Protection, in full

1The 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 throughout: held by the desk before pickup, returned within three business days of the return tap, less any agreed deduction the handover photographs support.

The deposit is the first money that moves when something goes wrong.

2The damage waiver, paid by the renter

A damage waiver is a term of the rental contract, not an insurance policy. In exchange for the fee, the desk and the owner agree not to pursue the renter beyond a fixed cap for accidental damage. It is charged on the card with the rest of the booking and is not refunded when nothing goes wrong: the cap is the thing that was bought. The refundable part of a booking is the deposit.

The three levels are the same promise at a different cap, with Diamond adding service the desk can give at no risk to itself. None carries theft — see the next section for why, and for what does.

3Theft and loss

Three things answer theft, and the desk says which apply to a unit before it is booked:

1. The deposit, held on the card at 25% of value or whatever higher figure the owner set.
2. The renter's own short-term policy. Required automatically on any unit over $5,000 and on any unit an owner marks. It covers the unit to its full value, theft included, and the owner is named on it. Any renter may buy one on a cheaper unit, and any owner may require one.
3. The storage terms in the agreement. Locked when unattended, not left outdoors overnight, not left in an unlocked vehicle.

Why it is written this way: a waiver is priced as a predictable share of every rental, and theft is not predictable — a single unit lost can exceed the waiver income of dozens of bookings. Every comparable marketplace that does carry theft carries it on an insurer's paper rather than its own, still charges the renter a share of replacement value, and still requires a police report. If the pool ever offers theft cover it will be an insurer's product sold at the insurer's price, not a promise from the desk.

4High-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.

1. The listing says renter policy required, and the request form says it again before the request is sent.
2. On approval the booking page opens a protection step with the insurer links and the exact details to type in: the unit, its value, the dates, and the owner's name as loss payee or additional insured.
3. The renter buys the policy online — about ten minutes — and uploads the certificate on that page with the insurer and policy number.
4. A founder checks three things: the owner's name, the dates, and the insured value. The renter is told when it is verified, or why it was not.
5. 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.

5The desk's own policy

The desk carries commercial general liability before the first non-vehicle rental is confirmed. It answers injury or property-damage claims made against the desk arising from a rental. The policy number is on file with the founders and the date it binds is shown on the protection page.

Until it binds, the site takes requests but approves no non-vehicle booking, and the software enforces that: the approve button is locked until a founder records the bound policy.

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.

⏳ Not bound yet.

6The 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 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 buy their own annual equipment policy through the same online insurers. The desk will show the options on request.

7Safety rules that keep the cover valid

8Vehicles: 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, theft included. The desk walks each owner through the setup.

The pool's own deposit and damage waiver do not apply to vehicles. The platform's cover does.