InsureStays

What InsureStays does

InsureStays is a licensed insurance agency operating as a trade name of Sandhills Insurance Group, LLC, specializing in insurance and property protection programs for the vacation rental, property management, and corporate housing industries. The company partners with a network of underwriters, licensed agents, authorized Travel Retailers, property management companies, and vacation rental software providers to distribute travel protection and rental damage coverage across the United States, Canada, and select international markets, holding agency licenses in all 50 states plus DC under a Limited Lines Travel Insurance Producer license.

The product portfolio is organized into two primary categories. Travel Protection Programs include the Play Travel family (Nationwide and US Fire underwritten tiers in standard and Lux variants, with optional Cancel For Any Reason coverage) and the Travel Guardian Global line (UnitedHealthcare Global underwritten) covering US residents domestically and internationally, plus non-US residents inbound to the United States or traveling transnationally. Property Protection Programs include Fort Fiji Homeowner Protection, Fort Fiji Vacation Home Insurance (Lloyd's of London), Fort Fiji Comprehensive Package Protection, the Property Protection Liability Bundle, and a Contents-Only Rental Damage Protection product. Underwriting capacity is diversified across Nationwide, US Fire, UnitedHealthcare Global, Lloyd's of London, Markel (Evanston), Lyndon Southern, FORTEGRA, and Old Republic (Canada).

Distribution and administration run on the RentalGuardian.com web platform, which provides real-time API integration, bulk data upload, automated document delivery, and an online claims portal supporting guest-verified damage submissions. Pricing is transaction-based: travel plans are typically 7.00%-11.25% of reservation total, while property protection programs are priced per day ($4.99-$9.99) or by coverage limit ($1,000-$3,000 contents-only), with service referral fees up to 50% of fixed retail pricing payable to managers. InsureStays operates as a brand within the Inhabit IQ family of PropTech software brands and is led by co-founder David Hays; the company is privately held with 1-10 disclosed employees and offices in Mason (OH), Pawleys Island (SC), and Newport Beach (CA).

Name

InsureStays

Legal name

Sandhills Insurance Group, LLC

Website

https://insurestays.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

InsureStays is a licensed insurance agency (Sandhills Insurance Group, LLC) that distributes travel protection and vacation rental property protection programs through authorized retailers, licensed agents, property managers, and rental software integrations across all 50 US states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vacation Rental Insurance

NAICS

Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (524210), Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (52421)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Trip Cancellation/Interruption & Refund Protection Platforms (THALALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Travel Assistance & Concierge Services (Non-Insurance) (FSAJAJAF)

Keywords

• Vacation rental insurance
• Travel protection plans
• Rental damage coverage
• Property protection programs
• Corporate housing insurance

Headquarters

HQ city

Pawleys Island

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Travel Insurance Premiums: InsureStays earns commissions from travel protection plans sold through authorized retailers. Plans are priced as percentage of reservation total (e.g., 7.00% for standard plans, 10.80% for CFAR plans). Insurance benefits underwritten by Nationwide, US Fire Insurance Company, and UnitedHealthcare Global.
2. Property Protection Programs: Rental damage protection and liability coverage sold to property managers and homeowners. Programs include contents-only damage protection ($500-$3,000 limits), liability bundles, and comprehensive homeowner protection packages. Underwritten by Nationwide, Lyndon Southern Insurance Company, Markel, and Lloyds of London.
3. Administrative and Referral Fees: Managers earn administrative and referral fees with each transaction through the RentalGuardian.com platform. Coverage is mandatory with every booking, generating recurring revenue through service referral fees up to 50% of fixed retail pricing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

InsureStays is a licensed insurance agency (operating as a trade name of Sandhills Insurance Group, LLC) that distributes specialized travel protection and property protection insurance programs for the vacation rental, property management, and corporate housing industries. It pairs multiple A-rated underwriters (Nationwide, US Fire, Lloyds of London, Markel, UnitedHealthcare Global) with its RentalGuardian.com web platform to deliver trip cancellation, travel medical, rental damage, and homeowner/vacation home liability coverage through authorized retailers and integrated booking software partners.

Product overview

InsureStays is a licensed insurance agency specializing in vacation rentals, property management, and corporate housing markets. The company operates as a distribution platform connecting underwriters, agents, property managers, and travelers through its RentalGuardian.com technology platform. The product portfolio comprises two main categories: Travel Protection Programs (including Play Travel Nationwide, Play Travel by US Fire, and Travel Guardian Global variants) offering trip cancellation, medical coverage, and emergency evacuation; and Property Protection Programs (including Fort Fiji Homeowner Protection, Fort Fiji Vacation Home Insurance, Property Protection Liability Bundle, and Rental Damage Protection) providing contents, liability, dwelling, and bed bug coverage for vacation rentals. The platform distributes insurance through authorized retailers, travel booking sites, and property management companies with web-based claims processing and administration tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fort Fiji Protection: Property protection brand offering homeowner protection programs, vacation home insurance, liability protection, and comprehensive package protection for vacation rental property owners and managers.
• RentalGuardian.com

Products and services

• Play Travel Nationwide

Quantifiable outcome

• Average claim reimbursement turnaround of 21-28 days from check-out date
• +1 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, primary, secondary and minor.

• RentalGuardian.comcoreTechnology or IntegrationWeb-based distribution and online service support platform powering InsureStays. Provides real-time API and bulk data upload functionalities for linking underwriters, agents, and program participants. Enables automated document delivery, claims processing, and claims management system.
• Certain Underwriters at Lloyds of LondonprimaryOthersPrimary insurance carrier for Fort Fiji vacation home insurance and property protection programs including comprehensive package protection, liability bundle, and contents coverage.
• Nationwide Mutual and Affiliated CompaniesprimaryOthersUnderwriter for Play Travel Nationwide travel protection program and rental damage protection programs. Provides Trip Cancellation up to $100,000, Emergency Medical coverage, and evacuation benefits.
• United States Fire Insurance Company (US Fire)primaryOthersUnderwriter for Play Travel Standard, CFAR, Lux, and Lux CFAR programs. Provides travel insurance for US residents traveling worldwide with trip cancellation up to $150,000 for Lux plans.
• UnitedHealthcare GlobalprimaryOthersProvider of Travel Guardian Global US Inbound and Transnational programs for non-US residents traveling to and from US destinations. Offers travel medical insurance and trip cancellation protection.
• Co-ordinated Benefit PlanssecondaryOthersThird party administrator for travel protection plans, handling claims processing and customer service for US resident travel insurance products.
• Evanston Insurance Company (Markel Corp)secondaryOthersUnderwriter supporting Fort Fiji Liability Protection programs and property protection products, located in Rosemont, Illinois.
• Lyndon Southern Insurance CompanysecondaryOthersUnderwriter for rental damage protection programs including contents-only coverage with limits from $500 to $3,000.
• On Call InternationalsecondaryOthersNon-insurance travel assistance services provider for travel protection plans. Provides 24/7 emergency travel assistance and concierge services.
• Old Republic Insurance Company of CanadasecondaryOthersInsurance provider for Canadian residents accessing travel protection coverage through InsureStays network.
• FORTEGRAsecondaryOthersInsurance provider supporting flexible-term rental damage protection programs with 30-day renewable long-term options.
• Trawick InternationalminorOthersInsurance provider partner within the InsureStays network of underwriters and service providers.
• TERN FinancialminorOthersFinancial partner supporting Fort Fiji protection programs and marketing efforts.
• Meridian Management GroupminorOthersManagement partner within the InsureStays network of service providers for insurance program administration.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Safely: Safely offers vacation rental damage protection and liability coverage integrated into property managers' booking flows — the closest direct competitor to InsureStays' Fort Fiji and Property Protection Liability Bundle products.
• Proper Insurance: Proper specializes in vacation rental and short-term rental insurance for homeowners and property managers — directly competing with InsureStays' Fort Fiji and rental damage programs.
• RentalCover: RentalCover provides travel and rental vehicle-style damage protection products distributed online — comparable to InsureStays' rental damage protection offering in product structure and channel.
• Cover Genius: Cover Genius is an embedded insurance platform (XCover) that distributes travel and rental protection via API — directly analogous to InsureStays' RentalGuardian.com API distribution model for vacation rental software partners.
• Slice Insurance Technologies: Slice provides embedded insurance infrastructure for on-demand and digital platforms, including short-term rentals — comparable to InsureStays in delivering turnkey insurance-as-a-service to platform partners.
• Trawick International: Trawick International is listed as a partner underwriter in the InsureStays network and independently offers travel insurance products targeting niche distribution channels — closely comparable in product scope and partner-led distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Allianz Travel Insurance: Allianz Travel is a leading broad-market travel insurer offering trip cancellation, medical, and baggage products — directly overlapping with InsureStays' Play Travel portfolio but at vastly larger scale.
• AIG Travel: AIG Travel provides global travel insurance and assistance services through agents and direct channels — comparable to InsureStays' Play Travel and Travel Guardian product lines and the On Call International-style assistance model.
• Generali Global Assistance: Generali Global Assistance underwrites and administers travel protection and assistance products through partners — a broad incumbent in the same insurance distribution niche as InsureStays.
• Seven Corners: Seven Corners provides travel medical insurance, trip cancellation, and travel assistance products distributed through partners — overlapping with InsureStays' Travel Guardian Global product lines.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Insure_Stays
• Facebookfacebook.com/InsureStays
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/insurestays

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about InsureStays