For those of you that are full time housesitters, do you have or keep renters insurance?
This is in the case of your items being lost stolen or damaged while on a house-sit.
THS does have some kind of insurance, though it doesn’t cover such things.
Pet parents/owners would likely have homeowners that I suppose as a sitter you could claim on in case any such thing happened, though not sure how that all goes.
We’ve never encountered any such situation, though wondering what is best practices and what sitters are doing?
Do you carry renters insurance as a full time housesitter?
I am a full-time sitter and don’t have any sort of insurance to cover my belongings. I have never had renter’s insurance and I am not sure of the different options but I imagine someone who is moving locations frequently would need a different sort of coverage than standard ones probably provide.
My husband and I don’t own very much. Our most valuable possession–besides our car which wouldn’t be covered by this type of insurance-- are our computers, which are basic ones that don’t cost a lot.
We have been buying Chromebooks for many years and they typically don’t cost more than a few hundred dollars. Other than that, we don’t have any expensive gadgets, jewelry,etc…that would make this sort of insurance worth it.
I’m simply wondering if renters insurance is a helpful thing to have for a sitter, in the case of any damage or loss to personal items while on a sit. And if not renters insurance, what kind of coverage would be better suited? Travelers insurance? Basically, as full time sitter, or someone who sits very frequently, do you carry any kind of insurance to cover your items, in case of damage, theft, loss, etc?
Yes, when I decided to travel full-time for a few years I moved my belongings into storage and got renter’s insurance. It covers everything in my large storage unit, things my daughter took with her to university housing, extra coverage for expensive items such as musical instruments, jewelry, and cameras. It also covers loss or damage to items I have with me on my travels.
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You’re not renting. You need a permanent address for renters insurance.
Why not insure your valuables. You can get insurance on your computer, musical instruments, car, etc. I can’t imagine one bringing much more valuables than that. What items are you worried about if lost or stolen?
We are a housesitting family. 4 peoples worth of things. Computer clothes, goods, etc. I’m just thinking about best practices, how to best be prepared when on a sit, in the off chance anything were ever to happen. THS doesn’t provide any such coverage, so I’m wondering what is good for a sitter to have to be better protected. It’s different to being worried. My intention for asking this is born from curiosity of what sitters do to be covered, rather than from a place of worry.
Yes, we moved the bulk of our things into storage before embarking on our housesitting adventure. I’m wondering about the things that we travel with though. What kinds of coverage is available or good to have for when on a housesit? As THS doesn’t provide anything…and in the off chance of something happening, you’d have to go through pet parents home owners, and that may not always be straightforward.
We are full time sitters in the UK and have taken out our own pet sitting insurance for our peace of mind, we are covered, whist sitting, for most standard things, public liability, injury to pets, injury to ourselves, loss of keys/money/laptops, travel expenses etc. It only covers us whilst we are in the Uk and was not expensive (£80)
@mspc, what risks do you suggest “renters insurance” cover for full-time housesitters?
THS has Sit Cancellation Insurance, which is ok but could be made much better (other threads on that topic).
We have good emergency health insurance across relevant countries.
We never check luggage (carry-on plus personal item, for multi-month adventures) so don’t really need insurance to cover related losses.
We have good credit cards that cover insurance for any car rental.
Not aware of any insurance that would cover losses of personal possessions taken on road for full-time housesitting.
Beyond that, I guess we self-insure. @Colin, i’d be very curious to know details of insurance policy that you have.
I suspect personal belongings coverage depends on your home country. My US home insurance covers my personal belongings anywhere in the world. Additionally, I charge all travel expenses on a CC that includes limited travel insurance and most travel insurance covers personal belongings. Based on past experience with travel insurance, I pray I never have to make a claim.
Similar to others, I keep most of my belongings in two different storage units while nomading full-time, so I have a renter’s insurance policy that covers both of those units (insurance is required by storage facilities) and also covers my stuff wherever it goes. Toggle and Lemonade both offer very affordable and customizable policies. (I use Toggle and pay $6/month to cover everything I own, including furniture, sports equipment, and tech, as well as liability)
There is a kind of insurance out there, called pet sitting insurance?!
I’d never heard of that!
I’m in the states, I’ll see if there is anything like that here. That sounds really good, if it exists here.
Thank you.