Homeowner's Insurance Policy

Definition of "Homeowner's insurance policy"

Shon McGuire real estate agent

Written by

Shon McGuireelite badge icon

Adams Cameron & Co. Realtors


Homeowner’s insurance is a kind of property insurance that covers risks commonly encountered by homeowners.

There are several kinds of homeowner’s insurance policies:

Homeowners-1 (HO-1) - the most basic coverage. Basically, HO-1 provides homeowners protection against catastrophic losses only. HO-1 is a Named Peril Policy, that is; a policy that specifies exactly what it covers.

Homeowners-2 (HO-2) - known as a mid-range policy, the HO-2 provides broader coverage than the HO-1, but it’s not as robust as the HO-3, for instance. It is also a named peril policy.

Homeowners-3 (HO-3) - is the most common homeowner’s policy in the US. The HO-3 is midway between a named perils policy and an open perils policy. That is because under the HO-3, your personal properties (appliances, furniture, cars…) are insured via named perils but the house itself is insured under an Open Peril Policy, which is a list of exclusions of damages insured by the policy. If it’s not on the list, the insurance will cover it.

Homeowners-4 (HO-4) - also known as renter’s insurance,  the HO-4 is a policy made for people renting a property.

Homeowners-5 (HO-5) - the HO-5 is one of the most comprehensive homeowner's insurance available. An elite policy, the HO-5 is an upgraded version of HO-3, as it also includes the personal properties under the open perils policy and not just the house.

Homeowners-6 (HO-6) - the HO-6 is for people renting condos and townhomes. Also known as the condo insurance or the townhome insurance, the HO-6 is similar to the HO-4 in scope, but it deviates from it regarding the way some aspects are calculated.

Homeowners-8 (HO-8) - the HO-8 is designed to protect older homes and remodeled buildings that are difficult to replace if destroyed. It is similar to HO-1 as it is also a basic coverage, but the HO-1 usually evaluates the house via replacement cost approach, whereas it’s difficult to do that with HO-8, which typically uses the actual cash value.

 

Real Estate Advice:

Search our Glossary Terms
 for the specific definitions of all the types of homeowner's insurance.

And find a real estate agent to help you decide which type of homeowner's insurance is the best for you.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

A way to sell and finance property by which the seller keeps title but the buyer takes possession while installment payments are being made. The gain is taxed while the mortgage ...

Loan guaranty program included in the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. Its provisions cover the compensation to lenders for losses they might sustain in providing financing to ...

Building with large unpartitioned floors areas often used for storage. ...

A capitalized expenditure usually extending the useful life of a building or improving it in some manner over and above the original condition. In contrast, a maintenance or repair expense ...

To understand what a principal broker is, we have to go back up the family tree of real estate.You do understand all brokers can be real estate agents, but not every real estate agent can ...

A loan indemnified against default by the borrower. Such loans may be a mortgage loan insured by a standard mortgage insurance policy or by FHA mortgage insurance. In the event of the death ...

Map presented to a municipality's planning agency by a real estate developer for consideration and approval. ...

An agreement specified in the lease providing the tenant the option to renew the lease for a given time period upon the expiration of the initial lease. Most lease options include the ...

Periodic expenditures undertaken to preserve or retain a property's operational status for its originally intended use. These expenditures do not improve or extend the life of the property. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions