Kennewick, WA Short-Term Rentals: Insurance Requirements (2026)

Insurance for short-term rentals in Kennewick is controlled exclusively by the statewide Washington Short-Term Rental Operations Act, RCW Chapter 64.37, enacted by Substitute House Bill 1798 (2019). RCW 64.37.040 provides that an STR operator must maintain primary liability insurance to cover the short-term rental unit in an amount of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence, or must conduct the short-term rental transaction through a short-term rental platform that provides equivalent coverage. The statute permits either operator-purchased coverage or platform-provided coverage. Major platforms (Airbnb's Host Liability Insurance, Vrbo's Liability Insurance) provide $1 million primary coverage on platform bookings, which satisfies the statutory threshold for stays booked through the platform; direct-booked stays require the operator to carry independent coverage. A standard homeowner's policy or landlord's policy typically excludes commercial short-term rental activity, so operators commonly add a commercial endorsement or purchase a dedicated STR policy. RCW 64.37.020 requires the operator to disclose to guests in writing the existence of liability coverage; the disclosure is part of the standard guest-arrival packet posted in the unit. Kennewick has not codified a higher local minimum, has not adopted a city-specific certificate-of-insurance filing requirement, and has not codified a city-specific named-insured endorsement. The statewide RCW 64.37.040 minimum is the entire framework.