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Owning a home is perhaps the single largest American dream. However purchasing a home is only one half of the equation. Protecting the investment is another ball game altogether. This is where insurance comes in. Since most of us will purchase only one home in our lifetimes, it makes sense to protect this valuable investment.

The Ohio Department of Insurance offers an Ohio Shopper’s Guide to Home Insurance so that you can seek safe insurance.

Perils & Policies

A Peril refers to any event that could damage your property. These range not just from acts of fury by nature but also to fires or flooding caused by negligence within the house.

Most policies have two sets of perils:

1. Covered Perils, which are specifically named in your policy
2. Excluded Perils (not covered by your insurance policy) like Floods and Earthquakes

Policy Choices

While each insurance company prepares its own contracts, most sell policies that are similar. The form number on a typical policy usually includes one of these labels:

• HO-2 & HO-4 The Broad Form: These policies list all the covered perils. They will not pay for damages due to an excluded peril.
• HO-3 The Special Form: The H0-3 is the most common homeowners policy today. The HO-3 policy lists the perils it does not cover. The policy will pay when the building damage is caused by any peril (subject to limitations in the policy) that is not on the list of exclusions. The HO-3 coverage for contents (personal property rather than the structure) is identical to the HO-2.
• HO-4 Tenant (or "renters insurance") The Broad Form: This policy will insure the contents of your rented home and not the structure of the building. It lists all the covered perils.
• HO-5 Comprehensive Form: The HO-5 covers most types of damage except earthquakes, wars and floods.
• HO-6 Condominium: The HO-6 policy insures your condo contents and only the portion of the building you own (such as the interior walls) independent of other owners. Ensure that you know what is covered by your building’s master insurance policy and compare it to what is covered by your policy. Note that you need to fill the gaps.
• HO-8 Market Value: The H0-8 policy insures the structure based on its "market value.'' If your house burns down, the policy will pay no more than it would have sold for on the day before the fire.

Typical exclusions for the HO-2, -3, -4, -5 and -6 forms

Typical exclusions as in all other basic homeowners insurance policies include earthquake, flood, water damage (sewer backup or a basement leak), power failure off your premises, poor home maintenance, war collapse, nuclear hazard, intentional acts of an insured, laws and ordinance enforcement (such as building codes). Know the fine print with regard to your policy’s exclusions and limitations so that you are aware of what is not covered. The excluded perils can be guarded against by purchasing separate policies.

Personal Liability Coverage

Personal liability coverage is yet another automatic inclusion in all homeowner and tenant insurance policies. This coverage protects you against a claim or lawsuit resulting from bodily injury or property damage to others caused by your negligence. This section of the policy means you can file a claim if you are legally bound to cover damages due to an accident on your property (e.g. someone falls) or as a result of your personal activities (e.g. hit a ball through a neighbor's window). There are no policy limits on legal expenses in this case.

Medical payments (MedPay)

Irrespective of who was responsible, this coverage pays medical expenses for persons accidentally injured on your property by a member of your family or by your pets. However the payments do not apply to injuries caused to you, to family members living with you or to activities involving your at-home business.

Mine Subsidence (sinking) Coverage

Ohio also has a fund to insure property that is in danger of sinking due to its proximity to an old coal mine. All residential policies sold in the counties where coverage is deemed mandatory must protect against damage caused when an underground mine sinks (subsides). Contents, barns and other outbuildings are not covered.

Optional coverage for mine subsidence is available to residents of Delaware, Erie, Geauga, Lake, Licking, Medina, Ottawa, Portage, Preble, Summit, and Wayne Counties.