Home Insurance Classes

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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To determine what kind of perils or incidents are covered by your home insurance policy, your insurance company assigns a set class to your policy. The various classes that could be assigned range from class HO1 to HO6, and each one has a different set of incidents that are considered insurable. Following is a general guide to these classes. For specific information about your policy, be sure to check with your insurance company.

HO1: A limited coverage against 11 different hazards. These include theft, riots, windstorm and hail. This is also referred to as a basic policy and can include coverage for personal and medical liability. Another great aspect of this class is that it can cover your personal possessions even while you are traveling with them.

HO2: Reaches further than HO1 by covering 17 total hazards including water damage, smoke, falling objects, freezing pipes and the 11 hazards covered by HO1.

HO3: This is the most common class for home insurance policyholders. It covers damage from ...
... all hazards unless they are specifically excluded on the policy. This includes liability and medical payments - unless they are specifically excluded.

HO4: Covers the personal possessions of a renter's policy. This does not cover any damage done to the walls, pipes or actual structures owned by the landlord.

HO5: Covers everything in HO3 that is not excluded and requires no specified incident or peril to have damaged your home. This is especially helpful for insurable incidents in which there are no witnesses and no evidence of the cause of the damage.

HO6: Covers the personal property and interior walls of a condominium. This class of policy also occasionally covers liabilities. This will not cover incidents to pipes, outer walls, hallways and other areas covered by the condominium association policy.

Remember, your home insurance policy should be tailored to the needs and risks your family faces. Be sure to ask your home insurance company to explain what is covered within your policy class and what is excluded so that you can be certain your policy will be there to protect you when you need it most.