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

As a suburban nation with the majority of Americans living in the suburbs, the actual classification of suburbs had long been expected. Still, recently, three academic approaches for ...

Legal action of a landlord to remove a tenant.The tenant may have violated the lease agreement such as for the tenant's failure to pay the rent. ...

Balcony or low ceiling overhang just above the main floor and between the next story. In a theater, a mezzanine is the first balcony above the stage. ...

The definition of emblements in real estate is very simple: emblements are the crops grown on a piece of property leased to a tenant. Legally, the crops are the property of the person who ...

Form used to record information about a credit applicant's ability to meet his obligations in connection with a real estate purchase. ...

The angle of a roof in relation to its horizontal axis expressed as a ratio of inches (cmm) per foot of horizontal distance. The sloping of ground, such as sloping ground away from the ...

The definition of the term “demise” covers more spectrums than just real estate related. Most commonly the term demise is used to talk about someone’s death. It is also ...

Decision rendered by a court of law. ...

A home seller and a home buyer agreed upon a fair market value and the deal is off to closing the sale. One of the next steps is running a title search. But what is a title ...

Popular Real Estate Questions