There's a coverage gap running through almost every STR transaction, and nobody at the table owns it — until a claim gets denied and everyone remembers who said what. Your job is narrow and important: flag it, refer it, document it. Never advise on it.
Seller side: confirm the property stays properly covered through listing, showings, and escrow — especially if the booking wind-down (Lesson 8) changes how it's being used before closing. Buyer side: an STR insurance quote belongs in underwriting before the offer, not after — in coastal, mountain, and wildfire markets, flood/wind/fire surcharges can reshape the whole cash-flow picture, which affects how buyers respond to your price.
"I'm not an insurance adviser — but standard homeowner policies generally exclude short-term rental use, so please confirm coverage with a broker who writes STR policies. I can introduce you to one." That sentence flags the risk, refers it out, and stays inside your license. Then send a follow-up email restating it, because a documented flag protects you; a hallway comment doesn't.
Go deeper: Agent Liability in STR Transactions — where the flag-don't-advise line sits across insurance, tax, and legal — and Buying a Turnkey Airbnb for where insurance lands in buyer due diligence.
ACTION: Two moves this week. Add "insurance gap flagged in writing" as a line item on your STR transaction checklist, and identify one insurance broker in your market who actually writes commercial STR policies — you'll meet the rest of the referral bench in Lesson 12.
Next lesson: the tax moments hiding in every STR deal — how to recognize them, and the one sentence that lets you help without practicing tax.