Protection: how gear is covered
Every rental in the pool is covered in layers. This page says what each layer does, what it costs, and where it stops. Vehicles are covered differently from everything else, so they come last.
Non-vehicle gear: generators, battery stations, PA, lighting, e-bikes, canopies, tools
Layer 1. The deposit
Every booking holds a refundable deposit of 25% of the unit's replacement value, or a higher figure the owner sets. It is the renter's money, held by the desk before pickup and returned within three business days of the return tap, less any agreed deduction shown by the handover photos. The deposit is the first money that moves when something goes wrong.
Layer 2. The damage waiver, paid by the renter
A damage waiver is a term of the rental contract, not an insurance policy. In exchange for the waiver fee, the desk and the owner agree not to pursue the renter beyond a fixed cap for accidental damage. Two levels:
| | Standard | Plus | |---|---|---| | Fee | 10% of the rental, on every booking | 15% of the rental, chosen when you request | | Accidental damage during the rental | Covered. Renter's share capped at the deposit | Covered. Renter's share capped at half the deposit | | Theft or loss | Not covered. Renter responsible up to replacement value | Covered with a police report filed within 24 hours. Renter's share capped at half the deposit | | Fair wear, flat tyres, blown fuses, dead batteries past service age | Owner's cost, never the renter's | Same |
What no waiver covers, at either level: misuse or use outside the booking's purpose; use by anyone not named on the booking; a generator run indoors, in a tent, or within twenty feet of a sleeping area; a unit left in an unlocked vehicle or unattended overnight outdoors; water immersion; modification; damage hidden at the return tap. Those come out of the deposit first, then the renter pays the balance within fourteen days.
Layer 3. High-value units: the renter's policy, step by step
A unit with a replacement value over $5,000, or any unit the owner marks as requiring it, rents only with a short-term rental policy bought by the renter, naming the owner, with the certificate verified by the desk before pickup. These policies start at roughly $170 per rental and cover the unit to its full value. The deposit still applies and acts as the deductible cushion. The renter pays the premium.
How it runs on this site:
- The listing says "Renter policy required" and the request form says so again before you send the request.
- When the owner and the desk approve, your booking page opens a protection step with the insurer links and the exact details to type in: the unit, its value, your dates, and the owner's name as loss payee or additional insured.
- You buy the policy online, about ten minutes, and upload the certificate on the same page with the insurer and policy number.
- A founder checks three things: the owner's name, the dates, and the insured value. You are told when it is verified, or why it was not.
- Until it is verified, the tag refuses the check-out. Nothing leaves the owner without cover.
Owners: on the listing form, tick "require every renter of this unit to buy a policy" for anything you would not want to replace on a deposit alone.
Layer 4. The desk's own policy
The desk carries commercial general liability before the first non-vehicle rental is confirmed. It covers injury or property damage claims against the desk arising from a rental. Its policy number is on file with the founders and the date it binds is on this page. Renters accept a liability release as part of the agreement, because the desk's policy protects the desk and the owner, not the renter's own conduct.
Until the policy binds, the site takes requests but no non-vehicle booking is approved. The desk's software enforces that: the approve button is locked until a founder records the bound policy.
Owner's own insurance
An owner's homeowners or renters policy almost always excludes property used in a business, and renting a unit for money is a business use. The pool does not rely on it and neither should the owner. The layers above exist because of that gap. Owners with valuable gear can also buy their own annual equipment policy through the same online insurers; the desk will show the options on request.
Safety rules that keep the cover valid
- Generators, listed in California: every generator listing declares whether it has a carbon-monoxide shutoff sensor (shown on the listing as "CO shutoff" or "no CO shutoff") and its fuel. Placement rules bind every rental and appear on the listing, the request form and the tag page: outdoors only, at least twenty feet from any tent, vehicle or sleeping area, exhaust pointed away, never refuelled hot, quiet hours as the event sets them. Breaking them voids the waiver. California ends the sale of new gasoline portable generators from 2028; existing units may still be owned and rented, and battery power stations carry no fuel and no exhaust, so they are the pool's preferred power listing.
- E-bikes and scooters: adult riders named on the booking, a helmet, no passengers unless the bike is built for one, and motors within the class limit the listing states.
- PA and lighting: rain cover stated on the listing; the renter is responsible for weather protection once the unit is in their hands.
Vehicles: RVs, campers and trailers
Vehicles are listed through an established peer-to-peer rental platform with the desk managing the listing as a co-host. That platform's rental insurance applies to every booking, covering the vehicle, the renter and third parties on the road. The desk walks each owner through the setup. The pool's own damage waiver and deposit do not apply to vehicles; the platform's do.
Questions about a specific unit's cover go to the desk before you book.
Desk liability policy: not yet bound. Requests are taken; non-vehicle bookings are approved once it is.