Homeowner's Insurance Policy
Definition of "Homeowner's insurance policy"
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.
Popular Real Estate Terms
The definition of option explains the term as something that can be chosen in spite of having multiple other alternatives. It could be an option for food, which shows a preference for one ...
U.S. law making it illegal to discriminate when giving credit based on factors such as race, religion, color, age, national origin. A lender must respond to credit applications within 30 ...
Tax-free exchange that allows a seller two years after escrow closes on his former principal personal residence to buy like-kind property and defer taxes. Profits from the sale of a ...
Government program of providing low interest rate mortgages to low-income qualified buyers. In the tandem program, the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) purchases low interest ...
Way to determine the capitalization rate of income property for valuation purposes by weighting the rate of interest and source of financing in percentage terms. ...
Determination made concerning the motivation of a testator in making devises of the will. A will can be contested if it can be proved the testator did not have rational motives when ...
Statement made by a person that is not in writing. An example is an oral representation made by a real estate broker to a prospective buyer of property. ...
Measures looking at the past, current a future direction of the economy. They may have an impact on the real estate market. Each month government bodies, including the Federal Reserve ...
A lien which is secondary to a senior lien and cannot be paid until the senior lien is satisfied. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.