Airbnb Adds Rain Guarantee Insurance Underwritten by Chubb

Weather protection at checkout is becoming a standard add-on across short-term rentals, and Airbnb is the latest to offer it.

Airbnb's product is an insurance policy underwritten by Chubb and added to a booking at checkout. Travelers receive €50 to €1,000 per day if rain falls at least 1.5mm in an hour between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. local time, for a sustained period at the property's location. Chubb detects rain using third-party data from radar, satellites and forecasts from NOAA, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and NASA. Payouts are automatic, so travelers do not file claims. Per the article, it is available only to residents of 10 EU countries and excludes snow, hail, sleet, ice and wind.

How it compares

Vrbo uses WeatherPromise, a guarantee rather than insurance that pays up to the full cost of the stay when rainfall exceeds a threshold set per trip. WeatherPromise is also used by JetBlue Vacations and Marriott's Homes & Villas. CEO Daniel Price said the product is priced individually for each traveler, and that offering it signals good weather to guests, which can lift partner conversion. Sensible Weather, offered through the SynXis Booking Engine, covers snow, wind and heat.

Open questions

Both the Airbnb/Chubb and WeatherPromise products cover rain only, not extreme heat, which disrupted European tourism this summer. Neither disclosed commercial terms with partners, and it is unclear who captures the margin: platform, underwriter or host.