I was just reading the THS Accident and Third Party Liability Plan
(here: Accident & 3rd party liability plan terms | TrustedHousesitters.com) and noticed this part:
‘This plan is not an insurance policy and is not intended to replace the guarantees of Sitters’ own insurance contracts (which, under our Terms of Service, a Sitter must arrange and have in place before a Sit).’
Are all you sitters aware of this, and which insurance policies do you have?
Great topic
On another Help page THS recommends ( not requires ) that sitters have appropriate travel and medical insurance .
“We strongly encourage sitters to arrange any suitable insurance they feel is necessary for their sit and travel plans. For example, if you’re a sitter and considering sits abroad, we advise you look into relevant travel and health insurance.”
The only clause I have found in the T&C about sitters requiring insurance is this one
5.3.8 before arranging a Sit , have suitable insurance in place that will cover you for any travel and medical expenses;
If you have an expensive item that you travel with - you could have your own insurance for that ( jewellery/ laptop/ bike ? )
Travel insurance. Nothing else.
I don’t plan to get any other kind of insurance, because I don’t sit professionally. If any hosts expected me to get insurance to cover their home or pets, I’d skip the sit. Mentioning that, because it’s come up in a recent thread.
FWIW, this language is worded to mean that if you don’t have insurance beforehand, then THS coverage might not apply (because it’s secondary coverage, not primary) — it’s THS trying to cover itself.
I mention that, because some folks might misinterpret it to mean that “must” as THS requiring sitters to have insurance, which it doesn’t at all. I think this thread was started because of such a misunderstanding.
You’re right @Maggie8K , it is precisely the wording which made me wonder if I’d missed some vital personal insurance requirement:
So it seems the quote I posted references ‘Terms of Service’ which don’t actually exist? How very odd…
THS is basically saying, if you don’t get your own coverage for this sort of stuff, you’re on your own. It’s often hard to write about legal stuff and not have it misinterpreted. That’s why lawyers have jobs writing legalese and arguing such in legal back-and-forth, in court proceedings, etc. 
Have a close read of Ths’ “insurance” cover. In my view, it provides no effective cover. Essentially, it expects the sitter to accept liability and fault… crazy. Ths should rather advocate for sitters, and obtain “hold harmless” and indemnification for sitters from home owners with respect to any loss. Surely it’s unacceptable that sitters should bear liability in respect of unpaid house sitting.
Basically, THS doesn’t specify sitter indemnification, because it doesn’t want to scare away hosts from subscribing. So it fudges / leaves language murky, allows a false sense of security.
Practically, it would be hard for hosts to pursue damages, especially because sitters come from across many jurisdictions, countries, etc., and aren’t paid.