Homeowners insurance policies cover different perils so you need to make sure that all the possible perils in your location are covered by your home insurance policy.
If there is a peril in your state that is not covered by your policy, you need to call your insurance agent or your insurance firm about why you were not informed about the omission of the peril and how you can add coverage for the peril in question.
Generally, there are three types of house insurance policies based on the number and kind of perils covered: HO1, which covers your home from 11 basic perils; HO2, which covers your house from 18 perils, including 11 perils covered by HO1; and HO3, which covers your home from a lot of perils, including some perils not covered by HO2.
The 11 basic perils covered by HO1 are loss of house or damage to house due to fire or lightning, vehicles, windstorm or hail, smoke, explosions, theft, malicious mischief and vandalism, riot or civil disturbance, aircraft, breakage of glass that constitutes part of the structure and loss of property within the premises due to fire and the other covered perils.
Under the HO2 type of homeowners insurance, the perils covered are the 11 perils covered by an HO1 policy, in addition to 7 more perils: collapse of the building; weight of snow, sleet or ice; freezing of heating, air conditioning or plumbing systems and house appliances; falling objects; accidental discharge or leakage of steam or water from a heating, air conditioning or plumbing system or from a house appliance; accidental breaking, bulging or burning of a hot water system or a water heating appliance.
Meanwhile, the HO3 covers all the perils covered by HO1 and HO2 in addition to all other perils listed in the policy, except earthquake, flood, war and nuclear accident.
In all the three types of house insurance policies, the coverage for your personal property such as art, antiques and jewelry have limits, so if you believe the limits are not adequate to cover your valuables, increase your limits for personal possessions for an additional charge.
Home insurance policies issued by insurance companies may differ in the kind of perils or in the names of perils covered.
When choosing a homeowners insurance policy, look at the list of exclusions and ask your insurance agent or company for a quote if you like to cover a particular peril.
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