8 Types of Homeowner’s Insurance: The Ultimate Guide

If you think homeowner’s insurance is boring, take heart! We promise to make this article as entertaining as possible. Read about all eight types of homeowners insurance below, (#8 is the best!)

Popular Homeowner Insurance Coverages

Most homeowners are familiar with the industry standard HO-3 policy. It typically includes coverage to rebuild a home after a total loss from fire, and covers some contents, outbuildings, fences and the like.

This type of homeowner policy also includes helpful liability coverage, which could help pay for lawsuits associated with injuries someone might incur on your property, or damage to their property.

However, the world of homeowner’s insurance is changing rapidly. Wildfire risks, civil unrest, tropical storms and climate change topics are changing how insurers work and which types of risks they will cover.

Today, our helpful team of licensed insurance agents at Einsurance.com explains everything you need to know about different types of homeowners insurance. We’ll cover the eight types of HO policies (which you really need to know if you work in insurance) and other dwelling insurance options.

Let’s start with a thorough overview of various types of homeowner’s insurance.

The 8 Types of Homeowner’s Insurance: HO-1 through HO-8

There are eight types of homeowner’s (HO) policies, and the one you need depends on the coverage you need and the type of home you own.

HO-1

These policies are very limited, and most major insurers don’t sell them. HO-1 policies only cover the structure of a home. They do not include liability coverage, for instance, nor will they help replace the contents of a home after a loss.

HO-1 policies are very rare in 2025. However, between inflation and challenges faced by insurers and consumers, we can imagine a future where HO-1 polices become popular again. After all, they would provide enough coverage to appease a mortgagee (the lienholder on a mortgage contract.)

HO-2

Only slightly more common than HO-1, HO-2 policies are slightly less limited. Again, most major insurers do not sell these policies. They offer a little more coverage than a “bare bones” HO-1.

Specifically, HO-2 homeowner’s insurance policies will pay to replace your belongings after a covered loss. They may or may not include liability coverage, other structures coverage, debris removal and so on.

HO-3

Among all the home insurance coverage types, the HO-3 is the current industry standard for single-family homes.

If you have a homeowner’s insurance policy, or if you’re shopping for home insurance quotes, this is the product you’re shopping. We will, therefore, spend a little extra time explaining how they work.

HO-3 insurance is offered by all the major insurance companies, such as

• Farmers Insurance
• Progressive
• GEICO
• Allstate
• Traveler’s Insurance
• State Farm
• The Hartford

Any HO-3 policy will include coverage to rebuild a home after a covered loss. We’re talking about fire, lighting, wind, hail, civil unrest, falling tree limbs and so on.

How are HO-3 Policy Limits Figured? What do they Cover?

A licensed insurance agent will use a formula (square feet x current replacement costs) to determine the probable costs to rebuild your home after a total loss and base your policy limits on that amount. This first number is called Coverage A.

These policies also include:

• Liability coverage
• Contents coverage
• Debris removal coverage
• Cost of living coverage, which pays for your housing while you rebuild
• Coverage for outbuildings, other structures and fences
• Ordinance and law coverage (which pays extra to rebuild your home up to current codes)

Now, each of these insurance coverage types is figured as a percentage of your Coverage A. Your debris removal coverage, for instance, is usually 10% of your Coverage A. If your home is insured for $300,000, the insurer will provide another $30,000 to pay for debris removal after your home burns down.

As you shop for home insurance policies, remember that the coverages offered will vary based on the valuation applied by the insurance agent to the home.

HO-4: Renter’s Insurance

HO-4 policies, also called “renter’s insurance,” are designed to protect tenants (but not landlords, directly.) They exist to cover a tenant’s belongings, but not the structure of a house or apartment.

Essentially, the tenant and insurer agree that a tenant’s belongings are worth a certain amount, and the insurer will pay to replace them. We see renter policies ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 and more, depending on the size of the rental home, the number of people living there, and the costs of their belongings.

HO-4 policies cover a tenant’s:

• Clothing
• Furniture
• Small appliances
• Cosmetics
• Toys
• Some electronics

And they offer limited coverage for things like jewelry, artwork, computers and cash.

Renter’s insurance does not cover the landlord’s property directly, so carpets or major appliances which are part of the rental unit are not covered.

Still, many landlords now compel tenants to maintain an HO-4/renter’s policy as part of the rental agreement/lease. That’s because this type of homeowner insurance policy is very affordable, and should something happen to a tenant’s belongings, they can be replaced. A satisfied tenant is less likely to try to sue a landlord to replace belongings after an incident that damages their property.

HO-5

Think of an HO-5 policy as the big brother of an HO-3. This is the second most popular type of homeowner insurance policy, and they are written as “open peril” policies.

Much like an HO-3, this policy will provide liability coverage, contents coverage, other structures coverage and debris removal. And it will cover them for all perils except those specifically excluded in writing.

Perils specifically excluded in the contract are usually:

• Floods
• Earthquake
• Volcano or lava flow
• And in some regions, tornadoes, windstorms, tropical storms and hurricanes

Every insurer has different rules for every state and every region. If you buy an HO-5, it’s vital that you read your policy documents very carefully, and know which perils are excluded. You may wish to buy additional insurance, like a flood policy, or other riders if you want earthquake coverage.

These policies are more expensive than HO-3s, and with the changing insurance environment, we can imagine them becoming obsolete due to pricing.

HO-6: Condo Insurance

Condominium insurance covers everything in a condo but does not cover outbuildings. Condo owners get the benefits of contents coverage, and liability coverage, but this policy will not pay to rebuild a huge condo complex if it burns down.

HO-7: For Mobile & Manufactured Homes

When it comes to types of homeowners insurance, mobile and manufactured homes are treated very similarly by insurers, and only a handful of insurers work with them.

For the sake of this discussion, let’s agree that mobile homes are transportable housing units. We’re talking about “trailers, trailer homes, mobile homes and mobile park homes.”

A manufactured home, which is not a “trailer” but is built and delivered in 2 or 3 pieces, is usually considered a mobile home for the sake of insurance.

At first glance, mobile/manufactured home insurance policies include most of the same coverages as a standard HO-3. We’re talking about fire coverage, contents coverage, liability coverage and the like.

However, unlike a framed, permanent home, mobile homes depreciate quickly. A trailer home that sold for $25,000 in 1958 is likely worth only a few thousand dollars today, thanks to depreciation. (Whereas a framed home built in 1958 for $25,000 might be worth $250,000 today.)

And that’s where mobile home insurance gets complicated.

HO-7 Replacement Cost vs. Actual Cash Value Policies

An HO-7 policy is written with replacement cost coverage, much like a traditional home insurance policy.

In short, if your home were to burn down, your HO-7 policy limits should be enough to replace this home with a brand new one of similar style, square footage and amenities.

Other types of mobile/manufactured home insurance are written as actual cash value policies.  In other words, if your home burns down with this sort of coverage, the insurer will only pay the depreciated value. If you’re living in an older mobile, like the 1958 model we mentioned above, that may only be a few thousand dollars.

These actual cash value policies are much more affordable than HO-7s, and they’re very valuable for folks living in older trailers. They may or may not be able to replace that 1958 trailer, but at least they have the funds to find a new living situation and replace some of their belongings after a loss.

HO-8: Specialty Home Insurance

HO-8 homeowner insurance policies are rare in most markets, but your insurance agent will tell you if you need one. These policies exist to protect older, very high-end homes which would cost much more to replace today than when they were built.

And of all the home insurance coverage types, this is the most fun to explore.

Property Insurance for Historic Mansions, Specialty Property & Plantation Homes

To illustrate, let’s imagine you’re a tech billionaire. You’re looking for a new primary residence in the mansion district of San Francisco. The mansion you prefer will cost $300 million, boasts incredible views, 18 bedrooms, a marble mausoleum in the back, and a carriage house.

This home was built in 1870 by some railroad mogul. It has all the gilded-age details one can imagine.

Touring the home, you love the:

• Teakwood grand staircases
• Marble grand entryway
• Enormous, original crystal chandeliers
• Vast ballroom, with inlaid ebony wood floor
• And genuine elephant ivory doorknobs

You especially love to use the brassy antique elevators to get to the topmost floors.

Is this home worth $300 million? Probably, to the right person. If it burned to the ground, could you rebuild it? No.

Many of the materials used to create this historic home are no longer available, or only available at incredible prices. Think about all that rare wood and real marble, and the skilled workers that did all that custom work by hand.

Even the most minor details are irreplaceable. The sale of those historic ivory doorknobs is forbidden in the US, in fact. As a tech billionaire, you could probably pay someone to source them, travel abroad to purchase them, and semi-smuggle them into the country on one of your private jets. But that’s certainly NOT covered by your homeowner insurance policy.

Ultimately, most consumers will never have the need for an HO-8 policy. Still, as insurance agents, we have the most fun thinking about them.

TLDR; (Too Long, Didn’t Read) Key Takeaways

Most US consumers are shopping for HO-3 policies. They are the most popular type of home insurance coverage for a single-family home, and the industry standard in the US. Other common home policies include renter’s insurance and mobile home insurance.

The average consumer doesn’t need to know the differences between all eight types of homeowners insurance policies. Your licensed insurance agent will present you with options right for your home.

Always read quotes and policy documents carefully. Your policy will explain exactly what is covered, what is excluded, and how much coverage applies to each point.

For mobile and manufactured homes, replacement cost and actual cash value policies are very different. Replacement cost policies should pay enough to completely replace your home with a brand new one of similar size and value. Actual cash value mobile home policies will only pay a depreciated value, and that amount can be very small for older trailers.

Try Our Handy Online Quoting Tool for Home Insurance

At Einsurance.com, we work hard to match insurers and consumers. Whether you own a mobile home or a historic mansion, we can help you find the right home insurance policy at the right price.

Just enter your information on our website, and we’ll have insurers contacting you with quotes right away.

Also, we invite you to spend more time on our insurance journal to learn more about insurance topics for consumers. We cover everything from car insurance to health insurance, life insurance, and more.