One solution is to cancel the std homeowner policy in favor of renters insurance at twice the premium. However reverting to a homeowner policy may be problematic.
This may be a Florida problem but I thought it worthwhile to pass on.
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My home insurance wish to cancel my policy 1 week before my sit as they don’t cover house sitters staying. I’m in the UK. Does anyone have any recommendations for insurance companies that do allow sitters without an extortionate premium please?
@LynneMarie I don’t have an answer to your question. However, I sat for homeowners in Australia and it was a first sitter experience for them. Their insurance said that if they had one locked room and moved their valuables to that room, they would be covered. The down side was that they chose their bedroom with an ensuite bathroom. I had to explain that if there was a plumbing issue, I would not be able to access that room. They were willing to take that chance and thankfully nothing happened.
I’m mentioning it only in case some other owners would be covered if they used this approach. Something to check with their insurers, of course.
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Have you tried the AA for house insurance ? It appears that they approve of having house sitters as long as they have public liability insurance (which THS provides with standard and Premium membership )
House-sitting and home insurance | AA Insurance.
Please report back when you find a suitable company as it will help other members.