A new pay-as-you-go insurance product aimed at people who rent out their home to paying guests has launched.

‘Host insurance’ from Belong Safe allows people who rent out a room in their home, their entire property through Airbnb-style schemes or who home-swap the ability to get house insurance on a day-by-day basis.

It claims to be first pay-as-you go home insurance product on the market.

Home sharing sites such as Airbnb and OneFineStay have soared in popularity in recent years, as homeowners look for new ways to earn extra income. However, many of these people don’t realise that having paying guests could invalidate their home insurance as using your home to make money is deemed a commercial activity which usually falls under a landlord or B&B policy, rather than a standard home insurance policy.

Landlord polices tend to be sold on an annual basis making cover expensive for those who only rent out their property on an adhoc basis.

Belong Safe said cover starts from 78p per day, although it expects most customers to pay in the region of £4-£5 per night for the insurance with a hefty £1,000 excess for claims. This is reduced by £10 per night for the length of your guests’ stay.

Peace of mind in a growing market

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the home-sharing market is set to grow to £9bn in the next decade.

On average, a typical ‘host’ earns more than £2,000 a year renting out rooms in their home.

From April 2016, hosts can receive up to £7,500 tax free under the government’s Rent a Room scheme.

Humphrey Bowles, founder and CEO of Belong Safe, said: “Potential hosts of the home-sharing market have never had real peace of mind while letting out their property to paying guests. Removing that concern could, and should, release huge potential for the UK market.”

The insurer said it is able to cover 99% of hosts automatically.