What Are the Different Types of Homeowners Insurance Policies?
"Types of homeowners insurance coverage" gets used two different ways, and untangling them clears up most of the confusion. One meaning is the coverage letters inside a single policy — A for the dwelling, B for other structures, C for personal property, D for loss of use, and liability coverages after that; the North Carolina Department of Insurance names Coverage A through F in exactly that order. The other meaning is the policy form — HO-3, HO-5, DP-3 and so on. This page is about the forms.
Named peril vs. open peril
Before the form numbers, learn this one distinction and the rest falls into place.
A named-peril form covers only the causes of loss it lists. Fire, lightning, windstorm, hail, theft, vandalism — if the cause isn't on the list, there's no coverage. The burden sits with you to show the loss came from a listed peril.
An open-peril form (sometimes called "all risk," which overstates it) covers any cause of loss except the ones it excludes. Flood, earthquake, normal wear, and neglect are typical exclusions. Here the burden flips: the insurer points to an exclusion.
Most broad homeowners forms use open peril on the structure. Whether your contents get open-peril treatment is the main thing separating the mid-tier forms from the top one.
The HO forms you'll actually run into
- HO-1 — basic form. A short named-peril list on the structure and contents. Rarely sold anymore.
- HO-2 — broad form. Named peril on both structure and contents, with a longer list than HO-1.
- HO-3 — special form. The common owner-occupied policy. Open peril on the dwelling and other structures, named peril on contents.
- HO-5 — comprehensive form. Open peril on both the structure and your personal property. Usually written for newer or better-maintained homes.
- HO-4 — renters. Contents, loss of use, and liability. No Coverage A, because you don't own the building.
- HO-6 — condo unit owner. Covers your interior and improvements; the association's master policy handles the building shell.
- HO-7 — mobile or manufactured home. HO-3-style coverage adapted to that construction.
- HO-8 — modified form. Built for older homes where replacement with original materials would cost far more than market value; settlement is typically on a repair-cost or actual cash value basis.
The Texas Department of Insurance home insurance guide walks through the six standard coverages that show up across these forms, and the Maryland Insurance Administration consumer hub links official guides on reading the declarations page, which is where your form number is printed.
The dwelling fire forms are a different animal
If nobody lives in the house — it's a rental, a flip, a vacant inherited property — you may be offered a dwelling policy instead. The North Carolina Department of Insurance explains the three: DP-1 (basic named peril), DP-2 (broad named peril), and DP-3 (open peril on the structure). These forms don't automatically include the liability and contents package a homeowners policy bundles in, and the regulator notes a 60-day vacancy condition that can suspend certain coverage. That's why a vacant house usually can't just stay on an HO-3 — see vacant dwelling insurance coverage for how that plays out.
Form choice and settlement basis are separate decisions
A common mix-up: the form number tells you what causes of loss are covered, not how much you get paid. Replacement cost versus actual cash value is a separate setting, and the Texas Department of Insurance shows worked examples of how much depreciation changes a payout. You can have an open-peril HO-3 that still settles a roof at actual cash value. Both facts live on your declarations page.
Where to look on your own policy
Your declarations page shows the form and edition near the top, then the coverage letters with their limits. Start with Coverage A, B, C, and D explained to decode the letters, and what is dwelling coverage for what Coverage A buys. Knowing your form name is enough to ask your agent a sharp question: "Is my personal property named peril or open peril under this form?"