House Sitting Insurance 2026: What Each Platform Actually Covers

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Quick Facts

The first time I thought properly about house sitting insurance was while watching two Labradors play zoomies around a Cortona farmhouse kitchen, moving steadily closer to a collection of glassware. That mild anxiety never quite goes away, and it should not. It is what makes you a careful sitter.

Three years and 17 sits later, Caro and I have not had a significant damage incident. But the question of who pays if something goes wrong is one of the most misunderstood aspects of house sitting, and we have seen sitters discover the answer at the worst possible moment.

This article consolidates everything we know about insurance and protection plans across the major platforms. We are not insurance advisors or lawyers. Read the fine print yourself, and consult a professional if your situation involves meaningful financial exposure.

The Most Important Distinction in House Sitting Insurance

Before anything else, you need to understand the difference between a discretionary guarantee and a regulated insurance contract.

A discretionary guarantee (TrustedHouseSitters) means the platform decides, in its judgment, whether to make a payment. They may pay. They are not legally obligated to pay in the way a licensed insurer is. It is closer to a goodwill arrangement than an enforceable contract.

A regulated insurance contract (Nomador, via Mutuaide Assistance) means you have legal rights. If you meet the stated criteria, the insurer must pay. A defined limit, a defined deductible, and a legal obligation behind both.

This distinction matters more than the headline numbers. A guarantee of "$1,000,000 coverage" from a discretionary platform is not the same as a guarantee of "€50,000 coverage" from a regulated insurer. One is a stated intent; the other is a legal commitment.

TrustedHouseSitters: What the Plans Actually Cover

THS offers three protection plans as part of certain membership tiers. The official pages for each plan are:

Home and Contents Plan

Available on Standard and Premium memberships (not Basic). Designed to protect the homeowner if a sitter causes damage to the property or its contents.

The limit is $1,000,000 USD, which sounds substantial. The conditions matter more than the headline.

The homeowner must first claim on their own home insurance policy and exhaust that process. THS coverage only applies if the homeowner's insurer refuses the claim, or the damage falls within the homeowner's own excess (deductible). There is a minimum claim threshold of $1,000. Damage below that amount is not covered by THS and must be resolved directly between sitter and homeowner.

Intentional damage and normal wear and tear are excluded. Purely aesthetic damage (a scratch on a fridge door that still works) is typically not covered.

For sitters, this plan is primarily the homeowner's protection, not yours. What it means for you is that if you cause significant accidental damage, there is a framework for resolution rather than a direct financial confrontation with the homeowner.

Accident and Third-Party Liability Plan

Available on Standard and Premium memberships (not Basic). Covers the sitter if you are found legally liable for accidents or injury to a third party, or for damage to the homeowner's property.

The limit is $1,000,000 USD. This is the most practically useful plan for sitters on Standard or Premium. If a dog you were walking bites someone, or a guest you had over breaks something, this plan provides a layer of protection.

As with all THS plans: discretionary, not regulated insurance.

Sit Cancellation Plan

Available on Premium only. Covers the sitter for alternative accommodation costs if the homeowner cancels the sit. Up to $1,500 at $150 per night.

The conditions: the homeowner must cancel within 14 days of the sit start date, you must notify THS within 24 hours of the cancellation, and there is a $150 sitter contribution required before any payout. The sit must also be within 20 miles of the original location for accommodation costs to qualify.

Our conflict resolution guide covers the full process for raising a claim with THS.

THS Plan Summary

Use our 25% discount when joining TrustedHouseSitters.

Nomador: Regulated Insurance

Nomador offers what THS does not: a regulated insurance contract through Mutuaide Assistance, an actual insurance company. This means legal rights, not discretionary goodwill.

Home Protection Plan

Available on Standard and Premium memberships. Official policy documents:

Insurer: MUTUAIDE ASSISTANCE, a regulated French insurance company supervised by the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution. This is a legal insurance contract, not a discretionary guarantee.

The plan covers three separate areas:

Material damage by the house sitter or domestic animals: all types of material damage or consequential immaterial damage to the accommodation during the sit. Limit: €50,000 per year. Deductible: €30 per claim.

Cleaning costs made necessary by damage: covered when an incident requires a third party to perform cleaning beyond the normal routine. Deductible: €30. This is included within the €50,000 annual limit, not a separate pool.

Artworks, valuables, and bicycles made available: reimbursement for damage to artwork, valuables, or bicycles provided as part of the stay. Limit: €1,000 per year. Deductible: €30. Note: theft or loss of these items is excluded. This plan covers damage only.

The territorial scope is worldwide.

Prior consent is required before arranging repairs. Any expense incurred unilaterally by the beneficiary without MUTUAIDE ASSISTANCE's prior agreement will not be reimbursed. If something is damaged, contact Nomador support before paying for or arranging repairs.

Reporting deadline: no later than 15 days after the departure of the house sitter. Missing this deadline without force majeure justification can result in losing the right to coverage for that claim.

Key exclusions from the official policy document: purely aesthetic damage that does not impair the proper functioning of the property, normal wear and tear, intentional acts, pest-related disputes, motor vehicles and watercraft, property located outside the building, and claims unrelated to accommodations provided via the Nomador platform.

As a regulated insurance contract, if you meet the stated criteria the insurer is legally obligated to pay. If a claim is refused and you disagree, you have the right to formal dispute resolution through the Insurance Mediation Service (Médiation de l'Assurance, mediation-assurance.org).

Trip Cancellation

Nomador Standard covers up to €250 per sit for cancellation costs. Premium covers up to €500. The trigger window is 30 days, broader than THS's 14-day window, and it covers transport costs as well as accommodation.

Nomador Plan Summary

For Homeowners: Check Your Own Policy First

If you are a homeowner preparing for a house sit, do not assume your standard home insurance automatically covers a sitter.

Many policies have clauses about the home being unoccupied for more than 30 days. A sitter solves the "unoccupied" problem, but some insurers classify sitters as "guests," others as "tenants," and the distinction affects coverage.

Because house sitting is a cashless exchange, you are generally safe from the "employee" classification. But call your insurer directly before the sit and ask: "I will have a guest staying in my home for X weeks who is not paying rent. Are my contents still covered?"

For homeowners on THS, the Home and Contents Plan is yours first. You must claim on your own policy before THS applies. For homeowners on Nomador, the Home Protection Plan provides separate regulated coverage for accidental damage by the sitter.

For Sitters: Your Own Travel Insurance Matters

Platform plans are not a substitute for personal travel insurance. We carry N26 travel insurance alongside our THS membership, because platform plans do not replace personal travel insurance. The platform plans cover liability for the property and pets. Our travel insurance covers everything else: medical, travel disruptions, personal liability not covered by the platform.

The distinction is important: THS's Accident and Liability Plan covers your legal liability to third parties in the context of the sit. It is not comprehensive travel insurance. For full coverage as a travelling sitter, you need both.

If you are sitting internationally, also check whether your existing personal liability cover extends to the countries you are visiting. Many standard policies do not cover activities that could be construed as work-related, and some insurers have specific positions on house sitting.

The Fine Print Traps to Know

Aesthetic damage exclusions. If you scratch a stainless steel fridge door but the fridge still works, most plans will not cover the cost of replacing the door. If something is damaged in a way that affects its function, you have a stronger claim than if it is simply marked.

Pets as indirect cause. If a dog chews the sofa while you were in the shower, most plans will assess whether you were negligent in supervising the animal. A dog that is known to chew and was left unsupervised with access to the sofa is a different claim from a dog that has never chewed anything and did so without warning.

Homeowner's existing policy. For THS in particular, what the homeowner's insurer decides affects what THS then considers. Understand this before the sit.

Reporting windows. Nomador requires reporting within 15 days. THS requires notification within 24 hours for the Sit Cancellation Plan. Missing these windows can invalidate an otherwise valid claim.

What We Actually Do

Caro and I are on THS Premium, primarily for the Sit Cancellation Plan and the higher liability coverage. We also carry personal travel insurance through and on top of that our N26 coverage as well. For sits in France and French-speaking Europe, we use Nomador and find the regulated insurance structure more reassuring than the THS discretionary model.

We have never made a claim on any platform. But the Bochum vet line moment (a cat with a swollen paw, bee sting diagnosis, covered in 30 minutes) reminded us that the plans exist for real situations, not hypothetical ones. The same applies to damage coverage.

Other Platforms: No Protection Plans

For completeness: the regional house sitting platforms below are intermediary-only services and offer no property damage, liability, or cancellation protection of any kind. If something goes wrong on a sit arranged through these platforms, resolution is between you and the homeowner directly.

For these platforms, your personal travel insurance is your only backstop. This makes the advice about carrying your own travel insurance even more important if THS or Nomador are not part of your sit arrangement.

The honest summary: THS plans provide a useful framework but are not guaranteed payouts. Nomador's regulated insurance provides legal certainty at a low deductible. Neither replaces your own travel insurance.

Conclusion

House sitting is overwhelmingly uneventful. Across 17 sits and three years, our worst insurance-adjacent incident was a melted fuse in Kefalonia that we photographed, reported, and had an electrician arrange. That was the homeowner's issue, not ours.

But understanding what each platform's plans actually cover, and what they do not, is not paranoia. It is professional preparation. Read the current terms on the platforms you use. They change. The summary above reflects our reading as of April 2026, and any platform may update their plans without notice.

Join TrustedHouseSitters with our 25% discount or Nomador for France and French-speaking Europe.

DM us @housesittersguide on Instagram with questions about insurance or platform coverage. We answer everyone.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does TrustedHouseSitters include insurance?

  THS includes discretionary protection plans, not regulated insurance. The plans provide a framework for resolution if something goes wrong, but THS decides whether to pay at their judgment. They are not legally obligated in the way a licensed insurer is. Nomador's Home Protection Plan is a regulated insurance contract with legal enforceability. Our TrustedHouseSitters review covers the plans in more detail.

• What does THS cover if a sitter causes damage?

  The Home and Contents Plan (Standard and Premium) covers up to $1,000,000 for homeowner property damage, but only after the homeowner's own insurer is exhausted, and only for claims above $1,000. The Accident and Liability Plan covers sitters for legal liability to third parties up to $1,000,000. Both are discretionary.

• What does Nomador cover?

  Nomador offers regulated insurance through MUTUAIDE ASSISTANCE covering three areas: material damage by the sitter or pets (€50,000/year, €30 deductible), cleaning costs (€30 deductible, within the €50,000 limit), and artworks/valuables/bicycles (€1,000/year, €30 deductible). Territorial scope is worldwide. Claims must be reported within 15 days of the sitter's departure. Prior consent from the insurer is required before arranging repairs. Trip Cancellation covers €250 (Standard) or €500 (Premium) with a 30-day trigger window including transport costs.

• Do I need my own travel insurance as a house sitter?

  Yes. Platform plans cover specific scenarios related to the sit itself. They are not comprehensive travel insurance. For medical, travel disruptions, and personal liability outside the platform's scope, personal travel insurance is essential.

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