What If My Vacation Rental Is Uninhabitable?

What Counts as "Uninhabitable" Under the Policy

The policy uses a specific definition. Your accommodations are considered uninhabitable when any one of the following applies:

• The building structure itself is unstable and at risk of collapse, in whole or in part.
• There is exterior or structural damage allowing elemental intrusion such as rain, wind, hail, or flood.
• Immediate safety hazards have not yet been cleared, such as debris or downed electrical lines.
• The property is without electric, gas, sewer service, or water.
• Local government authorities have issued a mandatory evacuation.
• The destination is inaccessible by the mode of transportation shown on your travel documents or itinerary.

Being uninhabitable is only half the test. For the Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption benefit to apply, the cause must be a Natural Disaster, vandalism, or burglary, and the accommodations must be made uninhabitable within 10 days of your scheduled departure date. A Natural Disaster includes events such as fire, flood, hurricane, earthquake, tornado, tsunami, blizzard, avalanche, volcanic eruption, landslide, and wildfire.

The uninhabitable benefit doesn't apply to these situations, which are platform or host disputes rather than insurance claims:

• A dirty rental, or one that doesn't match the listing photos
• Broken appliances that don't affect safety (a broken dishwasher, slow Wi-Fi, a cracked TV)
• Cosmetic damage
• Pest or bed-bug complaints
• Host misrepresentation of the property
• A rental that simply isn't as nice as you expected

Those situations are AirCover, VRBO, or platform-dispute matters. Work them out with the booking platform or rental agency.

What Travel Insurance Pays When the Rental Is Uninhabitable

Which benefit applies depends on timing. If the rental is made uninhabitable before you depart, Trip Cancellation applies. If it happens after you've started your trip, Trip Interruption applies. Both benefits reimburse up to 100% of your non-refundable insured trip cost, to a maximum of $100,000.

What these benefits actually reimburse is the money you've already committed and can't get back, plus the cost of getting home or to your next stop:

• Your unused, forfeited, prepaid, non-refundable payments and deposits for the travel arrangements you purchased
• Under Trip Interruption, the additional one-way economy transportation cost to rejoin your trip or return to your originally scheduled destination, less any refunds for unused tickets

There's a separate path for a destination evacuation while you're already traveling. If a mandatory evacuation is ordered or recommended by local government authorities at your destination due to a Natural Disaster, Trip Interruption can apply — but only if you have 4 days, or 50% or more of your trip length, remaining at the time the evacuation is issued.

What to Do the Moment You Realize the Rental Isn't Safe

Your actions in the first few hours determine whether your claim pays cleanly or gets contested. Work through these in order:

1. Document everything before you leave. Take dated photos and videos of the damage. Screenshot the listing page. Keep all texts and emails with the host.
2. Notify the host and the platform. Contact Airbnb, VRBO, or the rental agency through the platform's messaging system so there's a written record. Don't rely on a phone call alone.
3. Report the cancellation or interruption to your travel supplier promptly. The policy requires you to report a cancellation to the travel supplier within 72 hours of the event that causes the need to cancel. If the event itself delays your ability to report, do it as soon as reasonably possible.
4. Request a refund from the host first. Travel insurance reimburses what you forfeit. If the host refunds your prepayment, those dollars are no longer a forfeited, non-refundable loss.
5. Call the 24/7 travel assistance line at 1-833-425-5099 (U.S./Canada) or 1-603-952-2684 collect (international). They can help with emergency travel arrangements and documentation while you sort out next steps.
6. Get third-party documentation. For a Natural Disaster, official disaster declarations, government evacuation orders, or news coverage strengthen the claim. For structural damage, a report from a local contractor or inspector helps.
7. File a police report if the cause is vandalism or burglary.
8. Keep every receipt and unused ticket. Save unused, non-refundable booking confirmations and any transportation tickets — reimbursement is calculated from documented, forfeited costs.

How and When to File Your Claim

Two separate timelines matter, and people often confuse them. First, report the cancellation or interruption to your travel supplier within 72 hours of the triggering event, as covered above. Second, give notice of claim to the insurer or its authorized representative within 20 days of the loss, or as soon as reasonably possible, and no later than one year. Proof of Loss is then due within 90 days of the loss, or as soon as reasonably possible.

To start a claim, contact the claims administrator at 1-833-610-0736 or playtravel@cbpinsure.com . Submitting a complete package — photos, host communications, unused tickets and confirmations, and any government disaster declarations — in one go is the fastest route to payment.