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

The City of Melbourne has not enacted a short-term rental ordinance, so there is no city certificate-of-insurance filing, named-additional-insured requirement, or minimum coverage limit at the municipal level. Florida Statute 509.032(7)(b) preempts municipalities from enacting STR-only insurance rules unless an ordinance was on the books before June 1, 2011, and Melbourne had no such pre-2011 ordinance. Florida Statute 509.241 and Florida Administrative Code Chapter 61C-3 require any vacation rental advertised or rented for periods of less than 30 days more than three times in a calendar year to hold a Division of Hotels and Restaurants license, but the DBPR license itself does not mandate a specific commercial general liability minimum. Hosting platforms supply some coverage by default: Airbnb's host liability insurance program offers up to $1,000,000 per occurrence for guest bodily injury or third-party property damage, and Vrbo's liability program offers a similar $1,000,000 limit; both are excess to and conditioned on the host's primary policy. Standard Florida HO-3 homeowners policies typically exclude or sharply limit transient/commercial occupancy, so prudent operators carry a dedicated short-term rental policy (Proper Insurance, Steadily, CBIZ, Slice, or similar) or an HO-3 endorsement explicitly permitting STR use, with $1,000,000 per-occurrence general liability and replacement-cost dwelling coverage. Melbourne's Business Tax Receipt application does not require proof of liability insurance, and Brevard County's Tourist Development Tax registration likewise does not impose an insurance minimum. If the property is in a homeowners or condominium association, the master deed and declarations may impose their own insurance covenants on rentals.