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Bed & Breakfast and Guest House Insurance

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New customer only. Cover on an equivalent basis to ours. Excludes policies with home emergency cover added. Qualifying criteria apply.

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Stolen laptop? Damaged mobile? We'll replace your essential tech within 24hrs of claim approval, with Business Tech Essentials.

Cover & claim limits apply. Mon – Fri 8am – 6pm, except Bank holidays

  • Damage to a room? Get started on repairs worth up to £1,500 straightaway - then tell us afterwards.

    Subject to policy cover, excess, conditions and exclusions. Keep replaced parts/items. Photos of damage and repair docs required.

  • Cover for bed & breakfasts and guest houses with up to 12 guest rooms.
  • No admin fees if you need to make changes to your policy.
  • 0% APR on your monthly Direct Debit payments in the first year.

    Over 18s, subject to eligibility.

Bed & Breakfast and Guest House Insurance

Running a bed & breakfast or guest house can be very rewarding. You can be your own boss and have the satisfaction of providing a welcoming stay for your guests.

But like any business, there are risks, from broken down boilers, to theft of or damage to your guests' possessions, or a flood or fire. Normal home insurance won't typically cover you and your guests for all the risks you may face.

What cover might I need for my Bed & Breakfast / Guest House?

Some insurers like to sell you one-size-fits-all cover. Not us. At Direct Line, we let you create a policy that's personalised to your business. So, you can cover everything you want – from pool tables to swimming pools. And the great thing is that you only pay for what you want and nothing more.

You can pick from a range of cover options to get a bespoke policy for your B&B or Guesthouse:
(Public & products liability, Business contents & stock and Guest effects insurance come as standard.)

Want to let out your rooms on Airbnb? If you run your business like a standard B&B and live at the property, we can provide personalised insurance for you too.

Make sure that your rooms are always available

We know that if there is damage to a room the first thing you want to do is get it fixed – so you can book out the room.

That's why with our cover, we let you get on with repairs of up to £1,500 as long as the claim is covered under your policy and then you tell us about them afterwards. Cover exclusions such as wear and tear apply and you may be responsible for a policy excess. Photographs of damage and repair docs are required but in the case of equipment breakdown claims such as on a boiler or an air-conditioning unit, policyholders should retain replaced parts to allow us to inspect them. Boiler and air conditioning units are covered when optional buildings insurance is selected.

Get a quote
or call us on 0345 878 5606
Get a quote call us on 0345 878 5606

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Read on to find out about some of the insurance features you can choose.

Our standard cover

  • Public and products liability insurance for Bed & Breakfasts and Guest Houses

    Our Insurance policies come with public liability insurance as standard. The cover you choose to add on top of this is your decision.

    Public liability covers your business in case your guests or any other members of the public are injured while they are at your bed & breakfast or guest house. For example, if one of your guests slips on a wet floor resulting in an injury, public liability would cover you. It also covers your legal liability in connection with your business for damage caused to property belonging to your guests or members of the public.

    It'll cover your legal costs and any compensation up to your chosen limit. And if you're found to be at fault, you'll be insured for the claimant's legal costs too.

  • Business contents and stock

    This covers your bed & breakfast or guest house business contents, such as:

    • Beds
    • Curtains
    • Linen
    • Wardrobes
    • Dressing tables in guest bedrooms
    • Laptops and computers etc. that you use in running your business

    This feature includes equipment breakdown, which covers the cost of repairing or replacing appliances like washer dryers and fridge freezers, if they break down and it’s not due to wear and tear.

    This cover also insures your stock, such as:

    • Food
    • Beers, wines, spirits and toiletries

    It covers contents and stock used in the property and damaged by fire, flood or any other insured event. It extends to cover your guests’ possessions while they’re staying with you.

    Your home contents are not the same as your business contents. You will need to insure your home contents under the optional household contents cover if this is required. Cover limits apply.

    And now with Business Tech Essentials, if your essential tech is stolen or damaged, we'll replace it within 24 hours from claim approval.

    When you cover your electrical items and tech you get Business Tech Essentials. Which means if your essential tech - like laptops, mobiles or tablets - are stolen or damaged we'll replace them within 24 hours of claim approval.

    Cover & claim limits apply. Mon – Fri 8am – 6pm, except Bank holidays.

  • Guest effects

    This cover insures you against loss or damage to your guests’ and employees’ personal possessions at your bed & breakfast or guest house if you’re legally liable.

    This covers loss or damage to your guests’ and employees’ property:

    • Up to £5,000 per person for personal effects
    • Up to £25,000 per motor vehicle
    • Up to £100,000 per claim
Get a quote
or call us on 0345 878 5606
Get a quote call us on 0345 878 5606

Bed & Breakfast and Guest House Insurance – cover options

Find out more about some of the optional insurance features that you can choose from:

  • Building cover

    This covers damage to your bed & breakfast or guest house including any additional buildings within the boundary of the property from insured events such as fire or escape of water. It covers the cost of rebuilding the property including debris removal and architect fees if it was damaged beyond repair.

    If you take out buildings cover you will be covered for equipment breakdown cover which pays to repair or replace your boiler and other built-in appliances like burglar alarm and air conditioning systems as long as the damage is not caused due to wear and tear. You need to organise the repair yourself. Cover limits apply.

  • Home emergency

    Peace of mind, if you experience a sudden and unexpected issue, which can cause damage to your home, makes it unsafe or uninhabitable, home emergency’s 24-hour claims line means help is never far away. You’ll have a certified contractor, such as plumbers, electricians, glaziers, locksmiths, or drainage engineers at your home within 4 hours of your claim being registered, to make the property secure or prevent further damage. In addition, you have access to gas engineers, pest control services and roofers, but these are not subject to the 4 hour response time. Extreme weather and remote locations may extend the response time.

    Up to £1,500 inc. VAT per claim for call-out charges, labour costs and materials for insured emergencies, such as issues with plumbing, heating or pest infestations.

    There’s no excess to pay and no limit on how often you can claim.

    You can add home emergency to a Direct Line business policy, so long as you run your business from home and have home buildings insurance, home contents insurance or business contents insurance on your policy. It is available on new and renewal policies, it can’t be added during the policy term.

    Home emergency isn’t currently available on policies that include commercial premises.

    For more information click here.

  • Business interruption

    If an insured event, such as fire or flood, damages your bed & breakfast or guest house, its equipment, contents or stock, we'll reimburse the turnover lost due to you having to partially or fully close your property to business.

    It'll also replace lost turnover following damage by an insured cause or an attraction within 25 miles of your premises - leading to a reduction in the number of your potential guests. Cover limits apply.

  • Theft of takings

    This optional feature covers your business money and damage to your employees’ clothes and personal effects, as a result of theft or attempted theft of money in your bed & breakfast or guest house and elsewhere. Cover limits apply.

  • Legal expenses

    This optional feature covers the cost of lawyers handling your business’s legal problems, such as disputes with suppliers or guests. This pays legal costs connected with:

    • Employment disputes and compensation awards
    • Legal defence
    • Statutory licence appeal
    • Contract disputes
    • Tenancy disputes
    • Debt recovery
    • Property protection
    • Personal injury
    • Tax protection

    The cover limit for legal expenses is £250,000. Legal Expenses claims are subject to reasonable prospects of success being 51% or more.

  • Employers' liability

    This feature covers your legal expenses incurred when your employees get ill or are injured whilst working for you.

    If you have people working for you it's important to understand your responsibility under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 (ELCA) which makes it compulsory for employers to have Employers' Liability insurance. The ELCA act can be found here, it includes details of what counts as an 'employee' and organisations are exempt.

  • Personal accident

    Personal accident cover provides payment if anyone in your business between the ages 16-75 is unable to work because they've been injured in an accident, whether in a business or personal capacity.

    We'll pay a lump sum of £50,000 if there is an accidental death, accidental loss of limbs or sight, or if someone in your business becomes permanently disabled following an accident.

    If someone in your business is unable to work due to a temporary injury, then after 7 days we'll pay their normal net weekly earnings up to £500 for up to 104 weeks.

    You can choose Personal Accident as an add-on once you've completed your quote.

  • Terrorism cover

    If you have commercial premises, you can extend your cover, for an additional premium, to include property damage as a result of an Act of Terrorism. We'll cover you up to the maximum sum insured on your policy for buildings, contents and business interruption (depending on which covers you have taken).

    This includes:

    • the rebuild of buildings damaged beyond repair
    • cover for damage or loss of your business contents, stock and computer equipment, to help you get back up and running.

    If you choose business interruption cover, you can extend this to include cover for reduced turnover and the costs of setting up elsewhere, due to damage to your premises resulting from an Act of Terrorism. It will also cover you not being able to access your premises as a result of an Act of Terrorism within 1 mile of your business.

    Acts of Terrorism are defined as damage caused by someone acting on behalf of, or in connection with, any organisation which uses force or violence to overthrow or influence the UK government.

    Terrorism cover is only available for properties located in England, Wales and Scotland.

    Terrorism insurance is optional, so an additional premium will apply.

    You can include Terrorism cover on your policy by adding it online or by calling us on 0345 301 5066 when you take out your policy or at renewal, as it cannot be added to your policy mid-term.

Get a quote
or call us on 0345 878 5606
Get a quote call us on 0345 878 5606

We realise that you are busy making your guests feel at home. To help, our call centres are open weekdays 8am - 8pm, on Saturdays from 9am - 5pm, and on Sundays from 10am - 4pm.

If you’d like to spread the cost of your policy in your first year with us you can pay monthly for your Bed & Breakfast or Guest House Insurance for no extra cost. (Subject to eligibility, 18s and over. 0.0% APR representative.) There’s also no minimum premium amount for you to qualify for Direct Debit.

Just started running a bed & breakfast or guest house and want to get insured? You don't need to be registered with any associations to take out insurance with Direct Line for Business.

Policy documents

If you have an existing quote or policy with us, you can view and download your policy documents from the My Account page.

We tailor all our policies, so your documents only show what you’ve chosen to cover.

Below is a summary of a generic policy, from 25 October 2020 onwards, which shows the main covers and exclusions in our policies.

Hotel Insurance

Personalised Hotel Insurance from Direct Line for Business provides cover for hotels with up to 12 guest rooms.

Find out more

Frequently asked questions

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