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

Property deed in which the grantor limits the title warranty to the grantee. A grantor does not warrant a title defect to the property occurring from a happening before the time of his ...

The substitution of one person or business for another when the substituted person or business has the same rights and obligations as the original party. An insurance company can surogate ...

Home inspector is the name the real estate industry calls the professional responsible for the close and thorough examination of a property. The home inspector usually is called upon ...

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. ...

Sudden, drastic change in organization, direction, objectives, strategies, or functioning. It is often associated with a new owner who wants things his way. Managers and employees may ...

Also called an installment sales contract or contract foe feed. A type of creative financing in real estate allowing the seller to finance a buyer by allowing him or her to make a down ...

Method of revenue recognition based on delivery instead of sale. ...

Broadly speaking, a commission is a remuneration a person receives after acting on someone else’s behalf.In the real estate world, you’ll usually hear the term “sales ...

(1) Return of the principal invested in real estate. It excludes income earned. (2) Collection of a previously written off bad debt. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions