Home & Property Insurance

Home & Property

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Owning a home may be the biggest financial investment you will ever make. That is why it is so important to choose the right insurance in order to protect your investment and your family. Homeowners insurance, sometimes referred to as home insurance, is a property insurance policy that provides coverage for a private residence and covers losses and damages to the policy holder’s house as well as the assets in the home. This includes interior and exterior damages, as well as loss or damage of personal assets and any injuries that might occur while on your property.

Part of the home buying process is also securing the best homeowner’s insurance to help to protect your new investment. While homeowners’ insurance is not required by state or federal laws, lenders generally require proof that you have homeowner’s insurance.

The standard home is typically considered a single-family home, but there are a variety of other types of dwellings that you may want or need to insure. Because of this, there are also a wide variety of homeowners insurance policies available, so you can find a policy that is perfect for your specific situation. Each policy is geared toward a different type of home, whether you live in a new or older home, condo, co-op or mobile home. It’s possible to find the right homeowners insurance policy for your needs and situation.

 In general, the main types of homeowners insurance policies are:

HO–1

An HO-1 policy is the most basic,  bare bones home insurance policy. It only provides coverage for the physical structure of your home, attached structures such as garages, appliances and home features like carpeting. It does not include coverage for personal property, liability or additional living expenses. Because of those limitations, it is not a popular choice for home insurance.

HO-1 is a policy that typically helps named perils, meaning it only covers your home in specific situations, which typically include:

  • Damage from aircrafts or vehicles
  • Explosions
  • Fire and lightning
  • Hail and windstorms
  • Riots
  • Smoke
  • Theft
  • Vandalism
  • Volcanic eruption

HO-1 insurance provides limited coverage and does not include liability, personal property, medical payments or additional living expenses coverage.

HO–2

An HO-2 insurance policy is broad and covers your home and your personal belongings. Most policies cover only your home and personal property against threats that are specifically named on the policy’s declarations page. The HO-2 policy is often called a named peril policy because the covered threats are specifically listed.

This policy type covers everything that the HO-1 covers, but with these additional perils:

  • Discharge or overflow of water or steam within the home
  • Breaking of some household systems
  • Frozen pipes and damage to heating and air conditioning systems
  • Damage due to certain electrical currents
  • Falling objects
  • Damage due to weight from ice, snow or sleet

HO-3

HO-3 is the most common type of homeowners insurance.It covers your home’s structure, personal property and belongings, liability in case of damage or injury, additional living expenses as well as medical payments. 

An HO-3 policy is considered standard coverage because it protects you from all disasters unless the policy lists exceptions such as:

  • Defective construction or maintenance
  • Foundation issues
  • Government actions
  • Pet or animal damage
  • Pollution and corrosion
  • Theft, vandalism and frozen pipes in vacant houses
  • Wear and tear
  • Flood
  • Earth movement
  • War
  • Nuclear hazard
  • Intentional loss
  • Neglect
  • Mold, fungus, wet rot
  • Power failure
  • Ordinance or law
  • Mechanical breakdown
  • Smog, rust, or corrosion
  • Birds, rodents, varmint
  • Any animals owned by the insured

Your personal property is usually covered under the following circumstances:

  • Damage from aircrafts or vehicles
  • Damage created by the weight of snow or ice
  • Damages caused by an electrical current
  • Explosions
  • Falling objects
  • Fire and lightning
  • Hail, windstorms and other weather events
  • Frozen pipes
  • Riots
  • Smoke
  • Theft
  • Vandalism
  • Volcanic eruptions
  • Falling objects
  • Water damage from plumbing or HVAC overflow
  • Water heater damage

HO–4

An HO-4 policy, also popularly known as renters insurance. It is intended for renters who want to insure their personal belongings . It also provides additional coverage, such as liability and living expenses. An HO-4 does not cover the building’s structure since renters do not own the house or building.

Renter’s insurance covers your personal property and possibly your personal liability and temporary living expenses if your rented home becomes uninhabitable. In other words, HO-4 insurance will cover your belongings, but not your physical building.

Renters insurance policies are usually named perils policies that cover the following events:

  • Damage from aircrafts or vehicles
  • Damage from the weight of snow or ice
  • Damages caused by an electrical current
  • Volcanic eruptions
  • Explosions
  • Falling objects
  • Fire and lightning
  • Hail, windstorms and other weather events
  • Frozen pipes
  • Riots
  • Smoke
  • Theft
  • Vandalism
  • Water damage from plumbing or HVAC overflow
  • Water heater damage

HO–5

An HO-5 policy is the most comprehensive homeowners insurance option available and is often  written on an open-perils basis. An HO-5 policy is the perfect choice for individuals who possess high-value items. This type of policy will cost more, but is worth it if you have many valuable possessions. It covers your home, personal belongings, liability, additional living expenses and medical payments for others as long as it’s not listed as an exclusion in the policy. These policies also have higher available limits for things like jewelry.

Some common exclusions include:

  • Earth movement
  • Government actions or laws
  • Infestation of birds, rodents or insects
  • Intentional loss
  • Mechanical breakdown
  • Mold
  • Nuclear hazard
  • Pets
  • Vandalism if the property is vacant more than two months
  • War
  • Water damages from floods or sewer backup

Since an HO-5 policy is an open perils policy, it covers more circumstances. This makes it easier to file a claim since you do not have to prove that a covered peril caused the damage.

HO–6

If you are a condo or co-op owner, you will want to secure an HO-6 policy. This type of insurance covers everything inside of your unit, personal liability and additional living expenses. Condo policies also include some dwelling coverage, because condo owners are likely to be responsible for the interior walls of their specific units. Even though condo residents own their unit, but not the whole building, the condo association typically has a seperate policy. That policy would protect common areas, grounds and external parts of the building. This policy is often a shared expense amongst the Condo owners in the form of condo or HOA fees.

HO-6 policies are named perils policies which generally protect coverage for:

  • Damage from aircrafts or vehicles
  • Damage from the weight of snow or ice
  • Damages caused by an electrical current
  • Explosions
  • Falling objects
  • Fire and lightning
  • Hail, windstorms and other weather events
  • Frozen pipes
  • Riots
  • Smoke
  • Theft
  • Vandalism
  • Volcanic eruptions
  • Falling objects
  • Water damage from plumbing or HVAC overflow
  • Water heater damage

HO–7

If you own a single wide or double wide mobile or manufactured home, trailer, sectional home, RV or modular homes, you will want to secure an HO-7 policy. This type of policy provides coverage for your home’s structure, your personal belongings, liability, additional living expenses and medical payments.  This policy offers coverage similar to the HO-3 for open perils, but it also provides “all risk” coverage for perils not specifically named in the policy. The contents of the mobile home are only covered for named perils — perils that are specifically listed on your policy.

Your personal items are only covered under a specific list of circumstances, including:

  • Damage from aircrafts or vehicles
  • Explosions
  • Fire and lightning
  • Hail, windstorms and other weather events
  • Riots
  • Smoke
  • Theft
  • Vandalism

HO–8

The HO-8 policy is ideal for homeowners with older homes or homes that would be difficult to replace or who have been unable to attain an HO-3 policy.  Architecturally significant houses, historic landmark homes or homes built with materials and methods that are not common today should be covered in an HO-8 policy. If the cost of repairs to your home is greater than its current value, an HO-8 policy is the perfect fit..

HO-8 policies include the standard coverage for dwelling, personal property, liability, additional living expenses and medical payments. Both your home’s structure and your personal property are covered under a named perils policy. This includes events such as:

  • Damage from aircraft or vehicles
  • Explosions
  • Fire and lightning
  • Hail, windstorms and other weather events
  • Riots
  • Smoke
  • Theft
  • Vandalism

Don’t let your home go unprotected. As your biggest investment and your most important asset, your home should be insured to help protect you and your family from great financial losses and even homelessness.