Honolulu, HI Short-Term Rentals: Insurance Requirements (2026)

Insurance is one of the operational standards added to Oahu's short-term rental framework when the City Council adopted Bill 41 (2021), CD2, which the Mayor signed as Ordinance 22-7 on April 26, 2022. The insurance rule is codified at ROH §21-5.730 (Bed and breakfast homes and transient vacation units), administered by the DPP. Under that section the owner or operator of any legally registered B&B home or TVU must maintain at all times a minimum of $1,000,000 per occurrence in commercial general liability insurance, or homeowner's insurance that includes business liability coverage, for bodily injury and property damage arising out of the rental activity. If the homeowner's policy alone does not reach $1,000,000, the rule explicitly allows additional homeowner's umbrella coverage to be stacked to reach the minimum. The owner or operator may also fulfill the requirement through coverage offered by a hosting platform such as Airbnb's AirCover for Hosts or Vrbo's Liability Insurance, but only if that policy independently satisfies the $1,000,000 per-occurrence minimum and names the regulated property; bare homeowner policies that exclude commercial or transient rental activity are not sufficient. Practically, that means most Oahu hosts purchase a stand-alone short-term rental host policy or a commercial general liability endorsement on top of their HO-3 homeowner's policy. Proof of coverage in the form of a Certificate of Insurance (ACORD 25 or equivalent) must accompany the initial registration application that is filed with DPP, and a current certificate must be re-submitted at every annual renewal of the registration certificate. DPP's STR registration page lists insurance among the documents that must be uploaded through the city's Honolulu Land Information System; missing or expired insurance prevents the registration from being issued or renewed. The insurance requirement applies to all categories of registered short-term rentals on Oahu, including the 30-day-minimum (TVU 30+) registrations created by Bill 41 and the legacy 'nonconforming use certificate' STRs that pre-date the 2019 Bill 89 framework and continue under Ordinance 22-7. Hosts must keep the certificate of insurance available in the on-site informational binder along with the registration certificate, owner/operator contact information, evacuation routes, and house rules, so it can be produced on demand to DPP inspectors. Because Hawaii hosts are also responsible for self-collecting and remitting the State Transient Accommodations Tax (10.25%, rising to 11% in 2026), the County TAT (3% on Oahu), and the General Excise Tax (4.5% in Honolulu), the insurance certificate is one piece of a broader compliance file but is the only document that protects the host's personal assets if a guest is injured.