Any dent, crack, scratch, malfunction, stain, missing part, or wear visible in the time-stamped pickup inspection photos, or that a reasonable inspection at pickup would have caught. Owners have to prove the item was intact before the renter took it.

Cosmetic scuffs from ordinary handling, fading, patina, blade dulling, chain stretch, bearing wear, tread wear on wheels or tires, consumable depletion (fuel, oil, string, filament, ink, propane), and any deterioration consistent with the item being used exactly as described in the listing.

Items that fail during use because of a latent defect, manufacturer recall, prior repair, or age-related mechanical fatigue — even when the failure only became visible during the rental. Protect is not a warranty extension.

If the listed condition, brand, model, year, capacity, or included accessories don't match the item that was actually handed over, damage that stems from the mismatch is the owner's loss, not a Protect claim.

Renting a pressure washer for house siding and using it on a car's clear coat, renting a passenger vehicle and taking it off-road, renting a table saw and cutting metal — anything where the actual use falls outside what the listing described. If the owner explicitly authorized the alternate use in writing, the owner owns the resulting loss.

Trailers, hitches, roof racks, cargo carriers, dollies, and any item with a stated capacity — damage from exceeding the manufacturer's rated weight, tongue weight, or load rating is not covered.

Items that require a CDL, boater safety card, motorcycle endorsement, drone Part 107, or comparable credential — damage that occurred while the operator lacked that credential is not covered, regardless of whether the credential was requested at booking.

Any damage that occurred while the operator was impaired by alcohol, cannabis, or other substances. A positive test after an incident, or a citation, is sufficient basis to deny.

Damage sustained during, or as a consequence of, activity that violates federal, state, or local law. Includes but not limited to street racing, trespassing, unpermitted commercial use, and use in furtherance of any crime.

Damage to an item the renter modified during the rental (removed guards, altered wiring, drilled holes, changed firmware) is charged to the renter as damage. Damage that occurs because of an undisclosed owner-side modification is the owner's loss.

Cars, trucks, motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles, titled trailers, boats, and RVs. Rentals of these categories run under separate terms and are not eligible for a Protect payout. Owners with insurance for their own vehicle must handle claims through that carrier.

Any item classified as a firearm, ammunition, suppressor, NFA item, or otherwise regulated under federal or state law. Also includes powder-actuated tools requiring a license.

CPAP machines, oxygen concentrators, mobility devices used for medical necessity, prescription equipment, respirators, and any item where failure could harm a user's health. These are not appropriate for peer rental and Protect does not extend to them.

Livestock, pets, service animals, breeding stock, and any plant material — Protect is a damage plan for physical objects, not a bailment for living things.

Cash, precious metals held for value, securities, gift cards, cryptocurrency hardware wallets with balances, and the data stored on any device. Owners who rent a laptop or phone are responsible for wiping personal data first — Listd Protect does not cover data recovery.

Damage to a house, garage, driveway, lawn, or any structure — whether the renter's or a third party's — caused during use of the rented item. This is a general-liability event and belongs with a homeowner or renters' insurance policy, not Protect.

Items the renter never returns, or that disappear mid-rental, are handled through the no-return protocol, the security deposit, and law enforcement — not through Protect. Protect is for damage to an item that comes back.

Lost rental income while a damaged item is being repaired, lost job earnings because a renter's own tool was unavailable, missed sales, and any downstream financial impact are not covered. Protect pays repair or replacement cost of the specific item, nothing further.

Damage a rented item causes to something else the renter or a third party owns — a rented pressure washer breaking a window, a rented dolly scratching a floor, a rented generator damaging a plugged-in appliance. These are third-party liability events, not Protect claims.

Anything the renter loads into, mounts on, or leaves inside a rented item — clothes in a rented trailer, a phone mounted on a rented bike, tools locked in a rented van. Protect covers the rented item, not what's inside it.

Cleaning fees, smoke or pet odor remediation, and pest treatment (bedbugs, cockroaches, rodents introduced during the rental) are charged as damage to the renter but paid by the renter directly, not by Protect.

The difference between what an item was worth before the damage and what it's worth after a full and proper repair. Protect pays for the repair itself; it does not pay owners the resale delta.

Flood, hail, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, wildfire, and other catastrophic natural events. Owners should consult their homeowner's or renter's insurance for these losses.

Standard force-majeure carve-out. Included for completeness.

Any Premium-tier claim above $500 requires time-stamped pickup and return photos taken through the Listd rental page. Without both sides of the inspection, we cannot distinguish rental-window damage from pre-existing damage, and the claim is denied.

Damage claims must be opened within 72 hours of the scheduled return time. Late claims lose photo integrity and chain-of-custody clarity, and are declined regardless of the underlying damage.

We need a written quote from a qualified repair shop, a receipt for parts and labor, or a comparable-listing replacement cost. Napkin math and screenshots without documentation don't meet the threshold.

Quotes materially above the fair-market cost of comparable used items, or quotes from a repair shop related to the owner (family, roommate, business partner), are not honored at face value. Listd may obtain its own quote and pay against that.

Premium-tier payouts above the Standard $500 cap require the owner to have completed 5 or more rentals with a clean record. Owners below that threshold have their claim paid at the Standard cap regardless of the tier the renter purchased.

Rentals where the renter and owner share a payment method, household, device fingerprint, IP subnet, phone number, family relationship, or any other indicator that they are the same economic unit. Automatic denial and permanent account action.

Any evidence — messaging patterns, timing, repeated claims across accounts — suggesting the parties conspired to file a claim they knew would pay out. Referred to law enforcement as fraud.

An owner whose damage-claim frequency exceeds the platform baseline by a wide margin, or a renter with a pattern of damage-then-refund behavior. Listd may suspend Protect eligibility while these accounts are reviewed.

Doctored photos, staged damage, backdated receipts, or fictitious repair shops. Denied, banned, and referred.

Rentals where the renter and owner communicated to complete part or all of the transaction outside Listd payments. Protect only applies to the on-platform portion of the transaction, and off-platform activity is grounds for denying any related claim.