A homeowners insurance policy covers four kinds of incidents on the insured property: 

• interior damage
• exterior damage
• loss or damage of personal assets/belongings
• injury that occurs to people other than the owner while on the property 

Damage to the Interior or Exterior of Your House

Your insurance will reimburse you if your residence is damaged by fire, hurricanes, lightning, vandalism, or other covered disasters. Destructions caused by floods, earthquakes, and poor house maintenance are typically not covered, and you may need to purchase additional riders if you want that sort of coverage. Freestanding garages, sheds, and other structures on the property may require separate coverage. 

Clothing, furniture, appliances, and the majority of your home's other contents are covered if they are damaged in an insured disaster.

Personal Liability for Damage or Injuries

Personal liability applies when you are held legally accountable for an accident that occurs in or out of your home and results in bodily injury or property damage of others. This could include something like someone slipping on a patch of ice that’s on your front walk, or falling as a result of a broken step on your porch. If a guest is injured on your property, personal liability claims might include medical expenses, legal fees, and more. Furthermore, the liability portion of a homeowners policy typically covers you and relatives who live with you in the home, whether the accident happens in your home or not. Thus, personal liability coverage is an essential part of your homeowners insurance policy.

The Levels of Coverage 

There are many types of homeowners insurance in the United States that have become standardized in the industry. Labeled as HO-1 through HO-8 , they provide varying levels of protection depending on the demands of the homeowner and the kind of dwelling insured.

Actual cash value (ACV), replacement cost value (RCV), and extended replacement cost value are the three choices for estimating the amount of protection your renters or homeowners insurance will offer. Most house insurance companies provide all three options to clients to choose from. While replacement cost value policies are the most common, understanding each choice may help you find the best cost-to-protection ratio in your insurance.

• Actual Cash Value

The actual cash value is based on the market value or the initial cost of your home and personal property with depreciation (that is, the fact that items lose value over time) considered.  The replacement cost of your home's physical structure and the real cash worth of the insured's personal property are usually covered by most homeowners insurance policies. Because depreciation is taken into account, and claim payouts are typically smaller, an insurance policy with coverage based on real cash value is the least expensive to acquire.

Depreciation is usually calculated by taking into consideration an item's expected lifetime and subtracting a percentage of its worth for each year since it was purchased.

• Replacement Cost Value 

The replacement cost value of your home is the amount of money it would cost to replace it with an identical or similar property in today's market. This is the most commonly suggested coverage since it brings homeowners closer to their living conditions prior to the covered damage.

The replacement cost is generally estimated using the original purchase price of the items or the cost of physically constructing the home at the time it was acquired, regardless of possible depreciation.

• Guaranteed or Extended Replacement Cost

Extended replacement cost covers the cost of rebuilding your house to its original condition prior to a disaster, even if the cost exceeds the estimated value of the house.

Extended replacement cost coverage, unlike standard RCV coverage, protects you against unexpected increases in materials or building costs, which can occur when a disaster affects a large number of houses in a single region. If you reside in an area prone to natural disasters like tornadoes, extended replacement cost insurance is a smart alternative if your budget allows it.

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