Tasmanian rideshare and short stay accommodation providers are putting themselves at risk with many not being correctly insured, RACT Insurance has warned.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Data collected in November 2018 from a popular short stay website showed there are over 5,000 properties listed with them in Tasmania.
RACT Insurance chief executive Trent Sayers said when these figures are compared with their data, there is a fair assumption that a significant proportion of these properties may not have the appropriate insurance coverage.
“In 2018, RACT Insurance received just 35 notifications from policyholders that their homes were being used as short stay accommodation,” Mr Sayers said.
“We are concerned there could be thousands of Tasmanian homeowners out there that may not have appropriate cover should the worst happen while a holidaymaker is staying at their property.”
Mr Sayers said rideshare numbers tell a similar story.
“Data obtained from Transport Tasmania shows there were 873 vehicles registered as ‘ride-sourcing’ as of November 2018. These figures could be higher given some drivers many not have correctly registered their vehicles yet,” he said.
“Our data indicates we only received notifications from 104 policy holders letting us know their vehicles were being used for ridesharing, less than 11 per cent of the current fleet.”
“If you fail to disclose this information and you need to make a claim, it may have an impact on your claim.”
A small number of insurers now provide cover for short stay properties and rideshare vehicles, but typically policyholders must notify their insurer of their intentions before commencing their services.
Tasmanians are urged to contact their insurers to check if they provide this coverage and if not find an alternative provider.