Fort Myers, FL Short-Term Rentals: Insurance Requirements (2026)

Florida's vacation rental preemption at FS § 509.032(7)(b) prevents the City of Fort Myers from imposing an STR-specific minimum insurance requirement (such as 'STR operators must carry $1,000,000 liability'); such a rule would be preempted because it singles out vacation rentals. Florida state law (FS § 509.241 and DBPR vacation rental licensing rules) requires the operator to hold a DBPR Vacation Rental Dwelling or Condo license and to maintain the property in compliance with state health, safety, and sanitation rules, but the state does not impose a mandatory minimum liability insurance level. Insurance for a Fort Myers STR is therefore driven by four practical factors rather than a regulatory floor. First, mortgage lenders often require landlords or STR operators to carry commercial liability or a short-term rental endorsement; failure to disclose STR use to the mortgage lender can be a default under the loan covenants. Second, HOA or condominium association documents (CC&Rs, master association rules) often require unit owners using their property as an STR to carry specific liability and named-perils coverage and to name the association as additional insured. Third, commercial-prudence standards lead most professional STR operators to carry $300,000-$1,000,000 in primary liability through a dedicated commercial STR policy (Proper, Slice, CBIZ, Foremost, etc.) or a homeowner's policy endorsement (the 'home-sharing' or 'short-term rental' rider available from some carriers). Standard homeowner's insurance policies almost always contain a business-activity exclusion that voids coverage for any paid short-term rental - simply maintaining the existing homeowner's policy is typically NOT sufficient coverage, even though the city does not require any minimum. Fourth, platform-provided host protection (Airbnb's AirCover provides up to $1M in liability and $3M in damage coverage; VRBO's liability insurance provides up to $1M) is treated as supplemental and is structured to back up the operator's primary policy rather than replace it. Fort Myers operators should review their underlying homeowner's policy for the business-activity exclusion, secure either a 'home-sharing' endorsement or move to a dedicated commercial STR policy, and confirm any HOA/condo additional insured requirements. Although the city does not mandate insurance, a single lawsuit from a guest injury at an uninsured STR can easily exceed $1M and personally expose the operator.