Independence, MO Short-Term Rentals: Insurance Requirements (2026)

Section 14-424-14 of the Unified Development Ordinance requires every short-term rental operator to 'maintain liability insurance appropriate to cover the short-term rental use in the aggregate of not less than $1,000,000.00.' The section gives operators an alternative to buying a standalone policy: they may instead 'conduct each short-term rental transaction through a platform that provides equal or greater insurance coverage,' which lets a host rely on a booking platform's built-in host-protection insurance as long as that coverage meets or beats the $1 million aggregate floor.

The insurance requirement is part of the same licensing package as the occupation license in Section 14-424-03: an operator cannot get or keep a short-term rental license without meeting every standard in Article 14-424, and the license itself is non-transferable under Section 14-424-15, meaning a change of ownership requires a brand-new Short-Term Rental Permit application, including a fresh insurance showing, rather than simply carrying over the seller's coverage.

Insurance failures feed into the City's revocation process. Section 14-424-25 authorizes the Community Development Director to begin revocation proceedings against a short-term rental operator who is violating any part of the chapter in a way that 'significantly endangers the public health, safety and/or welfare,' a standard that reaches an operator who lets required coverage lapse. Revocation follows a Planning Commission hearing with 14 calendar days' written notice, and the Commission's recommendation goes to the City Council for a final, appealable decision.