Homeowners insurance is designed to protect your home from what is called “perils.” A peril is your exposure to risk or something that causes loss or destruction. As a homeowner, you can typically purchase three different types of home insurance policies. They are:
Please see the following table for a breakdown of what perils are covered by the three different homeowners policies.
| Home Insurance Policies and What They Cover |
| Types of Perils |
Covered Perils |
| HO1 |
HO2 |
HO3 |
| Fire or lightning |
x |
x |
x |
| Loss of property on premises due to fire or other perils |
x |
x |
x |
| Vehicles |
x |
x |
x |
| Windstorm or hail |
x |
x |
x |
| Smoke |
x |
x |
x |
| Explosions |
x |
x |
x |
| Theft |
x |
x |
x |
| Vandalism and malicious mischief |
x |
x |
x |
| Riot or civil commotion |
x |
x |
x |
| Aircraft |
x |
x |
x |
| Breakage of glass constituting part of the building |
x |
x |
x |
| Collapse of building(s) |
|
x |
x |
| Weight of ice, snow or sleet |
|
x |
x |
| Freezing of plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems and domestic appliances |
|
x |
x |
| Falling Objects |
|
x |
x |
| Accidental discharge, leakage or overflow of water or steam from within a plumbing, heating or air conditioning system or domestic appliance |
|
x |
x |
| Sudden and accidental tearing apart, cracking, burning or bulging of a steam or hot water heating system or of appliances for heating water |
|
x |
x |
| Sudden and accidental damage from artificially generated currents to electrical appliances, devices, fixtures and wiring |
|
x |
x |
All perils except for flood, earthquake, war, nuclear accident. (Check your policy for complete list of perils.) |
|
|
x |
Coverage for jewelry, art, antiques, etc. May also include coverage for building code upgrades and sewer backups. |
Can be added to any policy for an additional charge. |