When we say "home insurance" or "homeowners insurance," we're referring to House & Property insurance.
Outside of Florida & Louisiana, Kin offers House & Property insurance, which has a base policy that provides coverage similar to landlord insurance. Homeowners who live in their home can add an owner-occupied endorsement to create coverage similar to an HO3 policy.
Owning a home is expensive enough when things are going well, but repair bills after significant damage can easily cost thousands of dollars. Expenses like these can be difficult to cover out of pocket, which is where home insurance comes in.
Homeowners insurance acts as a financial safety net. It helps pay to repair or replace your house or belongings if they are damaged by covered events like fire, theft, vandalism, or severe weather. It also helps protect you financially if someone gets hurt on your property or if you accidentally damage someone else’s property.
When you buy home insurance, you’re entering into a contract with your insurance provider. The insurer agrees to help cover property loss or damage caused by certain hazards in exchange for a fee.
Here are a few home insurance basics you should know.
Premium: This is the cost of your policy, which usually covers a one-year term. You can typically pay for it all at once or in monthly installments. If you have a mortgage, your lender will likely pay the bill for you through an escrow account. You fund this account through a portion of your monthly mortgage payment, and the lender handles the actual disbursement to the insurance company.
Deductible: This is the amount of damage you agree to cover out of pocket when you file a claim. For example, if your deductible is $1,000 and your covered damage is $5,000, you pay $1,000, and the insurer covers the remaining $4,000.
Policy limits: Your insurance policy has caps on how much it will pay for various losses. You typically have the option to raise your limits for extra financial protection, but your policy will cost more.
Claims: In the event of covered damage, like a fire that destroys your kitchen, you’ll file a claim with your insurance company. They’ll inspect the damage, determine what’s covered, subtract your deductible, and then pay for repairs or replacements up to your policy limit.
Standard home insurance is called an HO-3 policy and includes the following coverage:
Dwelling coverage (Coverage A): Applies to the structure of your home, including the roof, walls, floors, built-in appliances, and attached structures like a porch or deck.
Other structures coverage (Coverage B): Covers detached structures on your property, such as a fence, shed, or detached garage.
Personal property coverage (Coverage C): Protects your belongings, like clothing, appliances, electronics, and furniture, if they’re damaged, destroyed, or stolen.
Additional living expenses coverage (Coverage D): Also called loss of use coverage, this helps cover additional expenses like hotel bills, meals, and other costs if you need to live elsewhere temporarily while your house is being rebuilt or repaired.
Personal liability coverage (Coverage E): Covers legal defense and settlement costs if someone is injured on your property or if you or a household member damages someone else’s property and you’re found legally liable.
Medical payments coverage (Coverage F): Helps cover small medical bills if a guest is injured on your property, even if you’re not at fault.
A standard homeowners insurance policy covers your home and belongings in the event they are lost or damaged due to certain hazards, called perils.
Most standard home insurance policies cover the following perils:
Fire and smoke
Lightning strikes
Windstorms
Hail
Theft
Vandalism
Explosions
Damage from vehicles or aircraft
Falling objects
Weight of ice or snow
Sudden water damage from plumbing or appliances
The physical structure of your home is typically covered on an open-perils basis, meaning that coverage applies to almost any cause of damage unless it’s specifically excluded from the policy. Your personal belongings are usually covered only for the perils explicitly listed in your policy (called named perils), unless you choose to purchase broader coverage.
Standard home insurance policies do not cover everything. Here are some common policy exclusions:
Earthquakes, landslides, and mudslides
Flood damage
Regular wear and tear or maintenance issues
Pest and insect damage
Sinkholes
Nuclear accidents and war
Sewer backups
Coverage details can vary between home insurance companies. Review your policy documents carefully or speak with your agent to better understand exactly what is and isn’t protected.
You can buy optional add-on coverage, called endorsements, or separate policies to cover certain exclusions. Common optional coverage add-ons include:
Flood insurance: Covers damage from rising water and storm surges.
Earthquake coverage: Protects against damage caused by earthquakes.
Water backup coverage: Covers damage from sewer or sump pump backups or failures.
Umbrella insurance: Adds extra liability protection above your standard home and car insurance policy limits. In particular, homeowners with a high net worth, trampolines, swimming pools, or teen drivers can benefit from umbrella insurance.
There are multiple types of homeowners insurance policies available, with different levels of coverage. Basic form policies only cover 10 named perils, while a broad form covers 16, including things like falling objects, ice or snow damage, and sudden, accidental water damage. Special form policies are the most common for homeowners because they offer the most protection, covering all perils except those specifically excluded.
| Policy form | Coverage | Description |
| HO-1 | Basic | Only covers 10 perils, not available in many states |
| HO-2 | Broad | Covers 16 perils, providing slightly more protection than an HO-1 |
| HO-3 (standard policy) | Special | Most common, all-peril coverage for the home, named-peril coverage for belongings |
| HO-4 | Broad | Covers personal property and liability for renters |
| HO-5 | Comprehensive | Offers the broadest coverage, all-peril coverage for home and belongings, plus higher coverage limits for high-value items like electronics, art, and jewelry |
| HO-6 | Broad | Covers interior of unit, personal property, and liability for condo owners |
| HO-7 | Mobile home | Provides HO-3 coverage for factory-built dwellings like mobile and manufactured homes |
| HO-8 | Modified coverage | Covers 10 perils on a named-peril basis for older and historic homes |
Carrying the right amount of homeowners insurance is crucial. Too little could leave you paying expensive out-of-pocket repair bills after a disaster. Too much can mean paying more for coverage than necessary.
Insurance companies will help you estimate appropriate coverage amounts when you request a homeowners insurance quote. But it’s beneficial to think through your coverage needs on your own, too.
The most important number in your homeowners insurance policy is the dwelling coverage limit. This should reflect the cost to rebuild your home from scratch if it were a total loss.
Your dwelling coverage usually won’t match the market value of your home, meaning what your home would sell for. A home's market value considers local real estate trends and includes the value of the land. Home insurance does not cover land, only structures built on it.
Rebuilding costs depend on:
Local construction labor rates
Materials used to rebuild
Size and layout of your home
Special features like custom cabinetry or stonework
Most insurers use specialized software to estimate rebuilding costs when generating a home insurance quote. Make sure to provide as much detail as possible about your home, including the age and condition of the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems, to get an accurate assessment.
Personal property coverage (sometimes called contents coverage) protects all the stuff you own. Insurers typically set your contents coverage policy limit as a percentage of your dwelling coverage. For example, if your home has $300,000 in dwelling coverage and your policy sets personal property at 50%, you would have $150,000 to help replace your belongings.
However, you can usually increase your personal property policy limit — meaning the maximum payout you can receive — if needed.
It’s easy to underestimate how much your possessions are worth. Creating a home inventory can help. This is simply a list of your belongings, along with photos, descriptions, purchase dates, identifying details such as serial numbers, and estimated values. Walking through your home, room by room, and documenting items can make the process more manageable.
Coverage for high-value items, such as jewelry, artwork, collectibles, or expensive electronics, may have lower policy limits — called sublimits — under a standard policy. If you want additional coverage, you can add a scheduled personal property endorsement to cover your expensive belongings for actual value. You’ll just need to provide a detailed receipt or appraisal proving how much they’re worth.
Liability coverage protects you financially if you accidentally damage someone else’s property or if someone is injured on your property and you’re responsible.
Standard home insurance policies often come with $100,000 in personal liability coverage, but you can usually increase this amount, often up to $1 million. But even that may not be enough for everyone.
When choosing liability limits, it’s a good idea to consider your total net worth, including:
Savings and investment accounts
Property and vehicles you own
Future income potential
If you have significant assets, you’re at a higher risk of being sued for damages and may want to consider increasing your liability policy limit by adding umbrella insurance, which extends the liability coverage on both your home and auto policies.
How much you’ll pay for homeowners insurance varies depending on the company and coverage you choose and details specific to you and your home. When pricing policies, insurers consider factors like:
Your location
Your home’s age, size, and condition
The coverage and policy limits you choose
The deductibles you select
Past claims
Your credit history (in states that allow it)
Local risk factors like crime and weather
Home insurance costs change from year to year, no matter where you live in the U.S. According to the Insurance Information Institute, premiums tend to rise over time due to factors like inflation, higher construction costs, and severe weather events resulting in costly insurance claims.
Home insurance can be expensive, but it’s one of the best ways to protect your finances and the investment you’ve made in your home. When comparing home insurance quotes, keep these money-savings strategies in mind:
Bundle your policies: Many insurance companies offer discounts if you buy multiple policies from them, such as a homeowners and car insurance bundle.
Increase your deductible: Choosing a higher deductible usually lowers your premium. But remember, you’re responsible for covering this amount of damage in the event of an approved claim, so it’s important to select a deductible you can easily afford.
Install home security features: Alarm systems, smoke detectors, smart locks, and monitored security systems may make you eligible for insurance discounts.
Ask about loyalty discounts: Some insurers offer lower rates for long-term customers or for maintaining continuous coverage.
Harden your home: Damage-preventing upgrades like impact-resistant roofing, storm shutters, reinforced garage doors, or updated electrical systems can make your home less risky to insure, which often translates to lower insurance costs..
Once you have a baseline for your coverage needs, you can begin the quoting process. Most insurance companies offer online quote tools for a quick estimate, though some still require a phone call to finalize your details.
Regardless of how you start, speaking directly with an agent can provide peace of mind. They can help you navigate complex coverage options and answer specific questions, ensuring you find the best homeowners insurance for your unique situation.
When requesting a home insurance quote, you’ll need to provide details about you and your home. You may be asked about:
Your address
The year your home was built
Square footage
Number and type of rooms
Construction materials (brick, wood, etc.)
Roof age and type
Condition and age of heating, plumbing, and electrical systems
Safety features like smoke detectors, alarms, or sprinkler systems
Past insurance claims
Whether you operate a business from home
If you’re currently insured, carriers may also ask about your current policy limits and deductible so they can provide a comparable quote.
Having this information ready can make it easier to compare home insurance quotes and get accurate pricing.
No. Legally speaking, home insurance is not mandatory. But if you have a mortgage, the lender almost always requires it to protect its financial interest in the property until you pay off your loan balance. Even if you own your home outright, financial experts recommend that you continue to carry coverage.
Replacement cost value (RCV) coverage pays to repair or rebuild your home or replace belongings at today’s prices, even if they cost more than what you originally paid or more than they are currently worth. Actual cash value (ACV) coverage factors in depreciation, meaning older items might only be reimbursed for what they’re currently worth, not what they’d cost to buy today.
Review your home insurance policy at least once a year and after major life or home changes. Updates may be needed if you renovate, buy expensive items, install features like a pool, or get a new roof. Regular reviews help ensure your coverage continues to match your home’s rebuilding cost.
Most insurers require you to insure your home for its full replacement cost — the amount needed to rebuild it from the ground up at today’s prices.
Many policies include a coinsurance clause, often called the 80% rule. If your coverage limit drops below 80% of your home's total replacement value, your insurer may not pay the full amount for a claim. This applies even to minor losses and can result in a "coinsurance penalty," forcing you to pay significantly more out of pocket for repairs.
Regular home maintenance can reduce the chance of claims. Keep your roof and gutters clean and in good condition, maintain plumbing and electrical systems, trim trees near your home, and install smoke detectors and security systems. Preventive care protects your home from damage and may help lower your insurance premiums as a result.
Home insurance companies may conduct property inspections after issuing a policy. The inspection checks your home’s condition and looks for risks like roof damage or safety hazards. If problems are found, you may be asked to make repairs within a certain timeframe to keep your coverage active.
