Pawtucket, RI Short-Term Rentals: Insurance Requirements (2026)

Rhode Island has not enacted a statewide minimum liability-insurance mandate for short-term rentals. The Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation (DBR) Short-Term Rentals FAQ page expressly states that neither R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-63.1-14 nor the implementing regulation at 230-RICR-30-20-4 (Short-Term Rental Property Registration) contains any insurance requirement. The state registration process under § 42-63.1-14 requires the owner's business address, contact details, property address, number of rooms, ownership status, and intended use - it does not require proof of liability coverage. Pawtucket's Code of Ordinances likewise does not impose a local STR insurance mandate; Chapter 410 (Zoning) regulates use and dimensional standards, and the rental-property provisions in the Pawtucket Code do not single out short-term rentals for an insurance threshold. As a practical matter, standard Rhode Island homeowner (HO-3) and condominium (HO-6) policies typically exclude business or short-term rental activity, so most Pawtucket hosts either add a short-term-rental endorsement to their homeowner policy, buy a dedicated landlord/STR policy, or rely on coverage offered by the hosting platform. Major platforms publish per-occurrence host liability coverage: Airbnb's AirCover Host Liability Insurance and Vrbo's Liability Insurance both list $1,000,000 limits. These platform programs are not state-mandated in Rhode Island - they are platform terms of service. Operators should confirm their declarations page covers short-term rental activity before listing.