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

70-3(2)(C)(iv) puts a single, non-negotiable floor under short-term rental operations on Oahu: the owner or operator of a bed and breakfast home or transient vacation unit must maintain, at all times, a minimum of $1,000,000 per occurrence in liability coverage. The ordinance accepts several routes to that number. A commercial general liability policy satisfies it directly. So does homeowner's insurance, but only if the policy carries business liability coverage, because a standard homeowner's policy covers the home as a residence, not as a lodging business.

If a homeowner's business liability policy falls short of the threshold on its own, the ordinance expressly allows umbrella coverage to stack on top and bring the combined total up to $1,000,000. Finally, owners and operators may fulfill the requirement through insurance offered by a hosting platform, but only provided that coverage satisfies the same minimums, so listing on a platform does not automatically mean compliance; the platform's policy must actually deliver $1,000,000 per occurrence. Two phrases carry the enforcement weight. The duty falls on the owner or the operator, so both are on the hook, and the coverage must exist at all times, meaning a lapsed policy is a violation even between bookings.