Auto insurance
Liability, comprehensive and collision on one policy, with uninsured motorist written to match your bodily injury limits.
- BI / PD limits
- 100/300/50
- Comp / coll deduct.
- $500 / $500
- UM / UIM
- 100/300
$1,284 / yrSample. Not a quote.
Homeowners insurance where the form number is the first thing you are told
An HO-3 covers the structure against open perils and your belongings against a named list. An HO-5 opens both. We tell you which one you are buying.
$1,616 / yrSample. Not a quote.
Single family, 1,940 sq ft, built 1958, Lakewood OH, HO-3, $1,000 deductible.
What the policy pays for
An HO-3 covers the structure against open perils and your belongings against named perils. An HO-5 opens both. That difference decides whether a spilled can of stain on a hardwood floor is a claim or a lesson. We write both and we tell you which one you are buying.
- Coverage A, dwellingReplacement cost
- The structure itself, rebuilt to current code with current materials. Extended replacement cost to 125 percent is available on IM-3.
- Coverage B, other structures10% of Coverage A
- The detached garage, the fence, the shed. Scheduled up separately when the outbuilding is worth more than the default.
- Coverage C, personal property50% to 70% of Coverage A
- Your belongings. Actual cash value on the base form, replacement cost from IM-2 up, and open perils on an HO-5.
- Coverage D, loss of use20% of Coverage A
- Rent, hotel and the difference in your ordinary living costs while the house is uninhabitable.
- Coverage E, personal liability$300,000 to $1,000,000
- Injury or property damage you are legally responsible for, at home or away, and the cost of defending the claim.
- Coverage F, medical payments$5,000
- Medical bills for a guest hurt on your property, paid without any finding of fault.
Four form numbers, and the one word that separates them
Open perils means the policy covers any cause of loss it does not specifically exclude. Named perils means it covers only what is on a printed list, typically sixteen items. That single difference decides who has to prove what after a loss.
| Form | Written for | Structure | Belongings | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HO-3 | Owner occupied house | Open perils | Named perils | The default form in the United States. |
| HO-5 | Owner occupied house | Open perils | Open perils | Pays the accidents no named list contains. |
| HO-6 | Condominium unit | Walls-in only | Named or open | Sized against the association master policy. |
| HO-4 | Renter | None | Named or open | Contents and liability, no structure. |
Condo insurance is an HO-6, and it has to be sized against a document you did not write
Your association carries a master policy. Whether it is bare walls, single entity or all in decides where its coverage stops and yours starts, and the three are not close to each other. A walls-in limit guessed without reading the master declarations is either a waste of premium or a hole you will find during a claim.
We read the master policy first. Then we write the building property limit and the loss assessment coverage to fit the gap that is actually there, including the special assessment the association can levy on you after a shared structure loss.
What it will not pay for
Every policy sold in the United States has exclusions. The difference between carriers is whether you find out now or on the day of the loss. These are the ones that actually catch people out on this form.
- Flood, meaning rising surface water. Excluded on every standard homeowners form sold in the United States and written separately.
- Earth movement, including earthquake, sinkhole and landslide, unless endorsed.
- Water backing up through sewers or drains, unless the water backup endorsement is attached.
- Neglect, wear and tear, rot, and damage that developed slowly over years.
- Business property and business liability above a small default, which is what a business owner policy is for.
Endorsements worth attaching
An endorsement changes the policy. These are the ones we recommend often enough that they are priced into the bundle tiers rather than sold as extras.
Water backup
$10,000 - $25,000
Sewer and drain backup, the single most common basement loss in this region.
Service line
$10,000
The buried water, sewer and electrical lines between the street and the house, which are yours.
Scheduled personal property
Agreed value
Rings, instruments, firearms and collections, listed and appraised, with no deductible.
Ordinance or law
10% to 25%
The extra cost of rebuilding to a code that did not exist when the house was built.
Lines that belong on the same account
Price the whole structure, not one piece of it.
Four steps, about sixty seconds, and no obligation. An agent reviews every line together so the limits actually meet.