There are several types of homeowners policies that offer different degrees of coverage. An few of them are as follows:

HO 3 the Special or extended homeowners policy covers 17 causes of loss with the exception for flood, earthquake, war and nuclear accident for the property portion of the policy.

HO 4 the Renters policy covers the same causes of loss with the difference being this policy covers the personal property for the tenant . The building is insured through the owner.

HO 6 The Condominium policy covers only the 17 causes of loss to the personal property owned by the condominium owner. The condominium itself is insured by the condominium association.

fire of lightening; windstorm or hail; explosion; riot or civil commotion; aircraft; vehicles; smoke; vandalism or malicious mischief; theft; damage by glass or safety glazing material that is part of a building; and volcanic eruption falling objects: weight of ices, snow or sleet, three categories of water-related damage from home utilities or appliances, and electrical surge.

The proper homeowner insurance coverage consists of purchasing the right policy, having the property levels of coverage within that policy. That can include your jewelry, clothes, computer equipment, and the like.

Generally you want to insure both your dwelling and your personal property for the replacement value, which tends to be a little different from todays market value and the personal property's depreciated value.

The standard homeowner policy normally will automatically insure your possessions at 50 to 75% of the coverage placed on the dwelling. The coverage is on all homeowners policies with the exception of the HO4 - renters policy.

The homeowners also provides coverage for other structures you have on your property, such as a shed, gazebo, garage etc... The limit is generally 10% of the dwelling value, but again this can be increased to meet your needs. Trees and shrubbery normally can be replaced up to 5% of your dwellling limit of coverage.

Another coverage automatically provided for on the homeowners policy is loss of use or sometimes referred to as additional living expenses. This coverage provides expenses actually incurred in the event of a covered loss above your normal monthly amounts. An example of that would be, if you needed to stay in a hotel while the repairs are being done on your home. The limit of liability coverage of this coverage is usually 20% of the dwelling value.

The standard level of liability protection on homeowner's policy is $300,000. Even higher levels are recommended for affluent homeowners with lost of assets to protect. In that case, a so-called "umbrella" policy might be the way to go. These polices provide excess liability coverage on both your homeowners and automobile polices. They are generally not very expensive. You must carry a certain limit of liability coverage of the primary policy to purchase one.

Homeowners policies can be customized to the individuals needs by altering limits and adding additional coverages through purchasing floaters. Floaters can add protection to certain type of personal property that surpass the normal limit of coverage on the basic homeowners policy such as computer equipment, cameras, and jewelry.