HO-5 Homeowner’s Insurance Policy, The Best Coverage Available

We you look at insurance coverage for your home, you may be interested in getting the most coverage for the most things. Of course everyone wants to get all they can at the least cost.  The HO-5 insurance policy is a multi-line broad form policy; it may also be issued as an HO-3 broad coverage form with an HO-15 addendum or rider.

If you may or may not recall the HO-3 form is a broad form with coverage for open perils basis, giving broad coverage for a multitude of possible catastrophes.  The named perils that are covered are the following: Fire or Lightning, Windstorm or hail, Explosion, Riot or Civil Commotion, Aircraft, Vehicles, Smoke, Vandalism or Malicious Mischief, and theft, in addition it covers 17 other possible perils. The open perils cover all that, but not all that and a bag of chips.  Some of the policy coverage explicitly excludes coverage for home maintenance type issues; among those would be old roofs, rotted gutters, old paint, etc. The policy begins with the exception stated “…we do not insure loss caused by risks associated with home maintenance, unusual hazards, nuclear hazard, flood, etc” For instance, if your home is vacant more than thirty days, the coverage that would normally cover your home will lapse; So if you go on vacation for extended periods you may want to see if you can get additional coverage for your home.  Also note that flood insurance won’t cover seepage of water into your basement caused by back up of sewerage pipes.  That too, calls for additional coverage or a rider.  If you have a home that you are building, the coverage of an HO-5 will not cover theft of items you will want to purchase a builder’s risk policy for that type of coverage. An example of open perils that would include coverage would be for coverage of the loss of a diamond in a ring setting, even if it is lost or missing.

But let’s get back to the HO-5, it is considered the Mercedes of policies for homeowners for the coverage of open perils for the home and contents.  Contents are often excluded or have limitations on them for coverage; the HO-5 fills the gap and then some for the coverage needed or desired.  The HO-5 form also can’t be necessarily purchased by everyone, nor can it be purchased in every state. It is actually limited by some companies to newer homes, those with higher values, and those that are meticulously maintained. However, that being said, if you can get the HO-5 policy, you probably should.  It’s always best to have the most coverage available, and not need it then want the coverage or make a claim and not have coverage for it.

Ultimately, you as the policy owner should read, in detail your policy, when you receive it.  You need to make certain that coverage you purchased covers the things you wish to insure. The best way to do that is by getting the best and broadest form available, and that is the HO-5 policy. If you are wondering what the coverage costs, and if you can purchase it in the state you are in, direct your browser to http://www.homeinsuranceinsurance.com.

HO-4 Coverage for You When You Rent

 

When you rent a place to live, it becomes your home, albeit whether for a short time or for a long one, as is often said, ‘home is where you hang your hat’.  Whether you rent a Mansion a flat or anything between, you’ll want coverage for your contents. Chances are you’ll never have to collect on your policy, hopefully you never will, but should disaster or catastrophe strike, you’ll be certainly glad you had coverage.

An HO-4 policy, often called a renters insurance policy is just what you need to cover your stuff. Depending on your landlord, you may or may not be required to have your own insurance. And there are plenty of reasons for this. At the very least, you should have a bare minimum amount of coverage, because believe it or not, whether you have a Coach purse, or a cute bag you picked up at Target, if it gets consumed in a fire, and you don’t have insurance, you’ll be forced to go without, or buy whatever replacements you need out of your own pocket.

A lot of young and single people don’t even give it a second thought, a popular misconception is that they don’t have anything worth insuring or that the insurance can cost too much.  Now, without an absolute inventory, which is highly suggested, how would you know what you really have in your home?

Consider this, if there were a fire, at night, and you had to jettison your home to survive, and all you had on your person were your pajamas, what would it costs you to replace every single thing you own? Bedding, blankets, pillows, furniture, kitchen appliances, electronic devices and electronic games, televisions, and all your clothes, and accessories can add up to a lot.

If you are lucky enough never to have a fire in your own dwelling, the water damage that can be caused by firefighters putting out a fire in proximity to your home, could  be as devastating as fire itself.  The cost for a renter’s policy likely less than a dollar a day, for Fifty thousand dollars of coverage; after you complete your inventory, you may find you could even need more.

If you are renting, the owner of the dwelling will have coverage for the building, but they will not have coverage for your contents.  An HO-4 policy will cover fifteen perils; it will also give you coverage for your personal property, however there are limits for cash, securities, firearms, watercraft, jewelry, and property away from the residence, and has some limitations on electronic equipment. Your policy may also include coverage for loss of use, if you are unable to use your dwelling, it will cover the costs of either Additional living expense or Fair Rental Value, under Coverage D.  There are also coverage for reasonable repairs, unauthorized use of a credit card and transfer of funds. If someone slips and falls while at your property, you will be covered up to the limits of the policy.

Since we live in such a litigious society, it just makes sense to insure your assets whatever your home rental size is.  There are too many things that can go wrong, and you risk losing everything that is yours already. As is often said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And in this case for every single person who has rental coverage in place, it’s one less thing you have to worry about if something catastrophic should happen to your home. You can rest assured that you will be indemnified and made whole, up to the policy limits. If you are wondering about what an HO-4 policy will costs you, feel free to visit www.homeinsuranceinsurance.com to find out.

HO3 Home Insurance Insurance

HO3 Home Insurance Policy

The HO3 Home Insurance Insurance Policy is the most common home insurance policy in the United States. It provides excellent coverage for your home and good coverage for your personal property. It is considered a hybrid policy, though it doesn’t run on gas and electricity like a hybrid vehicle.  What makes it a hybrid is because of what it does cover under a mix of an open perils and named perils type policy. 

Huh? You may be asking; let’s jump in and review.  An open perils policy type lists the thing that your coverage doesn’t cover; where a named perils policy type lists all the things that your policy does cover.  For instance in the HO3 policy your home structure itself is covered on an open peril basis, and the contents are covered on a named peril basis.

Name, non-named, open what?  Ok. It’s easier to understand if we start naming names.  And let’s start in the reverse order just for simplicity sake.  The open perils are the perils which EXLUDE the coverages for your home in an HO3 policy; they are the following; Earth Movement this is something that you can get earthquake coverage for, but it  may include mud slides; check your policy for details.

Ordinance or Law exclusion; some coverage may be provided, but it may be an endorsement you have to get as well; for instance if an ordinance is passed and you are grandfathered in, but your home is subject to calamity, proper coverage may enable you to rebuild under the ordinance if you have the coverage; if you don’t you may end up eating it, and trust me, bricks and lumber aren’t a good dinner.

Water Damage (Sudden & Accidental Water Damage is automatically included that as part of HO2 coverage); what this means is flood, you are not covered by flood unless you have flood insurance.

Power Failure is excluded; this may mean if you are out of power for a week and you lose all your food in the freezer the claim will be denied.

Neglect and Intentional loss are also an exclusion,  and for good reason; if you for instance know of a dead or diseased tree that imperils your home but your refuse to cut it, and it falls on your house, it may be considered neglect, and it will not be covered; check with your agent and on your policy for further details. Intentional loss would never be covered, meaning that if you pulled a stunt and caused intentional loss; sorry no coverage.

War, huh, what is it good for? Went the song…well, if you have a destructive loss that is considered war, or perhaps an act of terrorism, it too is excluded. As is Nuclear Hazard which may include anything related to nuclear. Government Action is also not covered, which means that if the government whether local, state, or federal seizure or destruction, except when the destruction is to prevent the spread of fire.

Sudden collapse of the ground is not covered, though you may have this included in your policy automatically if you live in Florida.

Theft to a dwelling under construction; this is excluded; however you can buy a builders risk policy which would cover this exclusion. Vandalism and Malicious mischief which is included in HO1 and HO2 is excluded IF the property is vacant more than 60 days. Mold, fungus and wet rot, smog, rust, corrosion is excluded, and mold claims made in the Nineteen Nineties caused huge losses to companies; that is one of the reasons they exclude those coverage’s. Wear and tear, deterioration are excluded, as is smoke from agricultural smudging, and industrial operations, for instance if the smoke stacks in your area are causing your white house to turn black, sorry, not covered.  Discharge, dispersal, seepage of pollutants is not covered, nor is settling, shrinking, bulging or expanding; which in the latter case sounds like a problem with pants size.

Birds, vermin, rodents, and insects are excluded; nope you cannot get coverage for your pet termite colony that lives in your walls; nor can you claim damage from the squirrels in your attic. Also excluded in HO3 is the coverage for any animals that you won, whether it’s a parakeet or a wolfhound.

What you are covered for also known as perils:

The 16 perils that your belongings are protected from are:

1. Fire or Lightning
2. Windstorm or Hail
3. Explosion
4. Riot or Civil Commotion
5. Aircraft
6. Vehicles
7. Smoke
8. Vandalism or Malicious Mischief
9. Theft
10. Volcanic Eruption
11. Falling Objects
12. Weight of Ice, Snow, or Sleet
13. Accidental Discharge or Overflow of Water or Stream
14. Sudden & Accidental Tearing Apart, Cracking, Burning, or Bulging
15. Freezing
16. Sudden & Accidental Damage from Artificially Generated Electric Current

What the HO3 Lacks

The HO3 is not the best policy money can buy. There are two reasons for this:

Water Damage - This policy does have Sudden & Accidental water damage, but it omits any water damage relating to water backup, foundation, or slow leaks. Most of these, however, can be endorsed on the policy for additional premium which may be a small amount but cover great things.

Open Perils on Contents - this policy does cover your home on an open perils basis, but only covers your contents for the 16 perils listed above.  

Wondering who to get this HO3 Policy from, and what it costs: just click on www.homeinsuranceinsurance.com to find out more.


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HO1 Home Insurance Insurance Basic Home Insurance Policy

HO1 basic home insurance insurance policy is the most common type of insurance that is purchased. Actually HO1 is just the basic form that was created by ISO for Home insurance. The policy that covers HO1 covers a base of perils.  It also provides the basis upon which all other polices are created. This homeowners policy basic form coverage allows you to be protected against the 11 most common perils or damages, including fire, storms, theft, windstorm, hail, lightning, explosion, vandalism or malicious mischief, damage by vehicles, aircraft (anyone watch The World According to Garp?) and riots.    What it will not cover for is flood.  That is a separate policy that home insurance buyers will need to look at if they are in a flood prone area.  Fact is, earthquake insurance is not a covered peril in HO1 home insurance insurance either.  That is a separate policy as well. Some companies don't sell HO1 by itself, but do use it as a base for other HO policies.

While everyone wants to save money; homeowner's insurance should cover the value of the home, to rebuild it, not the land it sits on, and should have contents coverage as well. The HO1 home insurance insurance policy will cover the basic perils; it may or may not include contents. There are five basic home insurance packages to choose from HO1, HO2, HO3, HO4 (renters) and HO6; allowing you to get exactly what you need with the right home insurance forms. You will have to contact an insurance agent or agency to see which ones offer basic home insurance coverage; the agent will submit your application for quotes to find out how much you will pay for HO1 basic homeowner’s policy coverage. There are several things that may affect your  insurance rates, among them, are possibly your credit score, the home's location, the type of home it is whether it's concrete or a mobile home for instance; safety and security features sometimes companies will give you a discount for an actively monitored security alarm; your personal circumstances which again relate to credit, and other elements that companies determine, among these may be the distance to a fire hydrant, the locales fire rating, the companies factor in your township or cities fire response, those will have an effect on your rate. An independent agency can give you multiple quotes from different companies about home insurance insurance. This way you will save time, and money.  Premiums   from one county or city, or state are going to vary significantly; even your neighbor's house may have a different price; there are many factors involved.  However, it is unwise to be 'insurance poor' meaning you don't have enough insurance.  There are companies out there that may refute claims when you may have to make one on your home insurance insurance. 

 Your home may be one of the largest investments you ever make in your life. You want to be certain that the coverage you purchase will be enough to cover your home and its contents if the unforeseen should happen.  Insurance is a part of risk management; and by prevent unnecessary risks, and by applying multiple policy discounts you may save money by getting additional coverage, for less.  As always you want to speak with a licensed insurance agent who knows.  You can always get quotes from http://www.homeinsuranceinsurance.com  and begin your saving today.

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HO2 Home Insurance Insurance

The HO2 Policy is considered a broad form policy, it includes the 11 perils that are listed in the HO1 basic policy and also includes the additional listed perils; they are as follows, Falling Objects, which will come in very handy, if something falls from the sky, whether it's a meteorite the size of an acorn, hail the size of a train, or something off an aircraft, say a wing, propeller, wheel, or even luggage.  In addition it insures private structures in connection with the dwelling, unscheduled personal property on or away from the premises as well as loss of use. Personal liability  coverage and medical payments to others are also included.  What this means is that if a visitor to you home happens to b slip and falls and breaks their leg, it will serve to make the medical payments for an injury that was caused.
 The weight of snow can vary greatly; if you have a light fluffy and powdery snow and get a foot, it may only weigh the equivalent of 5.2 lbs a square foot; have a 1000 square foot roof, that's an additional 2.5 tons of weight on the house.  Get a wet snow and it is only five inches deep, it could weigh twelve and a half pounds per foot cubed; on the same roof that is over six tons of snow; that's the equivalent of 3 average size cars sitting on your roof; collapse could result from it. Were you a part of snowmageddon in 2011? If so, you may have had an inordinate amount of snow or ice which can cause or did cause catastrophic damage to your roof to the point of collapse; don't worry, if you have an HO2 form for home insurance insurance, you too are covered!  I've seen roofs collapse from the weight of snow.


Had a break in the pipes while you were on vacation?  I've seen this happen to multiple home owners; and burst pipes are huge cause for concern. Burst pipes, left to their devices, can end up causing the house to be stripped to it's foundation from damage; if you happen to have an HO2, well, although you will be inconvenienced, it will pay to repair your home., and the contents. Find yourself stuck in snowmaggedon without electricity and your pipes freeze, which could cause huge problems, especially if you water pipes are in a slab.  In Oklahoma in February of 2011, they hit the lowest temperature ever recorded. The wet bulb temperature in some parts of the state was a negative 28 degrees Fahrenheit.  This will, without a doubt cause tremendous strain on pipes, and can cause them to freeze, and then burst.  Have that HO2 policy? Iit covers the home insurance insurance claim of burst water pipes due to freezing.  Now you may be thankful you have home insurance insurance with an HO2 ; it's not fun, and cleanup isn't pretty but having a policy that pays claims, that becomes a huge relief.
Lightning strikes to your house which cause electrical damage to your appliances may be covered.  Just bought the Jack Lalane deluxe juicer and had it plugged in and it took the hit and smoked like a Fourth of July firecracker?  Well it may be covered, but you might want to think about the deductible before you make a claim.  However if you lost your computer, the tv, phones, Xbox, the Wii, and everything else that was plugged in? You will probably want to call your agent and talk about filing a claim.  Remember, you can still be shocked during an electrical storm even when you are on the phone in your house; so be cautious! 
Have a radiator in your house? What about hydronic radiant floor heating?  Here a hissing sound and know you don't own snakes? Wonder what the puddle  of warmth you stepped in the hallway is and you don't have a dog?  You may have experienced  a rupture of your hot water heater or heating system.  This could turn out to be a really bad day; First things first, cut off the cold water supply, and the hot water supply if you have them to the leaking areas.  Secondly you'll want to mop up to alleviate as much damage as possible. Third you'll want to put a call into your home insurance insurance agent about filing a claim for the rupture of water heaters and heating systems.  Yes, if you have an HO2 you will be covered by this catastrophe or peril as well.


Trying to find out the best possible insurance that covers you in your time of need? You will want to get the best policy for the best price, get information and get coverage at http://www.homeinsuranceinsurance.com

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