The HO8 Home Insurance Policy is one of the most basic home insurance policies available to homeowners. Most homeowners who purchase HO8 insurance are either insuring for catastrophic losses only or can’t get a better insurance policy due to conditions of the dwelling.

The HO8 home insurance policy only protects the home and contents for the most common perils that occur, and is typically an actual cash value policy.

The HO8 insurance policy only covers 10 perils. The following list shows what is considered a named peril – and as a result covered – in a standard H08 policy:

Vehicle damage is typically only included if it’s not done by the insured, and theft is usually limited to just $1,000 in a standard HO1.

Other than that, if a peril from the list above damages your home or your stuff, the HO1 insurance policy should cover it after your deductible.

The HO8 home insurance policy is normally written as an Actual Cash Value policy, but can be written as Replacement Cost.

Actual cash value policies depreciate the value of the material that was damaged before paying out on claims. This means that you get paid on today’s value of the materials, not the value when you purchased them.

For example, suppose five years ago you bought a t-shirt for $20. What is that shirt worth today? Probably $2. If your house burns down and your t-shirt gets destroyed, an actual cash value policy covers the cost to replace the t-shirt at today’s value, or in this case only $2.

Replacement cost policies replace materials that have been damaged with brand new materials at today’s cost, regardless what the material was worth at the time it was destroyed.

Using the same example of the t-shirt above, if your house burns down and your t-shirt gets destroyed, a replacement cost policy covers the cost to replace the shirt at today’s prices for a similar brand-new shirt, or in this case around $20.

The HO8 home insurance policy is usually used to insure unique buildings and structures that otherwise wouldn’t qualify for a standard home insurance policy.

Historical buildings, extremely old buildings, very unique are different architectures are all reasons why a home may be insured by the H08 insurance policy rather than a policy that offers a bit more coverage.

Where does the HO8 policy stand compared to other policies? It’s at the bottom. Here is a quick look at other home insurance policies and how they stack up to the H08:

Less Coverage: None; the HO8 is at the bottom

Roughly Equivalent Coverage: HOA

More Coverage: HO1, HOA+, HO2, HO3, HO5, HOB, HOC