How difficult is it to get B&B insurance?

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flyboy912

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My wife and I are going to relocate to New England and we are considering a large house and doing a B&B. We have no trouble getting a quote for insurance, but with one agent we mentioned the B&B and he practically hung up the phone. What is the solution for this problem?
 
Many homeowner insurance companies do not offer B&B insurance and (IN MY EXPERIENCE) those that do cut deep in your pockets. - Insurance does vary by region though. There are several companies that do provide B&B insurance at an affordable rate. You may want to contact the state B&B association for a list of those that offer their services in your state. PAii also has listings on their site.
You may also want to do a search on this site as this have been a topic of several threads. Good luck!
 
Do research on B&B insurance. You can search this site itself for a list of B&B insurerers in New England. The topic came up a little while ago.
 
You will need a special insurance, most homeowners will not cover you. BEFORE you do anything, you had better check the zoning in the town. Don't spend any money until you have it in writing that you can actually open and run a B & B. You will probably have to get some kind of conditional zoning permit and have to have a hearing with neighbors etc etc. Read through this site, you will get more details.
 
Contact your state B&B association and ask them. Or go check PAII.org and see what they recommend for your area. You need B&B insurance, not regular homeowners.
RIki
 
Echoing everything the others have said. FWIW, the agent for our former homeowner's insurance assured us that her company did insure BnB's...then we actually tried to get a policy. We experienced such an incredible runaround we left that company completely and went with an insurance company that specializes in BnBs (I found our current company, as well as others, on PAII's site). We wish we'd just gone this route in the first place.
 
Well, I have really found little, outside of a Utah company. I might say that we are talking about Conneticutt and there is no state association in Ct. Does someone there have a local agent that they have a long term relationship with and are relatively confident that they know what they are doing?
 
Well, I have really found little, outside of a Utah company. I might say that we are talking about Conneticutt and there is no state association in Ct. Does someone there have a local agent that they have a long term relationship with and are relatively confident that they know what they are doing?.
I have Markel who is listed as PAII vendor I think. My agent is out of North Carolina. There is also a company out of PA who is actively looking for B&B business but I don't recall the name.

I just googled "bed and breakfast insurance" and got many results, including Markel at
http://www.inninsurance.com/
Riki
 
Well, I have really found little, outside of a Utah company. I might say that we are talking about Conneticutt and there is no state association in Ct. Does someone there have a local agent that they have a long term relationship with and are relatively confident that they know what they are doing?.
I'm not sure we have too many owners here from CT. You may want to consider Cross Insurance out of Maine. They have offices in MA, also, so they might consider CT.
 
B&B insurance is expensive. We had two historic houses, one attached garage, and a detached 3-car garage. We also kept our homeowners carrier to insure our personal belongings. So, we paid quite a bit. You might be able to find some insurance vendors at www.paii.org.
 
Well, I have really found little, outside of a Utah company. I might say that we are talking about Conneticutt and there is no state association in Ct. Does someone there have a local agent that they have a long term relationship with and are relatively confident that they know what they are doing?.
We use James Wolfe Ins. co. But get quotes from several to get your best deal again as I and several others suggested, check PAii's website for a list of B&B insurers. But as Catlady mentioned, your first item on your list should be to make sure you are properly zoned to open a B&B where you are purchasing.
 
We didn't have any problems finding insurance.We've used both State Farm and Alstate. Be sure that if your B & B is also your home that your business policy overlaps your home owners policy.
We have our business under an LLC to help further limit our personal liabilty.
 
We didn't have any problems finding insurance.We've used both State Farm and Alstate. Be sure that if your B & B is also your home that your business policy overlaps your home owners policy.
We have our business under an LLC to help further limit our personal liabilty..
Proud Texan - these 2 companies have different policies state by state. Allstate will not write a policy for a B&B in my state even if it is your residence. State Farm only covers existing polices and has not accepted new B&B policies for over 12 years in this state.
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It is a must - repeat must to make sure you are completely protected when opening your B&B to guests. As Proud Texan stated he has a business policy that overlaps his homeowners. If you are able to find one of these to write a homeowners policy for you, you will also need business liability coverage to fully protect your property and assets. If something happens to a paying guest and you only have a homeowners policy, you are not protected and your insurance can deny the claim.
Laws regarding LLC's and Corporations vary state by state as well. Research to determine how to protect yourself best in your state.
 
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