Summary: The coverages of the standard homeowners forms (Forms HO 00 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 08, and 14) are designed to provide the kinds of insurance protection that most homeowners will need. However the needs of individual insureds can diverge, so endorsements are used to tailor coverage to meet these needs. Additionally, insurers may use endorsements to limit coverage, like when the windstorm or hail exclusion endorsement is attached to coastal homeowners policies.
The endorsements discussed here are those under the jurisdiction of Insurance Services Office (ISO). They do not constitute the extent of tailoring possible with respect to homeowners forms. The introduction in the ISO homeowners manual to the program's general rules state that "in all cases not specifically provided for in this manual," the rules, rates, forms, and endorsements of individual insurers govern each coverage. This makes it possible for insurers to develop special endorsements as the need arises, assuming, of course, that the proposed risk is considered insurable and that an appropriate premium can be obtained.
The homeowners program was revised in 2022, with previous versions of 2011 and 2000. Comments relating to individual endorsements below are based on form designations and language of the 2022 ISO homeowners program unless otherwise indicated. The edition date of the 2022 endorsements are generally 03 22; the 2011 endorsements are generally 05 11. Differences from the 2011 program in language or coverage provisions are noted. This discussion is on multistate forms; endorsements limited to one or two states have not been included.
The endorsements are discussed in numerical order. Because there are so many endorsements, we have split the discussion into multiple sections:
Part 5 MH 04 01 to MH 04 47 Mobilehome Coverage
Part 6 HO 05 24 to HO 05 86
Part 7 HO 06 01 to HO 06 49
Part 8 HO 06 51 to HO 06 95
Part 9 HO 07 01 to HO 07 59 Home Business Insurance Coverage
Part 10 HO 24 01 to HO 24 70
Part 11 HO 24 71 to HO 34 03
Numerical list of Endorsements:
HO 04 50 03 22 Increased Amount Of Insurance For Personal Property At Other Residences
HO 04 51 03 22 Building Additions And Alterations – Increased Limit
HO 04 52 03 22 Livestock Collision Coverage
HO 04 54 03 22 Earthquake Coverage
HO 04 55 03 22 Identity Fraud Expense Coverage
HO 04 56 03 22 Special Loss Settlement
HO 04 58 03 22 Additional Insured – Household Resident
HO 04 59 03 22 Assisted Living Care Coverage
HO 04 60 03 22 Scheduled Personal Property Coverage (With Agreed Value Loss Settlement)
HO 04 61 03 22 Scheduled Personal Property Coverage
HO 04 65 03 22 Coverage C Increased Special Limits Of Liability
HO 04 66 03 22 Coverage C Increased Special Limits Of Liability
Under the homeowners forms, the full amount of coverage C applies to the insured's personal property at any location except for property usually located at an insured's residence other than the "residence premises." Coverage on the latter is limited to the greater of $1,500 or 10 percent of the Coverage C amount. (In form HO 00 08, this sublimit applies to all property that is not actually on the residence premises). Endorsement HO 04 50 provides for an increased amount of coverage at other residences. The amount of coverage is specified for each location in the Schedule. Consistent with the base homeowners forms, the limitation for property at other residences does not apply to property that has been moved from the residence premises because it is being repaired, renovated, remodeled, or it is not fit to live in or store property in. Likewise, if the property is in a newly acquired principal residence the limit does not apply as long as it is within 30 days from the start of the move.
Note that the homeowners forms exclude theft coverage at the other residence unless the insured is "temporarily living there," and endorsement HO 04 50 does not delete this exclusion. For substantial values at another residence that an insured rents, it may be preferable to provide section I coverage under form HO 00 04 (contents broad form). Form HO 00 04 contains the standard exclusion of coverage for theft while the unit is rented to others, but this exposure may be covered by extended theft coverage for residence premises occasionally rented to others (HO 05 41) if the rental is on an occasional basis. If the insured owns the second residence, the insured would be best served by a separate homeowners policy or a dwellings form endorsed for theft.
The premium for an additional $1,000 of insurance is calculated by multiplying the all-perils premium by the appropriate factor. For forms HO 00 02, HO 00 03, and HO 00 05, the factor is 0.011; 0.088 for form HO 00 04; and 0.063 for form HO 00 06.
This endorsement can be used with all forms except HO 00 08 and HO 00 14.
Form HO 00 04 (contents broad form) includes an additional coverage (9.) that protects a tenant's building additions, alterations, improvements and installations made to the part of the residence premises used exclusively by the insured. The policy's limit of liability for this additional coverage is 10 percent of the coverage C amount. Endorsement HO 04 51 increases the limit of liability for this coverage.
The premium is calculated by multiplying the HO 00 04 Amount of Insurance Factor for "Each Additional $1,000" by the HO 00 04 All-perils premium.
This endorsement can only be used with form HO 00 04.
Formerly a part of the farmers personal liability endorsement as an optional coverage, coverage for livestock collision may now be purchased separately. The insurer pays up to the limit shown on the endorsement for death to certain types of animals if caused by collision or overturn of the vehicle in which they are being transported. There is also coverage if the livestock runs into, or is struck by, a vehicle while on a public road.
Coverage is excluded if a vehicle owned by or operated by an insured or an insured's employee causes the loss. The endorsement adds a definition for "livestock", meaning cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, and donkeys. The limit per animal is $400; horses, mules, or cattle under one year old at the time of loss are counted as half a head. No deductible applies for this coverage.
This endorsement can be used with all forms except HO 00 08 and HO 00 14. The policy must have either Incidental Farming Personal Liability Coverage Endorsement HO 24 72 or Farmers Personal Liability Coverage Endorsement HO 24 73 in order to be able to add the Livestock Collision endorsement.
This endorsement provides coverage for loss resulting from the unauthorized use of a credit card or electronic fund transfer card, forgery, or counterfeit money. It was initially included in the homeowners forms as an additional coverage, but was removed in the 2022 revision in favor of this endorsement. It was introduced as an additional coverage at a time when credit cards as a common form of payment was relatively new.
The insured is required to notify the credit card company after a loss and send a signed, sworn proof of loss to the insurer within 60 days of their request. The coverage limit starts at $1,000 and there are options of $2,500, $5,000, $7,500, and $10,000.
This endorsement can be used with all forms except HO 00 08 and HO 00 14.
There is no coverage for loss resulting from earth movement except when endorsed. An insured may add earthquake as an insured peril for coverages A (dwelling), B (other structures), and C (contents) by adding this endorsement.
The endorsement states that all earthquake shocks occurring within a seventy-two-hour period constitute a single earthquake. Earthquake includes land shock waves or tremors during or after a volcanic eruption.
Earthquake deductible percentage amounts of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 percent of the limit are available. The percentage deductible is converted into a dollar deductible by multiplying either the coverage A or coverage C limit of liability, whichever is greater, by the deductible percentage amount shown in the Schedule. The minimum deductible amount is $500. No other deductible applies to earthquake loss.
Like other forms of earthquake insurance, the endorsement excludes loss resulting from flood, tsunami, and tidal wave, even when caused by or contributed to by an earthquake. Loss to exterior masonry veneer is also excluded. Stucco is not considered masonry veneer. Finally, the cost of filling land is also excluded.
This endorsement can be used with all forms except HO 00 08 and HO 00 14.
Introduced in 2003, this endorsement provides reimbursement of expenses incurred as a result of identity theft or fraud first discovered or learned of during the policy period. "Identity fraud" and "expenses" are defined terms in this endorsement.
Covered "expenses", up to the $15,000 limit, include reasonable attorney fees to defend suits brought by merchants, financial institutions, or collection agencies; loan application fees to re-apply for any loans rejected solely because of incorrect credit information; lost income for time taken to meet with law enforcement officials or complete affidavits (maximum $200 per day; $5,000 total); and charges for long distance calls to report or discuss an actual identity fraud.
Losses arising out of or in connection with a "business" are excluded, as well as loss incurred due to any fraudulent or criminal act carried out by an insured or any person aiding an insured. The deductible is $500. The insured has a duty to send receipts, bills, and other records, documenting the claim to the insurer within sixty days of the insurer's request.
This endorsement can be used with all forms except HO 00 08 and HO 00 14.
The standard loss adjustment for buildings is on a replacement cost basis when the amount of insurance on the damaged building at the time of loss is at least 80 percent of the building's full replacement cost(a notable exception is form HO 00 08, which provides for loss adjustment on either a repair cost or actual cash value basis). Endorsement HO 04 56 is used to reduce the percentage of insurance to value that is required before losses will be adjusted on a replacement cost basis. The premium is adjusted based on the percentage selected.
Manual rules allow a reduction to 50 percent, 60 percent, or 70 percent of the property's replacement cost. This may be necessary when replacement of a dwelling would cost far more than its market value and the insurer, to avoid the moral hazard, is unwilling to write a policy for the full 80 percent of replacement value.
Personal property, structures that are not buildings, grave markers, and awnings, carperting, household appliances, outdoor antennas and outdoor equipment are settled at actual cash value at the time of loss, for no more than the amount required to repair or replace.
For buildings covered under Coverage A or B, if the building does not meet the insurance to value that is shown in the Schedule, the insurer will instead pay on an actual cash value basis.
This endorsement can be used with forms HO 00 02, HO 00 03, and HO 00 05.
This endorsement was new in the 2000 program, and reflects the variations of today's living arrangements. A person who would normally not have "insured" status by virtue of being unrelated by marriage, blood, or adoption, may be given that status when listed on the endorsement. They cannot be a guest, residence employee, tenant, roomer, boarder, or a home-sharing occupant.
The named insured agrees to represent the person so named in all matters pertaining to the insurance, pay any additional required premium, and notify the insurer of any change in residence or status. The person named then has personal property coverage, additional living expense, and liability coverage. A person under the age of twenty-one, in the legal custody of and living with the person named in the endorsement also has coverage.
This endorsement can be used with all forms except HO 00 08.
This endorsement may be attached to an insured's homeowners policy to provide coverage for a person related by blood, marriage, or adoption to an insured, and is not a member of the insured's household. The relative must regularly reside in an assisted living facility.
The insured agrees to act as the covered person's representative in matters pertaining to the insurance. The name of the relative, the name and location of the facility, and the amount of coverages C and E (the only options) are scheduled. $10,000 is provided for Coverage C and $100,000 is provided for Coverage E personal liability.
The special limits of liability are expanded to include such things as eyeglasses ($100), hearing aids ($250), walking aids ($250), false teeth or dentures ($500), etc. Property regularly located away from the facility, property owned by an insured, and property owned by the facility are not covered.
A limited amount of additional living expense is included: $500 per month for a maximum of twelve months. If an order of civil authority results in a claim for additional living expense, the maximum is $50 per day for a two-week period. The applicable deductible is that on the policy to which this endorsement is attached.
This endorsement can be used with all forms except HO 00 08 and HO 00 14.
Personal articles insurance may be written in conjunction with a homeowners policy by using endorsement HO 04 61. This makes it convenient for a homeowners insured who wishes to broaden the scope of coverage on personal property by writing the coverage on an open perils basis, or who has value in excess of the limits specified in the homeowners form for certain categories of property—jewelry, furs, silverware, postage stamps, and coins. Additionally, an insured may have a fine arts collection in excess of the coverage C limit of liability, and if a total loss to the residence premises occurred, there would not be enough coverage for both personal belongings and the collection.
It is important to remember the coverage C exclusion for "articles separately described and specifically insured in this or any other insurance" when deciding on amounts of insurance to be inserted in the endorsement. The coverage C amount will not contribute in case of loss to any property specifically insured in the endorsement, so it is important that each item is scheduled for an adequate amount of coverage.
The full effect of the "other insurance" provision can be avoided if an insured chooses not to schedule blanket items (such as "silverware") in the endorsement, but instead lists only the more valuable items specifically, for example, "four piece service for eight of ABC brand silverware, `XYZ' pattern." Other silverware items in the household thus escape the "other insurance" provision and continue to have the protection of coverage C, subject to any deductible.
Despite its appearance as a mere endorsement attached to the homeowners policy, the personal articles floater remains a separate contract. For provisions of the endorsement and how it interacts with the requirements of the personal inland marine program, see Personal Articles Form. Also, see Scheduling Personal Property for the Homeowners Insured.
The 2000 program offered a new version of this endorsement: scheduled personal property endorsement (with agreed value loss settlement) HO 04 60. Endorsement HO 04 61 offers agreed value loss settlement only for fine arts; the HO 04 60 offers agreed value loss settlement for cameras, furs, golfer's equipment, jewelry, musical instruments, silverware, and stamps and rare coins. For example, an insured may have scheduled under an HO 04 61 a $75,000 grand piano that is damaged in a tornado. If the insurer elects the repair option, the insured could wind up with a shoddily-repaired instrument. But with the agreed value option, the insured is simply paid the amount in the schedule for the loss.
Both endorsements provide worldwide coverage for all scheduled property.
These endorsements can be used with all forms except HO 00 08 and HO 00 14.
Coverage C (personal property) imposes special sublimits with respect to certain categories of property. This endorsement may be added to increase these limits for some of these categories—money, precious metals, and coins (to $2,500); securities, accounts, deeds, evidences of debt, letters of credit, and other valuable papers (to $5,000); jewelry, watches, and furs (to $10,000; $2,000 per article limit); silverware, goldware, and pewterware (to $10,000, increments must be $500); portable electronic equipment in a motor vehicle (to $6,000, increments of $500); watercraft (to $5,000, increments of $500); model or hobby aircraft (to $5,000); and firearms (to $10,000). The increased special limits for jewelry, firearms, and silverware apply only to theft, since the special limit for such items applies only to theft losses. When coverage C (personal property) is written on an open perils basis, the special theft limits for those three categories apply to misplacement or losing as well as to theft. For this reason, a separate endorsement (HO 04 66, see below) is used to increase these limits when open perils coverage applies to personal property.
For more information on these special limits, see Homeowners HO 00 03 03 22 Revisions Section I Property Coverages A-C Analysis. Use of this endorsement does not increase the total limit of liability available under coverage C. It merely increases the sublimits that apply to the specified categories of property.
This endorsement can be used with forms HO 00 02 and HO 00 03.
This endorsement is nearly identical to HO 04 65, seen above, but it applies to form HO 00 05. Since the special limits in HO 00 05 for jewelry, firearms, and silverware apply to loss by theft, misplacing or losing of the items, this endorsement will also cover loss caused by those perils. This is in contrast with HO 04 65, which only provides coverage for loss by theft for those categories.
For increased special limits for other forms, endorsement HO 05 24 can be used with form HO 00 04, and HO 17 31 can be used with form HO 00 06.