New! Damage Protection by Assurant - A new way to protect your properties!
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I was reading the fine print, it says I must file a police report for damages. That’s not possible for my location and ridiculous for bleached linens, etc…is this really the requirement?
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@samantha-and-randy-arbogast Correct - if you select the $1500 in coverage, you only have to pay $40 for the premium, nothing more. If you elect to use damage protection, you have the option to charge a damage waiver, typically in lieu of a damage deposit. As with all rental pricing in MyVR, you are welcome to set your rates and fees to whatever you like. As a platform, we aim to give you the tools to run your business as you best see fit.
Cheers,
Mike -
@samantha-and-randy-arbogast I would encourage you to speak with Assurant directly regarding what’s covered and what’s not covered, they can provide very detailed information as the underwriter. There’s contact information for Assurant in the Summary of Coverages section of the “Damage Protection by Assurant” application. They can walk you through supplemental information that may be necessary to file a claim in different scenarios - for example if there’s a fire that burns down your kitchen or if there’s just some wine spilled on a rug. The requirements can be different depending on the circumstance.
I can tell you from the claim form provided to MyVR, which is what you fill out to initiate a claim from MyVR, a police report case number may be required “for theft, burglary, and fire” and not in other circumstances.
We spent a lot of time researching the various providers out there and are very excited about our partnership with Assurant. We believe the product they’ve crafted for MyVR customers is one of the best out there. We’ve made the process of initiating a claim in MyVR very simple, and often no further action is needed.
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@matthew-giles How do we offer this new damage protection to guests that have previously rented prior to this?
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@crystal-mclaughlin
we do not have the ability to apply damage protection to past reservations at this time. The policy covers all reservations booked once Damage Protection is enabled.>> I’m updating this to refer to @Jenny-Oest 's response below. You can retroactively add it by way of sending a new quote. -
Thank you for adding this feature! The setup was simple and I’m confident my guests will prefer this over the damage deposit option.
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Hi Samantha - I’m looking into adding the Assurant coverage but I would like to apply it selectively to certain reservations. Is that possible? I currently have my own damage waiver and fee but might not always want to take the risk such as when I have a reservation for an extra large group. Is it possible to add the Assurant coverage only when I want it? The FAQ seems to imply it will be automatically applied to all reservations on a blanket basis from the point you sign up without any control per reservation. Thanks in advance for the feedback.
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@mark-norton
Sorry, the above question should have gone to Mike Stachowiak (@Mike-Stachowiak). Thanks. -
@mark-norton - at this time there’s no way to selectively cover reservations. It’s set up to be scaled across all channels, reservations and properties.
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We completed a webinar series just last week which covered a product and policy overview. See the recording below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02RaywMYSOg
Note: All recorded MyVR webinars can be accessed on this channel.
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Just thought I would chime in with some food for thought. One reason we elected to add the Damage Coverage was was the cost of Credit Card processing.
Since Stripe elected to change their refund policy in January 2018, our expenses have been taking a beating on Card Processing fees for security deposits that were usually fully refunded.
We reduced the Security Deposits, leaving ourselves more vulnerable. When we compare the Processing Fee on a $59 transaction to that of a $500 transaction, the overall savings are significant. Especially since we accept Amex and also have quite a few foreign transactions. Anywhere from $13 to $22 per transaction, and we’ve already done 700+ transactions this year.
That’s $10,000+. That’s something to think about
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@Jess-Milligan & MyVR Support
When I receive an Airbnb sourced reservation, the damage protection is not added as a line item in the Airbnb quote/price. Am I to assume I paid for that guest to have coverage through MyVR? MyVR displays the green logo that that Airbnb guest is covered. -
Hey @Sarah-Jane-Howard each channel shows fees a little differently from each other. In Airbnb’s case, they usually bake any fees into the base-rate, and only have line items for the Cleaning Fee and Host Fee. Therefore the Damage Protection cost isn’t called out.
If it’s enabled in your account, and if you see the green “Insured” icon - the reservation is covered.
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Is there a deductible? Sorry, I did not have time to go through all of the question here…hopefully someone can answer this quickly. Thanks!
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Another question. Can we automatically add taxes to the damage deposit? Any additional income that I charge needs to be taxed…
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@alanna-schroeder Hey Alanna! I know you know this answer since we talked on the phone when you requested a consultation, but I’m closing the loop for any other viewers.
There is no deductible! The coverage premium is all that’s required.
As a reminder, you’re able to charge the renter for the premium amount at checkout & you can charge a custom amount at the Damage Waiver section. The custom amount can be higher (you make a margin), lower (the renter pays less, but you’re on the hook for the difference), or the exact cost of the premium. We will bill for these insurance premiums on a weekly basis.
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@crystal-mclaughlin - you could create a separate email to send to each guest offering them the opportunity to add it (attach a revised quote). They can click to accept it. If the revised quote no longer includes a security deposit, they will receive a refund :).
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@jess-milligan - if a guest has a change to their reservation terms, and previously did NOT have the damage protection, must they now add it?
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@mike-wesling Would you mind updating the community with any feedback on using Assurant for nearly the past year - please?
