I have several sits lined up this summer and one of them is a 15 day sit in July. I received a message tonight stating homeowner needs to cancel due to finances. I’m a premium member, what do I need to do so that insurance will cover me. I don’t own a home. I travel out of an rv but the rv will be in storage starting this weekend as we will be travelling by car this summer. Do I just pay for a hotel or airbnb near in her city and then insurance pays me back?
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@IHeartAnimals - That cancellation is far too far in advance to be covered by the THS insurance.
The policy says the following - -
We will reimburse sitters up to $1500 (or foreign currency equivalent), at a limit of $150 per night, for up to 30 nights per membership year, in respect of loss from having to source alternative accommodation due to a pet parent cancelling unexpectedly. All claims are subject to the terms, conditions, and limitations shown below, as defined in insurance limits or as amended in writing by us.
Sitters must comply with all requirements and conditions in the insurance terms in order to be eligible to benefit from the policy.
I. Definitions
“Unexpectedly” means a cancellation that occurs less than 14 days before the agreed sit start date or during the sit, but before the agreed end date.
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hmm, that puts me in a pickle as available sits overlap with dates on my other sits. It’s hard to get sits accepted for a family of 5 and hotel costs to cover a 15 day sit will be very expensive. I’ll write a message to the helpdesk to see what options I have
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I just had this issue and was very annoyed at what I learned. It’s a useless policy.
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I agree. Help desk couldn’t help me. They told me the best course of action is to just find another sit. I paid for the premium membership for just this reason and now I’m afraid other homeowners will want to cancel outside of the 14 day window.
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The other ridiculous part is you have to be within 20 miles of the canceled sit in order to be reimbursed. Had we traveled to where we were to pet sit, we could have stayed in a hotel for 2 weeks and not lost money on our flights. Instead we took a 8 day pet sit requiring us to fly to another country. Our hotel was only 80 euros a night. We did our best to not take advantage of the insurance because ours was canceled a week prior. It is not easy to find a 2 week pet sit that fits into an itinerary ( especially with the 5 application cap). I would pay more for a policy that actually protects pet sitters. Homeowners ( and I used both sides) need to be made aware of the financial implications for a canceled sit.
@IHeartAnimals it sucks and I’m sorry your plans got derailed, but cancellations are part of the housesitter life. The first cancellation is always the biggest shock, therafter you learn to adapt and find alternative options faster. It doesn’t happen frequently, but it definitely happens. In the 4 years that we’ve sat, nearly full-time, we probably had around 3-4 cancellations and we had to cancel once, albeit with a 4-month lead time. Of course not counting Covid where 6 owners in a row cancelled, but the borders closed so we couldn’t blame them.
Come to think of it, out very first housesit got cancelled. And this was the first leg of a 2-year tour! I thought our tour was done for, if this was how it started! This was a four week sit in a gorgeous house in a beautiful setting, and we drove to meet them beforehand. But their usual housesitter became available and they opted to go with her, long after confirming us. I was floored and held a grudge for a very long time! But we found something else, lovely too. So I fully understand your feelings, but trust that things will work out for you in an even better way.
To get back to your point- you will appreciate the insurance when you’re really in a pickle when someone cancels at short notice. Just keep in mind, you first have to pay your own alternative accommodation and claim afterwards, so it might take a long while to actually see the money. Be prepared. And I think they THS will also try to find you an alternative sit for the cancelled dates so it might not be a guaranteed pay out, who knows.
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Wow 4 years, that’s amazing. What an exciting life. The homeowner felt bad so she came back and gave me a week sit while she goes on vacation locally. That certainly helps and I’m trying to fill in the other dates.
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It is always really important to read all the small print before signing up for plans with extra insurance. As people are finding it only covers some very specific situations which may or may not be worth it for you.
Hopefully you find a great sit to replace your cancelled one.
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Does anyone know if the insurance covers nights for shortened sits? For example, I recently did a sit that the owner decided to come home a day early, so I had to get a hotel. I have an upcoming sit that the owner is leaving a day later than planned, so I have to get a hotel for the night before.
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Actually even if it does cover shortened sit, mine wouldn’t be covered. I just checked the communications and for the upcoming sit, she changed the start date 16 days before the sit starts, so it doesn’t fall within the 14 days required by the insurance. The other one was within 14 days but she told my by phone, so I don’t have any proof of the date change.
The 14 day timeline seems too short, it should be 3-4 weeks. The 20 mile radius for the the hotel is ridiculous. There are many reasons why it might not even be possible to find a hotel at the last minute within 20 miles. In some rural areas there are not any hotels within 20 miles. In some small summer tourist towns, all the hotels would be booked up far ahead of time. In big cities in high season, to get a hotel last minute would likely be extremely expensive (double or triple the $150 allotment) and you might have to go more that 20 miles out to get one that you can afford. Also, it just might not make sense to travel to that location if you aren’t doing a sit and have another sit somewhere else after.
I don’t see the insurance as being very useful for sitters. When/if I renew my membership I will go down to regular membership and not bother with the insurance.
Unexpectedly” means a cancellation that occurs less than 14 days before the agreed sit start date or during the sit, but before the agreed end date.
This was posted by another member. I think you should check with member services about the one that fell within 14 days
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